Big plays help Paladins cruise past Stetson

Furman's Joshua Harris had seven receptions for a career-high 164 yards and two
touchdowns in the Paladins' 48-7 win over Stetson. Photo courtesy of Furman

As Furman coach Clay Hendrix watched his team practice this spring and summer, he was confident that the Paladins could be more explosive on offense this fall. On Saturday, Furman showed why. The Paladins had more pass plays of 50-plus yards than they did in the entire 13-game season last year - and as many as they did in the 13-game season of 2022 - in a 48-7 victory over Stetson.

Making his first career start, freshman quarterback Trey Hedden threw two touchdowns and ran for another. Joshua Harris had a career-high 164 yards receiving and the offense didn't have a turnover after suffering four in last week's loss to Charleston Southern. After not forcing a turnover in back-to-back games for the first time in six years, the Paladins (1-2) also had three interceptions on defense Saturday.

"I'm happy for our kids. I'm most proud of how we responded after the last two weeks. We've come out and had really good practices and our focus has been really good," Hendrix said. "We got better today. ... We certainly still have a long way to go, but we got better.

"Confidence does wonders - if you handle it the right way. We've been humbled and I've told them to remember that feeling. You'd better keep some humility when you've had some success and I think they will. That's what I've enjoyed most about this team. They're a good practice team and they want to be a great practice team."

The game started how you might expect from one team hungry for its first win facing a team from the non-scholarship Pioneer Conference. On his first play of the game, Furman backup strong safety Billy Lewis ended the game's opening possession with an interception at midfield. It was the first of two picks Saturday for the redshirt freshman who's the grandson of former East Carolina coach Bill Lewis.

Hedden then directed a scoring drive that ended on a one-yard touchdown run by Grant Robinson as Furman took a 7-0 lead less than five minutes in.

From that point until late in the second quarter, Furman offense disappeared while its defense was plagued by penalties. Two of those were very questionable roughing the passer flags in which Furman defensive linemen basically had what would be the textbook definition of a pancake block if it had been an offensive player striking a defender.

After that 50-yard drive on the Paladins' opening possession, they had just seven yards the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, Furman held Stetson to only 50 yards but the Paladins also had 53 yards worth of penalties over the first 15 minutes. Hendrix believes that was a big reason for a lull that lasted until late in the second quarter.

"I wasn't happy at all with the two roughing the passer calls. They were huge and changed the whole tempo of the game. We're up 7-0 and fixing to get the ball back (after the first penalty on a third-down incompletion), probably at midfield," Hendrix said. "I saw the replay about three times and I'm not sure what you can do (differently)."

After nearly a full half of dinking and dunking the ball left and right, Hedden's big arm was finally turned loose with 3:39 left in the half. That's when he found a wide open Ben Ferguson for a 51-yard touchdown to push Furman's lead to 17-0. 

The Paladins got the ball back at their own 40 with 1:51 left after Stetson (2-1) was stopped on fourth down. Four plays later, one of the prettiest throws you'll ever see took place when Hedden hit Harris in stride down the right sideline for a 50-yard touchdown to send Furman into halftime leading 24-0.

"I think we wanted to do the easy things well to start the game and create those bigger plays later," Hedden said. "I think it's really important to establish the run and get some easy completions to try to start moving the sticks and get some rhythm."

Furman got the ball to start the second half, but a block in the back on the kick return backed the Paladins up to their own 10-yard line. That didn't stop the big play momentum from carrying over from the last four minutes of the first half though.

On the first play, Hedden threw another deep ball to Harris down the right sideline again. This time, the defender managed to ride Harris out of bounds as Hedden was preparing to throw. Harris didn't give up on the play though and came back in bounds to haul in the 58-yard pass. Since he was driven out of bounds by the defender, it was a legal catch.

"On that first (touchdown), he called it and it was one-on-one. I was like 'this is an opportunity I have to take advantage of.' I can't leave plays like that out on the field," Harris said. "When Trey threw it, I knew I could run under that one. We've been working on that during practice and after practice, just working on the trajectory of the ball and me running under it.

"The second one (deep ball) was crazy. I got pushed out (of bounds), but I knew I could keep going. If it's in my area, I've got to go get it."

Just like that, one play into the third quarter, Furman had its third pass play of at least 50 yards Saturday. The Paladins had two of those all of last season and three in 2022. Two plays later, Harris caught a 17-yard pass to the Stetson 13. That set up a beautifully designed play in which Hedden faked one of those dink and dunk passes to the right, then turned back to his left where he found a nearly empty swath of fake grass in front of him. He rumbled 13 yards for the touchdown withstanding hits by a pair of defenders at the goal line to push the lead to 31-0.

Later in the third, Furman was faced with a 3rd-and-27 at its own 46. Hedden completed a short pass to Ferguson, who managed to get 15 yards to the Stetson 39. While he was well short of the first down, anyone who's seen the Paladins the last couple of years and can do math quickly knew what was coming next. On a day with 51- and 50-yard touchdowns, Ian Williams provided the game's longest score when he drilled a 57-yard field goal right down the middle with plenty of distance to spare.

Williams' booming kick put his name atop the Furman record books for longest field goal in school history. It broke the previous mark of 55 shared by Grayson Atkins and Jon Croft Hollingsworth, whose kick beat Central Florida in 2016.

"I've always said I wouldn't hesitate to let him try one from 60 if the conditions are right," Hendrix said. "It's funny, he had been struggling a bit at practice early on, but the last couple of weeks he's kicked it really well in practice. I was thrilled for him today and thrilled for us to have a chance to be a part of that."

