CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After a one-year absence, George Washington returned to the Class AAA postseason in 2015, finishing with a 7-3 regular season and No. 10 playoff seed.
The Patriots overall have made the postseason in eight of the last nine years. But with 15 seniors graduated, a lot of new faces will be in the mix for George Washington in 2016.
Sophomore quarterback Grant Wells, though, established himself last year as just a freshman, throwing for 778 yards and nine touchdowns behind starter (and now graduated) Kaleb Mackey.
“It makes it really nice to have a guy back like Grant Wells with his capabilities – it’s huge,” said George Washington coach Steve Edwards, Jr. “It’s good to build around. That’s the main thing of any offense, your quarterback – especially in high school football, it’s very, very important.
“He’s grown a ton (since last year),” Edwards, Jr. continued. “Not having to be thrown into the fire right off the bat really helped him and helped him mature. He learned a lot and was able to get his feet wet slowly. He’s just a naturally good athlete.”
Wells has already received significant recruiting interest, including a scholarship offer from Marshall this summer.
“When a guy of (Marshall coach) Doc Holliday’s caliber offers – with his recruiting reputation – that’s a pretty good solidification that we have a pretty good quarterback. He’s seen some pretty good ones,” Edwards, Jr. said. “I think after a while, when people get to see (Wells), there will be more offers to come.
“He seems grounded and really solid in what he wants to do,” Edwards, Jr. continued. “He’s going to make me, first, very happy and then another coach down the road in the future very happy as well.”
Besides Mackey, the Patriots also graduated leading rusher NuNu Miller and leading receiver Druw Bowen. Senior Darnell Brooks and junior Ryan Thomas are both expected to help fill the void at receiver as the two combined for over 500 yards last year.
George Washington does return four players along the offensive line with experience, including junior Tanner Williams and seniors Alex Myers and Will Ugland.
“We’re older upfront than we have been,” Edwards, Jr. said. “We’ll have some new faces, but four guys upfront who played a lot. We’ll be really young behind them, though.”
Sophomores Anthony Phillips and Aidan Johnson are both expected to be in the mix at running back and could find some time at slot receiver as well.
“We’re going to have some guys that if they’re going to be a tailback, they’re also going to have to be a slot receiver,” Edwards, Jr. said. “Our numbers are going to be down a little bit, we just don’t have a whole lot of kids.”
The Patriots will have four significant tests right out of the gate this season, opening up the year against South Charleston and then following with games against Paul Blazer (Ky.), Huntington and Spring Valley. George Washington also has just four home games in the regular season, with six on the road.
“Our schedule isn’t very favorable, but our kids know what’s ahead of them,” Edwards, Jr. said. “We’ll just take it one game at a time and do the best we can.
“I’ve got a really good sophomore class and we have some good senior leadership,” he continued. “I like the way the team is molded, but only time will tell. We’re going to go through some highs and lows, but that’s typical high school football.”