VISIT WITH CRONIC
LRU will hold a special football reception — titled “Charging Forward” – on Feb. 16 at Moretz Mills from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The reception is a kickoff to the era of Drew Cronic as head football coach at the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) school. He will share his vision and goals for the future of the program at the reception and also introduce his coaching staff and highlight his first Bears recruiting class.
Admission for the event is free and free food will be provided by Hannah’s BBQ South.
“Our staff is very excited for this event in February,” Cronic said in an LRU press release. “We have worked extremely hard to sign a fantastic group of talented young men and this will provide a great forum for us to give Bear Nation a sneak peek of the future.
“It will also be an opportunity for us to share the vision for Bears’ Football as we Charge Forward into a new era!”
An RSVP is required to attend the event and limited space is available. If interested, send an email to Kay.Smith@lr.edu by Friday (Feb. 9) to secure a spot.
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – In a marked change in its football recruiting, Lenoir-Rhyne University’s first list of 2018 signees features nearly one-third of the players being from local high schools.
When the Bears released their 37 signees on Wednesday in the first class for new head coach Drew Cronic, it included:
- Ten seniors who played at Greater Hickory area high schools – five from Catawba County, three from Caldwell County and one each from Alexander and Watauga counties.
- Two players from Alexander Central, Fred T. Foard and Hibriten and one each from Hickory, Newton-Conover, South Caldwell and Watauga.
- Nineteen players from Georgia, 15 from North Carolina and one each from South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.
By comparison, LRU announced 16 signees in 2016 and only one (wide receiver Ryan Newell of East Burke) played locally, and the program — for many years — has not traditionally recruited in high volume from the local high schools.
Many of the local players for this class had already indicated on social media their decisions to play at LRU, but Bears officials don’t acknowledge any signings until National Signing Day.
Cronic was hired Dec. 7, leaving his position as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Furman to coach the Bears. LRU fired previous head coach Mike Kellar in mid-November after finishing seventh in an eight-team South Atlantic Conference (SAC) race had their first back-to-back losing seasons since 2008-09. He coached the Bears for two seasons and they were 6-15 overall and 5-9 in the SAC.
LRU also heads into spring practice with 10 former Greater Hickory area players on that roster. They include former Maiden running back Xzavion Huff and former Fred T. Foard quarterback Matt Williams (tight end), who transferred after initially signing with East Tennessee State.
2018 LENOIR-RHYNE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL RECRUITS
Holden Aldridge, OL, 6-4, 285, Fred T. Foard
Gunner Anderson, QB, 6-1, 190, Alexander Central
Tre’Dorion Arnold, DL, 6-2, 250, Greenville, S.C. (Greenville)
Tate Beaver, LB, 6-1, 200, Fred T. Foard
A.J. Bell, QB, 6-3, 160, Folkston, Ga. (Charlton County)
Warren Bell, RB, 5-10, 230, Fayetteville, Ga. (Scotland County)
Raja Bradley, RB, 5-9, 200, Waycross, Ga. (Ware County)
Ryan Carter, WR, 5-10, 195, Ringgold, Ga. (Heritage)
Caine Crews, RB, 5-8, 180, Brunswick, Ga. (Glynn Academy)
Malik Dessie, DB, 5-7, 170, Sylvester, Ga. (Worth County)
Phillip Davis, DL, 6-0, 300, Belmont (South Point)
Jam’l Dillard, DE, 6-3, 225, Warner Robbins, Ga. (Warner Robbins)
Kurtis Feanny, OL, 6-1, 270, Cartersville, Ga. (Woodland)
Devante Ford, DB, 5-10, 190, Newman, Ga. (E. Coweta)
Myles Gadison, OLB, 5-11, 200, Loganville, Ga. (Loganville)
Noah Haney, DL, 5-10, 215, Hibriten
Ja’Luntray Hatcher, DB, 6-0, 185, Griffin, Ga. (Griffin)
Bryce Heidinger, OL, 6-4, 255, Raleigh (Heritage)
Myles Jackson, OLB, 5-11, 200, Kennesaw, Ga. (Kennesaw Mountain)
Jaelon Maxie, RB, 5-9, 215, Winston-Salem (E. Forsyth)
Keygan Mayfield, DB, 5-10, 165, Maiden
Blake Myers, OLB, 6-2, 255, Brentwood, Tenn. (Brentwood)
Nate Monroe, RB, 5-8, 170, South Caldwell
Zeke Nance, DB, 5-10, 170, Calhoun, Ga. (Calhoun)
J.P. Palmer, DB, 5-10, 170, Townsend, Ga. (McIntosh County)
Cameron Parker, OL, 6-1, 260, Waynesville (Tuscola)
Philip Sukas, TE, 6-2, 200, Watauga
Ernie Squarles, WR, 5-8, 170, Newton-Conover
Javoris Smith, DB, 5-8, 160, Dry Branch, Ga. (SW Macon)
Drake Starks, TE, 6-3, 230, Ringgold, Ga. (Ringgold)
Jaekwon Staton, WR, 5-10, 165, Hickory
Holden Straughan, DL-LS, 6-0, 175, Cherokee (Cherokee)
Ameen Stevens, RB, 5-9, 230, Savannah, Ga. (Jenkins)
Charles Tassinari, DL, 6-1, 230, Hibriten
Malik Taylor, DB, 5-9, 180, Griffin, Ga. (Griffin)
Kendrick Wade, OLB, 5-11, 200, Quitman, Ga. (Brooks County)
Rashad Yelding, DL, 6-0, 260, Daphne, Ala. (Daphne)
LOCAL PLAYERS LISTED ON SPRING ROSTER
Jackson Bass, TE, junior, Fred T. Foard
Stephen Carpenter, LB, junior, St. Stephens
Bristol Cope, LB, sophomore, E. Burke
Adam Gast, K, sophomore, Alexander Central
Brandon Helms, TE, sophomore, Hickory
Xzavion Huff, RB, sopohomore, Maiden
Kaymon Maddox, LS, sophomore, S. Caldwell
Dawson Sigmon, OLB, sophomore, Draughn
Zach Walker, WR, sophomore, Hickory
Matt Williams, QB, red-shirt sophomore, Fred T. Foard (transfer from ETSU)