That scoring drive wrapped up Hedden's day, as he finished with 267 yards on 20-of-27 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had 16 yards rushing on three carries, which included an eight-yard loss on the Hatters' lone sack.

"With this being our third game, I felt pretty comfortable. I was ready (to start)," Hedden said. "I was very confident and happy to have the guys around me to be able to go over the top and make big plays."

Sophomore Carson Jones came in at quarterback on Furman's next possession, but the Harris show continued. On third down, Jones hit Harris for a 30-yard touchdown. After that 57-yard first quarter, Furman posted 372 yards of total offense over the second and third quarters.

The Paladins went deep down the depth chart the rest of the way, but Gavin Hall's performance may have earned him more carries in the future. The true freshman was the fourth running back to touch the ball Saturday, but he ended with twice as many rushing yards as any of his teammates. Hall had with 72 yards on 10 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to push the lead to 48-0.

"We played a bunch of guys in the second half who probably didn't practice for Stetson last week. They were actually probably being Stetson (in practice)," Hendrix said. "Gavin Hall came in and showed what he can do. We've got a good group of backs and I think it's going to be a 'by committee' group."

Hall just missed another touchdown run as he was tackled at the one with 1:17 left. Furman then took two knees to run out the clock.

The Paladins finished with a 510-244 edge in total offense. Furman also ended up with nine penalties for 108 yards. While a few of those were questionable, multiple pass interference calls in which the Paladins didn't play the ball were clearly correct.

"We've got to play the ball in the air better ... but that's stuff we can fix," Hendrix said. "I'd be really concerned if we were getting beat, but I don't see us getting beat. We've been in really good spots, we just have to play the ball better."

Harris' 164-yard day tied him with Donald Lipscomb for 10th place on Furman's single-game receiving chart. His seven catches moved him past Bear Rinehart (126) and Luther Broughton (123) into eighth place on the Paladins' career receptions list with 128.

Furman will wrap up non-Southern Conference play with a trip to No. 13-ranked William & Mary next Saturday at 6 p.m. The Tribe (2-1) scored a touchdown with 3:40 left to snap a tie in their 28-21 win at Wofford Saturday.

"That will be a challenge next week, but we will have a bunch of challenges moving forward," Hendrix said.

Freshman Hedden set for first start for Paladins

Furman freshman quarterback Trey Hedden is expected to make his
first start Saturday against Stetson. Photo courtesy of Furman

Furman freshman quarterback Trey Hedden appears set to make his first start when the Paladins host Stetson at 2 p.m. Saturday. He will look to provide a spark similar to the one he made in Furman's loss to Charleston Southern in the home opener last Saturday, albeit this time without the turnovers.

Hedden came in with 5:40 left in the first half last week and directed the Paladins on a touchdown drive that gave them the lead. He guided Furman on another scoring drive that ended on a go-ahead touchdown on its first possession of the second half. Hedden finished with 193 yards on 12-of-25 passing. Hedden also fumbled three times, lost two of them, threw an interception and was sacked four times.

Sophomore Carson Jones, who made the first two starts this season, will also likely see action Saturday. Jones was 6-of-10 passing for 42 yards last week, including an interception on the third play of the game.

"Obviously, Trey gave us a boost in some areas. He didn't take care of the ball like he should have for various reasons," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said Friday. "But I still think this thing (starting quarterback job) is going to be decided in a week or two. It might though. We'll see.

"I'm really proud of how they both practiced this week. In a lot of ways last week felt like the first week ... and Ole Miss already feels like it was an August scrimmage from two months ago. So I'm looking forward to seeing that progression."

After losing a turnover battle by four - the largest deficit during Hendrix's tenure as head coach - last week, it's imperative that whoever's playing quarterback must protect the ball.

"Ball security is job security," Hendrix said. "We've just got to be better and I think that will come with experience." 

As the last couple of seasons have shown, having a quarterback that's a threat to run has been a big part of Furman's offensive success. While no one is expecting Tyler Huff type of rushing numbers from Hedden or Jones, Hendrix is confident both can run and he wants to see them do more of it moving forward.

Hedden longest run last Saturday was a 10-yard gain, but that was a result of a busted play. As Huff showed, making something out of nothing is another positive aspect of having a mobile quarterback.

"I don't know that there's a lot of difference in either one running, expect that one of them (Hedden) is 230 pounds," Hendrix said. "I'd like to see them both be more assertive in the run game."

Burrell to miss 6-to-8 weeks

Joshua Burrell, a graduate transfer from Florida State who has two years of eligibility remaining, will miss six-to-eight weeks with a high ankle sprain he suffered on the third play of the game last week. It's a blow to an offense that has shown a good deal of success in utilizing big, pass-catching tight ends the last few seasons.

"It's not like we can't do that stuff, but if you had him available you're probably going to try to take advantage of that even more," Hendrix said. "I hate it for him, but he's already had the surgery and is doing well. ... It especially stunk the other (Saturday) night because we had a lot planned for him."

Hendrix said Burrell's injury is similar to the one that sidelined offensive lineman Luke Petit for the rest of the season last year, but Petit's injury was suffered in week six. He said by the end of last season, while Petit wasn't healthy enough to play, he was moving around pretty well.

An eerie old feeling of 2018

In addition to turnover issues on offense, Furman's defense has had their own - as in a lack of. The Paladins only had one game in each of the previous four seasons in which they didn't force a turnover but have yet to force one this season. The last time the Paladins had back-to-back games without getting a turnover was the first two games of the 2018 season.

Much like this season, Furman opened that year getting blown out by a national FBS power in Clemson. The next week, freshman quarterback Darren Grainger fumbled on the second play of the game. Elon returned the fumble for a touchdown and went on to blow out the Paladins. That turnover was kind of similar to Jones' interception on the third offensive play last week.

