WISE - - Head Football Coach Dane Damron announced the signing of eight players to the UVA Wise program on National Signing Day. The newest Cavaliers are Jerry Kinney, Brady Dalton, Nick Martin, Rockland Brown, Markel Dailey, Dorien Goddard, TJ Lowe and Josh Herndon.
"I like this class a lot, I think it builds off last year's class and gets us closer to competing in the South Atlantic Conference," Damron remarked. "It's small in number but fills a lot of our needs."
Kinney is a 6-foot-4 defensive back from Detroit who comes to UVA Wise after spending time at Missouri Southern University. A three-sport athlete in high school, Kinney also lettered in basketball and track.
"Jerry is a lengthy corner that brings experience and a high football IQ to the cornerback room," stated defensive back coach Dezmon Hopkins. "We expect Jerry to come in and compete for a starting spot."
Dalton is the son of a UVA Wise Hall of Famer. His mother Christy left UVA Wise as the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball and still ranks top five in program history in several categories. The football playing Dalton will play tight end for the Cavaliers after a stellar prep career that saw him excel in both football and basketball for Carroll County High School in Hillsville, Va.
"A successful high school quarterback who plays with a physical and understands the game, we're excited to help him grow into a collegiate tight end," said tight ends coach Killian Marksworth. "Brady and his family have a connection to UVA Wise and we are looking forward to continuing that."
A 6-foot-2 defensive end from Bluefield High School, Martin comes to UVA Wise after earning first-team all-region accolades for the Beavers after a senior season that saw him eclipse 100 total tackles.
"Nick is an extremely smart kid in the classroom and on the field," defensive ends coach Josh Compton remarked. "He is a versatile player who has the ability to play well against the run but also athletic enough to drop in coverage."
Brown comes to the program from Fork Union Military Academy. The Ashburn, Va. product originally went to James Madison University as a preferred walk on.
"Rocky gives our room another pass rusher that has the ability to develop into a really good player," Josh Compton mentioned. "He has all the prerequisites to be a great defensive end, now we just have to develop him."
Dailey, a safety that comes to UVA Wise from Murray State University after graduating from Pinson Valley High School in Pinson, Ala. Dailey came up big for Pinson Valley in 2019, tallying 36.5 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and four interceptions. For his play, he was named to the All-Tribune second team and as an All-South Metro honorable mention. In the offseason, Dailey ran track for Pinson Valley where he competed in the 200m, 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles, triple jump and the long jump.
"Markel is an athletic defensive back that we are adding to our secondary," stated defensive coordinator Jami DeBerry. "We are excited about the things we saw on film from high school and Murray State that translates to what we will ask him to do."
Greeneville, Tenn. native and University of Virginia transfer Goddard comes to the college after a standout high school career where he played wide receiver and defensive line at Greeneville High School for head coach Caine Ballard. The 6-foot-3 Goddard helped Greeneville to the 2018 TSSAA 4A state championship with a 15-0 record with 78 receptions for 1,320 yards and 14 touchdowns while being named region co-offensive player of the year in 2018. A three-star recruit by ESPN, Goddard appeared in four games for the Cavaliers in 2019.
"Dorien is a versatile player that brings experience and depth to our wide receiver room that is a student of the game," wide receiver coach Quintin Hunter commented. "It is great to have him part of our football program."
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Lowe committed to UVA Wise out of Buford High School in Buford, Ga. where he anchored an offensive line that won back-to-back state titles. An all-region honoree, Lowe is expected to contribute on the offensive line upon arrival.
"TJ comes from a winning program that brings a lot of great traits to the offensive line," offensive line coach Mike Compton mentioned when speaking of the new signee. "He's an athletic lineman that can play multiple positions and is a physical player."
A local product, Herndon is a 6-foot-7, 295-pound offensive lineman from nearby Tazewell High School in Tazewell, Va. chose UVA Wise after receiving NCAA Division I interest.
"Josh is a local kid that we are excited to have," offensive line coach Mike Compton stated. "He has great size and is a powerful striker that can play multiple positions."
With the postponement of the fall football season in Virginia, recruiting for the upcoming season is not over for UVA Wise.
"We are still in the process of recruiting because in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, we still haven't played high school football," Damron stated.
UVA Wise will play an abbreviated spring season that will feature a quartet of games against SAC schools beginning on March 13 at home against Carson-Newman University.
