Carson-Newman Football Position Previews: The Slotbacks
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the eighth part in a nine-part series chronicling Carson-Newman football's positions for the 2025 season. This feature breaks down the Eagles A-Backs with assistance from slots coach Mike Patrick.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the eighth part in a nine-part series chronicling Carson-Newman football's positions for the 2025 season. This feature breaks down the Eagles A-Backs with assistance from slots coach Mike Patrick.
Carson-Newman bids farewell to six-year player Jelan Pearson, who rushed for 83 yards and a score last season. However, everyone else who played A-Back last year is back for C-N.
Cam Ferguson and Don Bradley started all 12 games for the Eagles last season.
"I think Cam is just a big, strong, fast football player," Patrick said. "I think he might have gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger and a little bit faster. That's always good to see."
Ferguson started all 12 games at slot back for C-N. He rushed for 394 yards and three touchdowns while catching six passes for 117 yards and two scores. Ferguson also returned eight kicks for 247 yards. He averaged 30.9 yards per kick return and had a 92-yard KOR for a touchdown at West Virginia State, for which he was named the SAC's Special Teams Player of the Week. Ferguson brought back his second kick of the game, the first of the second quarter, back 92 yards for a house call, giving C-N its 39th all-time kickoff return for a touchdown. All told, Ferguson returned two kicks for 102 yards and the score. Offensively, he ran the ball 12 times for 88 yards and another touchdown. The State game and a game at Catawba (Sept. 28) were the two contests on the year where he rushed for at least 80 yards. He also caught a 53-yard touchdown pass against the Indians. Ferguson had more than 100 all-purpose yards against the Yellowjackets, Indians and at Mars Hill (Oct. 12).
Carson-Newman's second-leading rusher for 2024, Bradley carried the ball 51 times for 398 yards and three scores. He had his first career 100-yard rushing performance in week two at West Virginia State (Sept. 13) when he carried the ball five times for 108 yards and a score. He caught two passes for 66 yards against Wingate (Sept. 21) a week later.
Patrick pointed to Keithan Washington as a player who had made a massive leap from last year to this year.
"Keithan is a different person than he was when we first got here," Patrick said. "I'm just proud of him with that. I think that he's going to help us win some games this year. I think he's going to be a contributor this year. Keithan is a different person than what we showed up till today. So I'm pretty happy about that part."
Washington appeared in nine games. He made four tackles on special teams and rushed six times for 71 yards as a reserve A-back, Washington carried the ball six times for 71 yards and two scores. He found the end zone against Emory & Henry (Oct. 26) on his first career carry - a four-yard score. He also tallied a 58-yard TD at Tusculum (Nov. 9) for his longest rush of the season.
Patrick pointed to Jaden Jones and Nic Hester as players who could add value to the position.
"Jaden Jones is a very smart, very good football player," Patrick said. "He knows leverage, he knows where he should be and stuff like that. Nic Hester is a talented kid. He's coming along. He he'll make some plays this year, I'm sure."
Hester appeared in one game, but did not register any statistics. Hester was voted as having the best hands in 6A in the state of Georgia. He concluded his high school career with 68 receiving TDs.
Jones appeared in three games, making five stops on special teams. He was a two-way player for Brad Waggoner at Gatlinburg Pittman, Jones tallied nine touchdowns on offense with 474 yards rushing and 200 yards receiving on 11 catches. Defensively, he had 93 stops and three blocked kicks enroute to earning all-region honors three times.
Carson-Newman added one transfer to the room in Rhode Island's Jaden Griffin. In 2023, he appeared in all 11 games for the Rams as a reserve. Carried the ball 29 times for 134 yards with three touchdowns. Rushed for a season-high 48 yards on 10 carries against Stony Brook, adding his first career touchdown (Sept. 8). Found the end zone at No. 25 Villanova, finishing with 17 yards on three carries (Sept. 23). Had a career-best 46 total yards of offense at UAlbany, with 21 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards (Oct. 21).
"He came up this summer, was working out with the guys," Patrick said. "I think that he is going to be a pretty, pretty big addition. He'll help us out a lot. He's very talented. He's very willing to do whatever we ask. He's a leader in the room already. He is yoked up, he's strong, he's explosive."
Carson-Newman football's position previews wrap Sunday with the defensive line.