The third week of 2018, Furman was scheduled to host Colgate a year after stomping the Raiders on their home field. The threat of Hurricane Florence - and Colgate's refusal to move the game to another day - caused the game to be cancelled. While no hurricane is expected Saturday, heavy rain has been on the forecast all week.

Furman tried to make up that cancelled game with finding an opponent on its open date of Oct. 6 that season. There was only one other FCS team that also had a previously cancelled game and an open date of Oct. 6, With long road trips to San Diego and Drake sandwiched around that open date that school refused to play Furman - home or away.

That school just happened to be this week's opponent, Stetson.

Furman can certainly hope that some parts of 2018 continue this season, as Furman ended up going 6-4 and earning a share of the Southern Conference championship that year. That lost game - and likely seventh win - probably cost the Paladins a trip to the FCS playoffs that season though.

Turnover toll bounces Furman from polls

Furman's Xavier Stephens celebrates a sack during the Paladins'
24-20 loss to Charleston Southern. Photo courtesy of Furman

Following Furman's 24-20 home loss to Charleston Southern Saturday, Clay Hendrix couldn't recall if he's ever been involved in a win where his team was at least minus-four in the turnover battle. During his tenure as the Paladins' head coach, that's definitely the case for one simple reason. Saturday marked the first time that Furman had four more turnovers than an opponent in Hendrix's eight-year head coaching career.

The last time it happened to Furman was in 2016, when the Paladins lost four and forced none in back-to-back losses to Coastal Carolina and Kennesaw State.

There are plenty of things to work on moving forward for Furman (0-2), but turnovers were the biggest factor in Saturday's loss. For the game, the Paladins had a 336-257 advantage in total offense, 20-14 edge in first downs and had time of possession more than four minutes longer than CSU (1-1).

"Obviously, the glaring thing is the turnovers. ... We had every opportunity to still win the game," Hendrix said. "I kind of see that as a positive. But we also haven't created any (turnovers) and that's something we've been really, really good at."

The first turnover came on the third play of the game when Carson Jones' third-down pass was picked off by Chandler Perry near midfield. That didn't turn out to be too critical thanks to a fourth-down sack by Luke Clark on the Bucs' ensuing possession.

Furman avoided what could've been a disastrous turnover after the teams exchanged scores late in the first half. Freshman quarterback Trey Hedden took over at quarterback with 5:40 left in the second quarter and directed a drive that ended with a push pass to Colton Hinton for a five-yard touchdown that gave the Paladins a 10-6 lead. CSU answered with the first of two fantastic touchdown catches by a well-covered Noah Jennings. A two-point run by punter Gilbert Brown put the Bucs up 14-10.

"They throw two go (up and get it) balls. We're in great position on both of them, but their guys makes  a play on both for two touchdowns," Hendrix said. "I've talked about us being better at throwing the ball downfield and we have been all August. We throw two the other night that weren't well covered. One was a gimme touchdown, but we overthrew it. The other one we throw out of bounds. We had a couple of those at Ole Miss too."

After the kickoff, Furman took over at its own 22 with 23 seconds left. On first down, Hedden dropped back to pass and was hammered by Tylan Hollis forcing a fumble that was recovered by tight end Brock Chappell. The Paladins wisely simply let the clock run out following the recovery.

Furman wasn't quite as fortunate with turnovers in the second half. Midway through the third quarter, Hedden's pass was intercepted by Hollis, who returned it to the Furman nine-yard line. Two plays later, CSU took a 21-17 lead thanks to Autavius Ison's seven-yard touchdown run.

The Paladins responded with what looked to be their best possession of the night. The 13th play of the drive, which took 6:36 off the clock, was a first-and-goal at the CSU seven-yard line. Hedden scrambled from the pocket and just dropped the ball, which the Bucs recovered at their own nine-yard line.

Furman trailed 21-20 midway through the fourth quarter when Hedden was sacked by Perry, causing a fumble that was recovered by Hollis at the Paladins' 17-yard line. A personal foul pushed CSU back to the Furman 32, but that just gave the Bucs more room to shave off more clock before a field goal pushed its lead to 24-20.

"Trey came in and did some good stuff, but you've got to take care of the ball. I don't care what level of football you play, you've got to take care of the ball," Hendrix said. "We will learn from this and get better. We're a work in progress."

After a touchback on the kickoff, Furman should've began at its own 25 with 2:18 left. Instead, it started at the 20 thanks to an unfathomable delay of game penalty before the first play of the drive. Four Hedden incompletions later, the Bucs ran out the clock.

"I want to give them (CSU) a bunch of credit for doing what they had to to win the game. They took care of the ball, their receiver made two big plays for touchdowns and took advantage of a lot of mistakes we made," Hendrix said. "We talk a lot about Furman not beating Furman and man, we did a lot of stuff to beat ourselves."

In addition to losing four turnovers, Furman also didn't force any for the second consecutive game. The last time the Paladins went back-to-back games without getting a turnover on defense occurred in blowout losses to Clemson and Elon to start the 2018 season. In fact, over the last four seasons Furman's defense forced at least one turnover in all but one game each season.

"Those are things we're working hard daily to get better at. Everything we want is still out there in front of us," Hendrix said. "I told my staff (Monday) morning, I feel like we're five games in with the way the thing has started, but we're not. We just lost a game the other night that we felt like we should've won.

"We've still got a couple of weeks to get to the conference schedule, which is the most important part of all of us."

Paladins drop out of polls

The turnover streaks weren't the only ones to end for Furman, which dropped out of both the FCS media and coaches polls this week. The Paladins had been ranked for 22 consecutive weeks dating back to late October of 2022. 

