Jason Kuhn
Hickory quarterback Brady Stover is the first player in Division I football to have two offers.
According to a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on May 22, the initial interest came from Elon University.
The next day, Davidson received his second D1 offer.
Elon and Davidson are both Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools. Elon plays in the Coastal Athletic Association Conference. Davidson is in the Pioneer Football League. Stover already had offers from Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne.
During his junior year, Stover led the Red Tornadoes to the 3A state football championship.
Several scholarship offers have been made to players from Hickory and Bunker Hill in recent weeks.
Bunker Hill's Jason Willis Jr. (5) breaks through the Monroe defense while chasing Cole Lineberger (13) during the third round of the 2023 2A state tournament at Claremont on Nov. 17, 2023.
David Scarce, Hickory Daily Record
Bunker Hill running back Jason Willis reported via X that he has received an offer to play from Catawba College.
Anyone else reading this…
Willis was a standout running back for last year's Bears team that won 13 straight games and reached the 2A West semifinals. He piled up 2,324 rushing yards as a junior, ranking eighth in the state. Willis already had offers from Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne.
Hickory's Ellis Chappell (5) drives past AC Reynolds' Zion Ikeme (30) and Aiden Hines (7) for a big gain during a playoff game on Nov. 17, 2023 in Hickory.
Ernest Massie, Hickory Daily Record
A week earlier, Hickory wide receiver Ellis Chappell received his first offer from Wingate and running back Isaiah Lackey received an offer to play at Johnson C. Smith in April. Lackey's senior teammate, Deshawn Medley, signed with Johnson C. Smith earlier this year.
Chappell caught 43 passes for 683 yards last season and added another 143 on the ground, while Lucky had 1,910 yards on the ground and is the only Hickory player to have a touchdown on every rush, pass and receive this season.
Jason Koon is the sports editor of the Hickory Record and can be reached at jason.koon@lee.net.
