2025 Preview: Swansea Tigers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What started as a promising season for the Swansea Tigers in 2024 eventually came to an abrupt and unfortunate end. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Swansea lost three of its last four games and was a first-round exit in the playoffs. Head coach Willie Fox is looking for his guys to find that extra bit of effort and grit to advance further in the postseason this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"The one thing we've worked on all offseason is our toughness," Fox said. "We've talked all offseason about T.A.C.T. - our acronym for team, accountability, competition and toughness. Those are the pillars of our program and something our guys are pushing to be better at for this season and beyond."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fox has a mostly young group that he is expecting a lot from this season, including on the offensive and defensive line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1804680' first='Kevin' last='Sightler']</strong>, <strong>Jamarieye Jones</strong> and <strong>Carder Young</strong> were the three players that Fox expects to have the most impact in the starting 22 as just sophomores. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Fox's group is very young, he also mentioned a trio of upperclassmen that he is expecting to have big years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three he mentioned and talked about were linebacker <strong>William Gettis</strong>, linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822446' first='Jerel' last='Wine']</strong> and running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267270' first='Dante' last='Caldwell']</strong>. Caldwell is a bit of a Swiss army knife and Fox expects him to have the best season of his career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Dante is a very versatile kid with a lot of speed," Fox said. He's gonna do a lot for us this season and we're expecting him to have the best season of his career."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wine (pictured) and Gettis really carry the front seven on the defense and they both understand that responding to adversity and building up the younger players are big steps for the future of the program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Helping our younger class more than ever is so important," Wine said. "I've always just stuck to myself, but I know now that those guys will still be here next year after I'm gone and it's important to help them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Charlie Moody</strong> OL, 2026 - More often than not, the key to a good team starts up front on the offensive line and Moody will be the biggest part of that this season. Fox expects his offense to go through Moody's side of the field this season and even though he's an offensive lineman, a lot of the team's success will depend on him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822446' first='Jerel' last='Wine']</strong> LB/TE, 2026 - We mentioned Wine above and for good reason. He was the leading tackler last season and is well in line for the same type of production this season. He is also going to play a little tight end this season, and the coaching staff has high hopes for his production there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trace Selfridge</strong> ATH, 2027 - Selfridge is actually listed as a wingback on the roster, meaning he will do a few different things. Fox talked about Selfridge being the third or fourth most important piece of the offense and he could be in line for a bit of a breakout season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>William Gettis</strong> LB, 2026 - Gettis has his breakout year last season and has cemented himself as the second-best player on defense with Wine. Those two at linebacker should make coaches scared of running the ball toward either of their side of the field. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267270' first='Dante' last='Caldwell']</strong> RB, 2026 - As we mentioned, Fox loves Caldwell's versatility and that is shown in his film. Not only is he a great runner, but he's excellent catching passes out of the backfield and is a threat to return a kickoff or punt for a touchdown at any moment in the game. A player that can truly flip the game on its head.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18272444/67513eeb1a1ef8504fa70710' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6888df00c5d57"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KEY LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chase Allen</strong> DB - Allen was the leading defensive back for Swansea last season and was always around the ball. He scored four defensive touchdowns, a number that will be hard to replicate this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ahmad Johnson</strong> ATH - Johnson was last season's Swiss army knife that did anything he was asked. Caldwell will look to fill that void this season, but Fix made it known that he'd really miss Johnson this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP-AND-COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nick Riley</strong> DL, 2028 - Riley is another young player that will be on the starting defensive line and expected to produce this season. He's quick off the line and can get into the backfield and rack up the tackles for loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672924' first='Kendall' last='Wright']</strong> QB. 2028 - Wright will be under center as just a sophomore and Fox has all the confidence in the world in his young quarterback. He was vocal about Wright's pocket presence as well as his ability to evade the pocket and use his legs when he needed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1741034,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Deandre Caldwell","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2411","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Swansea","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6888e1ae1c851"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Caldwell is going to play a little bit of a lot of positions this season. His combine numbers show his combination of agility, speed and power, making him the perfect player to put all over the field during the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->