They weren't the only Southern Conference team to fall from the polls. After an overall rotten Saturday for the league, which could be problematic come selection Sunday for the FCS playoffs, Western Carolina also got booted out of both polls. After a strong showing by the Catamounts in a season-opening loss at N.C. State, Western lost its home opener to Campbell Saturday.

Chattanooga also seemed to get unusually hosed in the polls after a 24-21 loss at FBS member Georgia State. The Mocs fell from 10th to 16th in the coaches poll and from No. 11 to No. 14 in the media poll after losing a game in which it led in the fourth quarter.

Mercer (2-0) did enter the poll at No. 23 (media) and No. 24 (coaches) and Wofford (2-0) received votes for both after its fourth consecutive win dating back to last season. The last three of those victories for the Terriers have been against teams that made the 2023 FCS playoffs.

Meanwhile, The Citadel lost in its home opener to South Carolina State Saturday. That came a week after the Bulldogs snapped an 11-game losing streak by rallying from 21-3 down to beat Charleston Southern. VMI also lost to Bucknell in its home opener.

Stanfield strong: Paladins set to honor Bryce

Captains Jeremiah Jackson (0) and Luke Clark (44) hold the jersey of Bryce
Stanfield prior to Furman's season opener. Photos courtesy of Furman

Clay Hendrix had one of the worst experiences of his coaching career during Furman's rough loss to open the season at Ole Miss last Saturday. After the game, Hendrix wasn't exactly pleased with the amount of time it was taking for the Paladins to load the buses for a road trip that saw them end up back on campus about 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

So Hendrix exited his assigned bus and waited outside. Outside of running into some former players who had made the trip, there weren't too many others where Hendrix was waiting. As he turned away after talking with them, he looked up and was greeted by the familiar smiles of Bryce Stanfield's parents, Fred and Teri.

"As bad as I felt about that whole night, seeing them just kind of changed everything," Hendrix said.

Hendrix said the Stanfields told him of their appreciation for what took place prior to the game. While captains Joshua Harris, Luke Petit and Evan DiMaggio went to midfield for the coin toss, the rest of the captains who would've lined up near each other on Furman's defensive front that night were seen in between the sideline and midfield. That's where Luke Clark and Jeremiah Jackson held Stanfield's jersey. Stanfield was the only unanimous choice for captain this season.

"(Seeing them) was perspective, and I've kind of learned a lot about that," Hendrix said. "Is Saturday the worst thing that ever happened to this football team? Nope, not even close."

While it may have been a needed dose of perspective in that moment for Hendrix, it was hardly a surprise that the Stanfields were in attendance that night. They've been with the team seemingly all spring and summer, ever since that tragic week in February. The week in which Bryce suffered a medical emergency while simply looking on at a Wednesday morning workout before passing away two days later. The Stanfields have been around supporting his teammates and coaches while mourning and remembering their son with them.

They'll be at Paladin Stadium Saturday when Furman hosts Charleston Southern at 6 p.m. Bryce's memory will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Sept. 7 of all days. Somehow Furman didn't open the season at home for the first time since 2018 this year. As if it was meant to be that No. 97 is honored on 9/7.

But Bryce Stanfield will be remembered long after Saturday. And long after this season in which his teammates will wear "Stanfield Strong" decals on the back of their helmets. From conversations I've had with coaches and players, he will live on in the hearts and minds of the "Furman family" forever.

The Player

Stanfield came to Furman in 2021 from Newnan, Ga. As a junior in 2019, he helped Harrison High School go 15-0 and had 10 tackles in its Class 6A state championship victory. He committed to the Paladins out of 25 offers, including schools such as Wake Forest, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State.

As a freshman at Furman in 2021, Stanfield was second on the team with three sacks before a foot injury against Chattanooga ended his season. He continued to be a major part of the rotation for dominant defenses the past two seasons without making a start.

  

"He was just the epitome of a Furman man. He could've started anywhere else in the SoCon and he just sums up what we want guys to be about," Furman defensive coordinator Duane Vaughn said. "He was a team first guy - big we, little me.

"We look at old film and we see what a player he was. ... It's so cliche, but man it's the truth: what an even better person."

Former teammate and position mentor Matt Sochovka is confident Stanfield would've been a pick for captain if he was still here. Sochovka said Stanfield's experience at Furman shows the kind of character and team first mentality Stanfield had.

"Think about this. You're a freshman coming to Furman out of some really good offers. He trained with great people. He comes in here and he's got this fifth-year senior (Sochovka) in front of him, so he's probably thinking he's going to start the next year," Sochovka said. "Then that freaking fifth-year comes back for two more years and you've got to sit behind his old ass. You're probably going to have a mindset of, 'can this guy just leave already?'

"It was never like that with Bryce. I was learning from him as a seventh-year senior. I was like, 'Bryce let's go watch some film on pass rush,' because he was a heck of a pass rusher. He was always so open and would tell me what he saw as we watched film."

The fact that this was finally going to be Stanfield's season to be a starter is something that Sochovka still has trouble reconciling.

"I did seven years here so I got to see young Bryce and old Bryce. Man, you talk about a pleasure to be able to see that kid grow and develop," Sochovka said. "Truthfully it was 1A and 1B for us. It wasn't first and second string.

"Yeah, we lost him and that sucks but also what hurts me the most is that he waited his turn and this was his year. ... The old man was gone and it was going to be Bryce's show. I was so excited to see him start this season and I'm heartbroken I don't get to see it."

The Teammate

Sochovka recalls Stanfield's first day with the team well. Coaches had informed him that Stanfield was "going to be a good player," and since they played the same position they wanted Sochovka to mentor him.

