Woodruff Football Kicks off 2026 Season with First Official Practices Amid High Expectations
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
The Pack is back!
The Woodruff football team officially begins its journey to what it hopes is a state championship with the start of fall practice on Friday, July 31. A new-look but talented Wolverine squad will compete in Class 2A for the first time since 2015 and have high expectations for the coming season.
“You get to the point during the summer when you’re ready to get into a routine of practice and game week prep,” explained Woodruff head coach Brett Sloan. “It was good to turn the page. We have great numbers out here. These guys had great energy and did a great job. We got after them a little bit, but it was more about attention to detail and doing the little things. But their effort and energy were good, and they were having fun being back together as a football team again.”
Many familiar faces return to Woodruff, including quarterback Connor Davis, leading receiver Curtis Bell, and offensive linemen Ian Jones, Paul Davis, and Dawson Clevenger. Defensive back Malachi Thompson and safety Addison Davis are the two primary returners on a completely retooled defense that graduated 10 starters from a season ago.
That, however, has not tempered expectations with an influx of newcomers via transfer and talented underclassmen making their way onto the varsity roster.
“I had a lot of great leaders like Jackson McCarley, Hunter West, Tre Rodgers, and Shaun Graybill, the best linebacker at Woodruff, who mentored me,” said Thompson. “It means a lot (to be considered a leader) to be honest. I know I have some big shoes to fill.”
Offensively, the biggest question people will ask is what Woodruff does after the loss of star running back Aiden Gibson, who reclassified to the 2026 recruiting class after committing to Rutgers. Jaylen Lyles will take over in the backfield and has the chance to show his talent. Lyles was electric as the Wolverines’ second back a year ago, and he is excited to show fans his skill set.
“I’m really excited,” stated Lyles. I’ve waited three years for this. It’s my time now. I want to break the (single season) school rushing record. That is my big goal. For the team, it’s to help them as much as I can.”
Also joining the offense is 3-star receiver Micah McClintock, who is committed to Florida Atlantic, after he transferred to the Wolverines from Mauldin. McClintock played his freshman season at Woodruff and should be another massive boost to the Woodruff passing game.
Davis, returning for his second season as starting quarterback, is coming off a 2025 season where he passed for over 2,600 yards and 30 touchdowns. One of the most prolific passers in the area, Connor is excited about the weapons he has at his disposal and is looking forward to a great season. A state championship, he says, is the number one focus for the Wolverines.
“I’m extremely excited,” he said. “Just extremely excited. It makes it so much easier whenever I can scramble around, and everybody is darting different ways and knows what to do. Any of our receivers can take it 80 yards. I think we can be can be up there with some of the most prolific offenses in Woodruff history.”
Sloan knows getting to the mountaintop will be a long and arduous journey between now and the first weekend in December, but he likes his team and is confident in their ability to win at a high level as excitement mounts.
“We have very high expectations (for our players),” added Sloan. “They are very talented. I think there is also something to be said for perspective as far as, I think this team will be much better at the end of the year than it will be early in the year, because we do have a lot of guys who are in new roles for the first time. Especially defensively. We feel really good about our talent over there; they just haven’t done it under the Friday night lights yet. They’ll be some bumps in the road and growing pains, but I am really excited about the potential of this team and what they can be if they do the right things every week.”
Woodruff’s first scrimmage is on August 6, with other preseason matchups in both parts of the McDonald’s Kick-off Classic against Greenville on August 10 at Varner Stadium, and against Laurens on August 14 at Byrnes’ Nixon Field.
The Wolverines’ first regular season game comes on Friday, August 21 at Broome.
