2025 Preview: Woodmont Wildcats

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Malcolm Boyd is feeling the love.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The new Woodmont head coach said the way the community has shown their support for the Wildcats has blown him away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"The biggest thing I've seen and felt is how bought-in the community is to Woodmont itself," Boyd said. "The community has really just circled around us and they want us to grow and to blossom. We did a wish list a couple weeks ago, and the amount of packages that ended up on my doorstep from people I haven't even met yet is amazing."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boyd's also happy with what he's seen from the Wildcats on the field so far.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"They're one of the hardest-working groups I've ever been around," he said. "You can tell they really, really want to be good. It's just about harnessing things and getting things going in the right direction. Anything I've asked them to do, they're doing with no questions asked."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of those working hard is <strong>Adrian Estrich</strong>. He's playing left tackle for the Wildcats, but Boyd sees him projecting as a guard at the next level. He's already picking up offers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"He's consistently mean and nasty," Boyd said with a grin. "He's a quiet leader. He hardly ever speaks, but when he does, everybody gets quiet, focuses, and locks in."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nicholas Keist</strong> at WR is another key returner for the Wildcats, as is RB/S <strong>Lorenzo Hurley</strong> (pictured). Boyd said both make big plays on both sides of the ball. Transfer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1015154' first='Amari' last='Harris']</strong> is expected to contribute right away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, <strong>Ny Taylor</strong>, <strong>Cobie Robinson</strong>, and <strong>JJ Gipson</strong> are expected to contribute heavily in the defensive backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I feel really good about our three corners, Boyd said. "Those three guys can play at any time."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore <strong>Landon Pollard</strong> highlights a young group coming up on the defensive front and at LB.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lorenzo Hurley</strong> RB/S, 2026- Hurley's one of the first guys Boyd noticed, and for a good reason. "We can't keep him off the field," Boyd said. "He's got to be there, whatever we're doing. He's going to contribute." Hurley had nearly 500 yards of total offense a year ago, while helping anchor the back end of the Wildcats' defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jayson Garrett</strong> LB, 2027 - Boyd had insanely high praise for Garrett as well. "If we're putting 11 out there, we only need 10 more," he said. "Because he's one of them every time." Garrett can play anywhere the Wildcats need him in the back of the defense, and Boyd said he's versatile and physical enough to do even more. "We won't put him up front, but he could do it," he said. "He could play there if we needed him."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nicholas Kiest</strong> WR/SS, 2027 - Boyd calls Kiest a Hunter Renfrow-type player - "if we need a play to be made, he's going to make it". He can line up wide or in the slot, take a shovel-pass out of the backfield or a route downfield, and routinely just does good things that the Wildcats need.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ny Taylor </strong>ATH, 2027 - Taylor's a weight room standout who's plenty good on the field, too. He covers well, he closes on the ball and is a violent hitter, and he shows no hesitation to step up and stop the run. He's also a special teams freak, but not necessarily in the way you think - he'll often be the first man down making a big play or forcing a return back toward his teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Adrian Estrich</strong> OL, 2026 - Estrich is an OL coach's dream - big, physical, and nasty. But he's much more than that. He's playing at left tackle for the Wildcats, but he's got the mobility to be a pulling guard as well. He's got great feet, and he finishes his blocks with the kind of aggressive edge that coaches love.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17907696/67ab7ae2f67078a576405b4f' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-687cf1ee72ba9"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BIGGEST LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ezekiel Belcher</strong> RB - What did Belcher do for the Wildcats? Almost everything. After an injury at QB, the Wildcats turned to the wildcat, with Belcher taking the majority of the snaps to the tune of more than 2,100 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TJ Williams</strong> RB - The Wildcats also lost their second-leading rusher. Williams provided a change-of-pace to Belcher, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards himself. That's a lot of punch to take out of a backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>UP-AND-COMING POTENTIAL</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818403' first='Landen' last='Pollard']</strong> SS, 2028 - Pollard is one of the young guys who's giving Boyd high hopes. He'll be part of a talented group of rising sophomores that the Wildcats will look to build around not just immediately, but well into the future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1732409' first='Devonte' last='Taylor']</strong> RB, 2028 - Taylor's a shifty runner who will give Woodmont a different kind of look out of the backfield. He's quick with good vision and the ability to turn even broken plays into something.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1015154"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-687cf90c59b87"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A transfer from Greenville, Harris is explosive and dangerous with the ball in his hands. He's particularly good in space, can make people miss, and plays bigger than his size, particularly when he's called on to block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->