"On that first day of practice, I was like 'this kid knows more than me!' I was learning stuff from him because he's really talented," Sochovka said. "Four weeks later, I tear my MCL (knee ligament) in the first game and Bryce Stanfield is put out there as a true freshman. He makes a tackle-for-loss on that first drive. ... He got up and pointed right to his mom and dad. That's exactly who Bryce was.

"He was a baller, he loved his mom and dad and he loved everybody around him. So he was just a special kid from the beginning."

Stanfield could also be quite a "jokester" according to Sochovka. He said Stanfield would say something crazy in a meeting room that would get everybody rolling. That is, until it was time to go do work.

"Then it was no play, all business," Sochovka said. "That's who he was, but he knew how to keep it light."

While Furman delayed the start of spring practice following Stanfield's death, there's no textbook to guide you on when to resume some kind of normal schedule after something that traumatic. Clark was confident that Stanfield would've wanted the Paladins to get back to work as soon as possible.

"Everything we do is for him. If anything he gives us motivation to come out here and realize how blessed we are to be here," Clark said following the spring game. "It will never be normal. It will never be the same, but in honor of Bryce we're going to come out here and do work.

"I've never met someone more passionate or caring, and just enthusiastic to be here."

All Southern Conference championships are special. Carson Jones coming off the bench to rally Furman to a win at Chattanooga to clinch last season's was a special story itself. With the loss of Stanfield, memories from that day really stick out for Sochovka, who revealed that he was so banged up at the time he wasn't sure how much he'd play if at all. He said every time he hit the ground, Stanfield "had his back" and was ready to go in for him.

"It was very gloomy at one point, but we come back and win and after the game Bryce comes up to me and says 'Matt, I love you so much. Thank you for always being a big brother. I appreciate everything you've done for me.' And in the moment, I was like 'Bryce, shut up. I love you too,' " Sochovka said. "But now it's like man, I cherish that. Who would've known?"

The Legacy

One reason the Stanfields have been around the team so much this year is that defensive coordinator Duane Vaughn would not have it any other way.

"We're going to keep them a part of the family as long as I'm the defensive coordinator here at Furman," Vaughn said.

That bond started long before Stanfield's passing. Bryce's mother Teri and Vaughn's wife Christie connected through their support of the team. Christie Vaughn created the "Big Din Energy" sign that's been seen in Furman crowd shots quite a bit over the last couple of years.

"Mrs. Stanfield loved it so much that she went out and got Big Din Energy sweatshirts made for her family and then gave Christie one," Duane Vaughn said. "I told my wife, 'That's not normal for (the mother of) your backup defensive tackle - that could probably be starting - to be best friends with the defensive coordinator's wife.

"At a lot of places, they'd be giving my wife dirty looks and glares, not even wanting to speak to her because they think I'm holding their son back. That just speaks to the uniqueness here."

Christie Vaughn's slogan has a new twist this season. Now Furman is all about "Big Bryce Energy," which along with "Stanfield Strong" has been emblazoned on custom wristbands that Teri Stanfield handed out at Furman's Fan Day in August.

A story like Vaughn's reveals why Stanfield was successful at Furman and why he and his family are so beloved there. In addition to his on-field work, Stanfield was a member of the All-Southern Conference Honor Roll every year.

Hours before Stanfield passed, Furman President Dr. Elizabeth Davis visited his hospital room for a ceremony where Stanfield was accorded his Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, in health sciences.

"That was one of the greatest things I've ever seen," Hendrix said. "It was also one of the hardest."

Stanfield's off-field legacy will live on with events such as the children's book drive Furman has planned for Saturday. Celebrating Stanfield's love of reading to children in the community, "Bryce's Book Buddies Donation Drive" has a goal of providing picture books and beginning children's chapter books to students who may not otherwise have access to their own. Donation bins can be located at the Champions, Defenders and Pearce Horton Suite gates of Paladin Stadium Saturday.

"That dude is still serving the community," Sochovka said of the book drive. "He was a special kid from the beginning, including just seeing him develop outside of football. ... He was running like a boys club for at-risk youth, where he'd come talk to them, read to them, play basketball with them. He was just being around and showing them a positive influence. He had that contagious energy and smile.

"He always had that smile."

Sochovka believes Stanfield's legacy was already submitted well before he passed. He said that's just from the positive impact he made on the community and how he went about making that impact.

"He wasn't looking for validation. He did it in silence. A lot of people weren't aware of his efforts of outreach and giving back until his passed," Sochovka said. "I think that's what a lot of people want to be remembered for. They don't want to be remembered for a play they made on the football field. They want to be remembered for what they did for others. When you think of Bryce, you think about everything he did for the people around him, about the energy he brought and you think about the kind of guy he was.

"A helmet sticker and a plaque and everything they're doing to honor him is cool, but Bryce Stanfield being Bryce is enough for his legacy to be remembered forever."

Furman suffers "embarrassing" loss at Ole Miss

Furman's Carson Jones completed 15-of-25 passes for 119
yards Saturday at Ole Miss. Photo courtesy of Furman

For a young Furman secondary - that got younger in the last couple of weeks, opening the season at Ole Miss had the makings of a nightmare scenario. I don't think anyone could've imagined just how Freddy Krueger-like the Rebels would be. Ole Miss entered parts of the Furman record book that haven't been touched in years in a 76-0 win Saturday night in Oxford, Miss.

It's the most points the Paladins have allowed since a 77-14 Davidson win in the "football for fun" non-scholarship days of 1969. It's the fifth-most lopsided loss in Furman history, the most lopsided since an 81-0 loss to Army in 1955. To put it in more recent perspective, the Paladins' defense allowed more touchdowns (10) Saturday night than it did over the final seven games (9) of last season.

