2022 Preview: Travelers Rest Devildogs

Photo: Prep Redzone

Jed Blackwell July 31, 2022 @ 07:15 PM

A new head coach, a new offense, a new region and a new classification.   Traverlers Rest football has quite a few things to get used to this season.   Under the direction of longtime Dorman assistant Michael Lancaster, excitement around the Devildogs program is high.   "The community's been great," Lancaster said. "Everybody seems to have bought in to what we're trying to do, everybody's excited, and it's just been a great time around here."   On the field, the Devildogs will transition from an air-raid type offense to something similar to the sets Lancaster used at Dorman. Think pro-style with lots of formations.   "We really didn't know what we were going to be able to do until we met the kids," Lancaster said. "We're pretty good at the skill positions, which allows us to pretty much run anything. If we can stay healthy up front, we should be competitive there, as well. Right now, we're mixing in a lot of RPO stuff, and just the other day my QB told me how much he was enjoying it. He likes being in the mix and making those decisions."   That QB, Caleb Mills, brings a lot of talent to the table   "He's a guy who needs a DII look somewhere," Lancaster said. "He's just an athlete. He's a point guard, he plays centerfield and pitches on the baseball team, and he threw for more than 2,000 yards with four interceptions last year. He's just a heady kid who throws it well and takes care of the ball. He's a good football player, and it really jumps off the film at you. And he's an outstanding kid."   Christian Nielsen is expected to shift from a wide receiver position to tight end to serve as an extra target for Mills, while Drayton Ward, back from a knee injury, will play the Z receiver.   "Christian is a dynamic TE," Lancaster said. "He's a 6-3, 200 pound kid, and he really does a lot of things well. Most importantly, he knows how to go to open grass. He gives us a target. Drayton tore his ACL in the preseason last year, and folks around here say that if he'd played, he might have made two or three games' difference. He's electric. He's a 4.5 guy who might play a little quicker, just a twitchy player. He's going to be really big for us."   Another player returning from injury is Drew McKibben, who suffered a concussion in a preseason scrimmage and wasn't able to return last season. At 6-4, 200 pounds, McKibben has run an electronic-timed 4.37.   "He's raw, but he's gotten so much better already," Lancaster said. "In the spring, we threw him a couple of five-yard arrow routes just to see what would happen, and 70 yards later nobody's touched him. I expect a breakout year from him if he stays healthy. He's a legit Power 5, ACC/SEC guy. We have to bring him along because he missed an entire year, but he works really hard."   Lancaster is also expecting good things from WR Gavin Baker and from sophomore RB Xavier Donaldson.   "Gavin is a good route runner, a 4.7 guy who is probably a little big faster," he said. "Xavier is 215-220, and he's a bull. We've got a lot of the pieces back offensively."   Defensively, the Devildogs are younger, but still have several key returners. One is Kaleb Green at DE.   "He's really aggressive," Lancaster said. "He loves the physical part of the game. I'm trying to convince him that as an OL in our offense, he'd get to hit people 60-65 times a game. He's a good player, and a really good defender."   Lancaster also praised DE/Bandit Bryson Durham for gritty, heady play, and Ace Evatt as a leader at ILB who will be responsible for making the calls for the Travelers Rest defense. Nielson and Ward will also see time on defense.

A new head coach, a new offense, a new region and a new classification.