"I'm embarrassed. Embarrassed by the job I did in getting our guys ready to play. ... I'm just disappointed in how we self-destructed in the first half," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said on the Furman Radio Network's postgame show. "I didn't see anybody quit. They hung in there and fought."

After making the eight-hour bus ride from Greenville to Ole Miss, the Paladins faced a quarterback who could scoff as such humble means of transportation. One of Jaxson Dart's NIL deal partners is Nicholas Air, which allows him access to their full fleet of private jets to "travel with family, for training and to support his philanthropic efforts." That's only one of Dart's deals, which have a total NIL valuation of $1.3 million according to digital media company On3.

So Dart is compensated like a pro quarterback and on Saturday night, he played like one. He completed 22-of-27 passes for 418 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, while rushing six times for 31 yards and a score. By the way, that was all in the first half. The Rebels missed a 53-yard field goal as time expired to settle for a 52-0 lead at halftime, at which point Dart clocked out for the night.

Going into this season, Furman was tasked with replacing its entire starting secondary as well as a few experienced reserves there. That task got tougher as preseason camp went along as Justin Hartwell and A.K. Burrell both suffered season-ending knee injuries. Both had chances of starting this season.

Dart, who played as a freshman at Southern Cal in 2021 before transferring to Ole Miss, spread the wealth to a bevy of talented receivers. They were led by Louisiana Tech transfer Tre Harris ($613,000 NIL valuation), who caught eight passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Cayden Lee had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Caden Prieskorn ($334,000 NIL valuation), a 6-foot-6 tight end who transferred from Memphis and will turn 25 this month, had three catches for 77 yards and a score. In his first game with the Rebels, South Carolina transfer Juice Wells ($377,000 NIL valuation) caught two passes for 70 yards, including a 61-yard score.

"I knew that was a brutally tough matchup. Obviously, we won't face anybody close to that talented," Hendrix said. "The two safeties that were out hurt us, but we just didn't play up to our standard. Regardless of what the score is, that's what really matters." 

All those bombs helped open up running lanes for the Rebels, who finished with 243 yards rushing. Their ground game was led by Matt Jones, who carried three times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Ole Miss also got a touchdown run from 325-pound defensive tackle J.J. Pegues ($293,000 NIL valuation), a transfer from Auburn. Pegues had four tackles, including two tackles-for-loss, on defense.

Ole Miss averaged 9.4 yards per play and finished with 772 yards of total offense, obliterating the previous record set by a Furman opponent. That was set two years ago when the Paladins defeated Western Carolina 47-40, despite 691 yards put up by the Catamounts. The Rebels also had 37 first downs.

Meanwhile, Furman was held to 172 yards of total offense and seven first downs. The Paladins had 30 rushing attempts for just 26 yards and were 3-of-17 on third down. Carson Jones got the starting nod at quarterback and made some nice throws early on. He finished with 119 yards on 15-of-25 passing with an interception. Freshman Trey Hedden came on in the second half and completed 5-of-8 passes for 27 yards. They were both sacked twice.

Joshua Harris had three catches for 59 yards, while Florida State transfer Joshua Burrell had two receptions for 43 yards. Myion Hicks led the Paladins in rushing with six carries for 23 yards, including a long of 19.

"We've just got to be better at finding ways to get off the field (defensively) and stay on the field (offensively)," Hendrix said. "We didn't do either one very well. We will learn from it, get better as coaches and move forward."

Furman (0-1) hosts Charleston Southern (0-1) in the home opener next Saturday at 6 p.m. The Buccaneers are coming off a 22-21 loss to The Citadel in which they missed a field goal as time expired after seeing a 21-3 third quarter lead disappear.

Paladins believe offense can be explosive

Furman receiver Joshua Harris
Photo courtesy of Furman

While there will be plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball when FCS No. 12 Furman opens the 2024 football season at FBS No. 6 Ole Miss Saturday night, Paladins coach Clay Hendrix believes the offense has a chance to be more potent this season and he expects the defense to be solid as usual.

"I like this group. I think we've got a chance to be pretty good on defense and our offense has been able to stretch the field on them a little more with different things we're doing," Hendrix said. "I think we're more explosive offensively than we've been in awhile."

For the first time that I can recall, there was no depth chart within the Furman notes for this week's game. I don't think this was an accident seeing as how Ole Miss never released one either. It's a new tradition for some big time programs thanks to folks like national championship and oft-suspended for cheating coach Jim Harbaugh.

While you can't find a depth chart on the Rebels' football website, you can be reminded to donate to the players' fund via a pop-up ad that takes up the entire screen after virtually every click. Because how do you expect Ole Miss to compete in NIL contract negotiations with free agents with SEC schools only receiving $21 million apiece in TV revenue this year?

Anyway, the Rebels added 20 players from the transfer portal this season so there will be a lot of new faces on their sideline as well.

Based on conversations and what I've seen in practices this month, here's some of my best guesses at how things have shaken out on Furman's depth chart along with some overall thoughts about both sides of the ball.

Offense

Undoubtedly the most talked about competition this offseason has come at quarterback, where there's been a trio competing to replace Tyler Huff. Hendrix said sophomore Carson Jones, freshman Trey Hedden and redshirt freshman Nehuel Garcia had good preseason camps. As camp ended and more game-week practices ensued a week-and-a-half ago, Jones and Hedden got the majority of snaps.

"All three of those guys got better in August. I don't think there's been a great separation," Hendrix said. "Carson's probably been the most consistent, but he should be based on experience. ... Trey's not a typical true freshman because he's been here all spring."

If you've watched Furman football at all over the years you probably expect Jones to start against the Rebels. On a Saturday night in an SEC stadium, I think the guy who's had a little bit of big-game experience gets the call. I do expect Hedden to play and maybe Garcia as well.

All-Southern Conference second team preseason pick Joshua Harris has confidence in all three.

"I'm not worried about who's throwing me the ball because that competition has made all of them better," Harris said. "We've been working together on our precision and timing and I'm fully confident in all of our quarterbacks."

Speaking of Harris, I think this group of wide receivers has the chance to be Furman's best in quite awhile. Harris is poised for a true breakout year, while Colton Hinton has the speed and Ben Ferguson the hands to make big plays.

Two that could be in that mix as well are redshirt freshman Devin Hester Jr. (no, he's not related to the new NFL Hall of Famer) and 6-foot-4, 200-pound John Holbrook.

"Devin's more of a Colton Hinton type of a true dynamic slot receiver," Hendrix said. "Holbrook's had a really good August. He's a big target who runs well and catches well."

While Hendrix didn't name a starter at quarterback, he did name who would be snapping the ball to whatever quarterback. Redshirt freshman Chris Luna will start at center. While the Paladins will be replacing linemen that combined for 112 starts, they still have some experienced guys lining up with Luna.

Those include guards Ryan Lamb and Luke Petit, who's returning from a season-ending knee injury suffered against Samford in week six of 2023. I think Blake Hundley and Eli Brasher, a sophomore who was in the rotation last year before getting injured, will be the starting tackles. Hundley and guard E.J. Wilson are the veteran leaders of the group.

It's quite rare that a true freshman lineman sees the field for the Paladins, but Steven O'Dell has that chance. Hendrix said O'Dell might play whether he's ready to or not. From watching him at Broome High, I've seen O'Dell move well for a big guy but now he's mobility is even better. After reporting to Furman at 6-foot-7 and 302 pounds, he's down to 294 according to Hendrix.

Look for sophomore Brock Chappell to be Furman's "blocking" tight end, while Florida State transfer Joshua Burrell could be the big pass catcher. That position has proven to be a fruitful one recently with guys like Ryan Miller and Mason Pline getting shots in the NFL.

"I think that success is what attracted (Burrell). He knows he's not a traditional wideout and not a traditional tight end," Hendrix said. "He's got two years (of eligibility) here too."

Myion Hicks and Grant Robinson are fully healthy and ready to carry the load at running back. Former wide receiver Bailor Hughes and true freshman Gavin Hall could also be in the mix there. Unfortunately, Jayquan Smith will miss all of this season after suffering a devastating knee injury that ended his 2023 season one week into October.

"I've been really, really pleased with our running back group," Hendrix said. "I think they're going to make for some lighter boxes. Later in the year last year, defenses were going to make Huff beat them throwing it."

Health of the running backs and offensive line will be the biggest key to Furman's offensive success in my opinion. By the end of last season, every running back was banged up.

Defense

Much like the offensive front, Furman's defensive line looks to overcome losses in personnel with other experienced players thanks to defensive coordinator Duane Vaughn's many rotations. That group will be led by senior Xavier Stephens at noseguard and Jeremiah Jackson at end. I expect sophomore Malachi Harrison to join them at tackle.

After testing the waters of the transfer portal, Luke Clark decided to stay at Furman where he led one of the best defenses in the country in sacks last season. Clark at bandit and Evan DiMaggio at middle linebacker look to be the leaders on defense. The bandit spot did take a hit in the spring when Alex Maier, who's made some big plays off the bench, was lost for the year due to injury.

"Playing a lot of guys definitely helps just being able to stay fresh and rotate a lot," DiMaggio said. "Now that we have a younger team, I don't know if we'll be able to rotate as much, but I think that's helped us have good depth at a lot of positions."

The biggest question mark on defense comes in the secondary, where guys that accounted 140 starts and 29 interceptions have departed. I think redshirt freshman Jaylan Moson and sophomore Charles Ingram will start at cornerback and they will certainly have their work cut out for them at Ole Miss.

"I think the guys we have might even have a little more talent than guys we've had, but just don't have tons of game experience," Hendrix said. "We almost played Jaylan Moson last year, but we just didn't have to."

Hendrix said Maurice "Mo" Perkins, a graduate transfer from Division II Midwestern State, can play or spur and figures to play quite a bit wherever he lines up. I expect Caleb Williams and Tre' McLeod to start at the safety spots. Jalen Tate, a Greenville native and a graduate transfer from Georgia State, should also be in the mix at safety.

DiMaggio said he's not a very vocal guy, but he's tried to be a little bit more of one as new leader this season. He said the key for Furman sustaining its defensive success is to keep playing as a unit.

"Everybody depends on each other to do their job. We trust each other to fly around to the ball," DiMaggio said. "Nobody's going to be left out to dry. We just all crowd the ball, chase after it and do our job."

Special teams

It look likes Ian Williams will have the trifecta of handling foot duties at place kicker, kickoffs and punter. He's boomed punts like he does kickoffs in preseason practice. I think Harris will be the punt returner and Colton Hinton will be the primary kick returner.

Gameday

As of Saturday morning, Furman was a 42.5-point underdog, but the Paladins are a confident group. After playing in places like Clemson, South Carolina and even Montana to an extent, Furman certainly should not be intimidated.

"For us, it's just about assignments, whether you're playing Ole Miss or Samford," Hendrix said. "I say Samford because they (Ole Miss) do a lot of similar things. It's the same kind of stuff just with a little more talented players. If you turn a guy loose, anybody can complete it.

"It's just a matter of can you be sound in how you play. You just have to make them beat you. You can't just give them stuff."

Harris said a key is to treat it as just another game. At the same time, he hopes to take advantage of the opportunity a big stage presents.

"They might be bigger. They might be faster. But at the end of the day, they have to guard me and I have to run routes against them," Harris said. "For me personally, I have aspirations and dreams to go to the next level. In my eyes, this game is an opportunity for everybody on the team to put their name out there."

The 119th season of Furman football begins at 7 p.m. Saturday night. The game will be televised by the SEC Network+ and carried on ESPN+.

No. 12 Furman has earned national respect

Joshua Harris (2) is one of seven returning starters for Furman, which is
ranked No. 12 entering the 2024 season. Photo courtesy of Furman 

There are plenty of shoes to fill as Furman prepares for the 2024 football season. The Paladins return only seven starters (out of 24 positions) from a Southern Conference championship team that went 10-3 last season, which culminated in a heartbreaking overtime loss at Montana in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

But don't mention the word "rebuilding" around the team. At the very least, don't mention it around Furman coach Clay Hendrix.

"Obviously, we have an abnormally high number of guys (not back this season) but you lose players every year. I don't like that 'rebuild' term because rebuilding gives a sense of falling down," Hendrix said at the SoCon Media Day event. "We're not rebuilding. We've been building since we've been here. I think we're kind of built for this."

Entering Hendrix's eighth season as head coach at his alma mater, it appears the program has built into a national power once again. A program where expectations are to compete for SoCon and FCS national titles every season, no matter the losses in personnel.

Evidence of that feeling carrying beyond Greenville came Monday. As the Paladins began their first full week of practicing in full pads in preseason camp, the FCS Stats Perform (media) preseason poll was announced and Furman is ranked 12th. While the Paladins finished sixth in last season's final poll, a No. 12 ranking is respectable for a team that doesn't return it's starting quarterback, starting running back, four starting offensive linemen and 11 of its 15 leading tacklers from a year ago.

For a comparison to previous teams coming off a SoCon title, Furman was ranked 19th in the 2019 preseason poll and No. 21 entering the 2014 season.

The poll also reflects that the SoCon may finally be regaining some respect that seemingly evaporated the second Appalachian State and Georgia Southern left for the FBS' greener pastures of Wednesday night games and conference road trips to Texas.

Chattanooga enters this season ranked ninth. The Mocs were picked to win the league title this year, while Furman was second in the preseason coaches poll. There's no longer a SoCon preseason media poll because why would the league want media attention, I guess. Western Carolina is ranked 20th, while Mercer and Samford also received votes.

Those ranked teams will have a chance to further strengthen views of the SoCon this September. Furman's non-conference schedule includes a trip to 15th-ranked William and Mary on Sept. 21, while Western Carolina visits No. 3 Montana on Sept. 21. That trip comes a week after the Catamounts play at Elon, which was the leader among others receiving votes - three points shy of ranking 25th.

Chattanooga's non-conference schedule begins with FBS games at Tennessee and Georgia State to start the season before hosting Portland State to end September. Portland State has been a mediocre FBS program the past few years, but it plays in the exalted Big Sky Conference where teams like Eastern Washington - which lost to Portland State last year - receive 14 votes for the preseason Top 25 after going 4-7 last season.

If you don't think preseason polls matter, think again - at least in the world of the FCS. As the Paladins know all too well from building the program back up, it seems to be a whole lot simpler staying in the polls than getting in the polls.

Furman's most notable position battle this preseason obviously comes at quarterback, where SoCon Offensive Player of the Year and Furman Male Athlete of the Year Tyler Huff has departed to spend his final season of eligibility at Jacksonville State.

It appears the two leading candidates to take over as starting quarterback are redshirt sophomore Carson Jones and freshman Trey Hedden. Jones had some ups (at Chattanooga) and downs (at Wofford) late last season when pressed into duty because of an injury to Huff. At 6-foot-3 and 231 pounds, Hedden is a big-armed QB with legs like running back Dominic Roberto - another graduated star gone from last season. That combination makes for an exciting prospect.

"I think the strength of the guys we have right now (at quarterback) is the ability to get the ball down the field," Hendrix said. "And we've got as talented a receiver group as we've had. ... Seeing a few more balls thrown down the field only helps the run game. It helps a lot of things."

Another spot to watch this preseason is the defensive backfield. With all the defensive rotations that Furman makes, there are a number of non-starters that still have quite a bit of playing experience returning. That's not so much the case in the secondary though. If you include spurs like Cally Chizik, there are nine defensive backs gone from last season.

As Hendrix has mentioned in the past, this time of year pretty much everyone is in competition. There are no guarantees based on playing time in the past.

"Everybody's got their chance. We were sitting here (at Media Day) two years ago and nobody knew who Tyler Huff was," Hendrix said. "I really like our group. They've done everything we've asked them to do to go have a good August.

"We've got some really talented young guys who could've played a year ago, but we just didn't have to play them. ... I'm excited to get out and watch them play."

A total of 117 Paladins are in preseason camp. Among those are 23 sophomores and 63 freshmen. Following Fan Day on Saturday, Aug. 17, Furman will transition more into a season mode of practice as it prepares for it's season opener at FBS' sixth-ranked Ole Miss on Aug. 31.

Eight Paladins make preseason All-SoCon

Along with the coaches poll, the All-SoCon preseason team was announced at Media Day and eight Furman players were recognized by the league's coaches.

Offensive lineman Luke Petit and defensive lineman Xavier Stephens made the first team, along with kicker Ian Williams and return specialist Colton Hinton. Paladins on the second team include running back Grant Robinson, wide receiver Joshua Harris and linebackers Luke Clark and Evan DiMaggio.