2026 Football Preview: Rock Hill Redmen

PEDRO — Trey Wilds is coming full cycle. He’s gone from player to assistant coach to head coach.

The first-year head coach of the Rock Hill Redmen is climbing into the helm of the football program and he admits he’s had to change his routine.

“It’s been an adjustment. It’s been a fun adjustment,” said Wilds with a grin. “I got hired the last week of February. It felt late, but I hit the ground running and I’ve had some good guys around me that have helped me out a lot.

“Coach (Jesse) Ruby coming on with his head coaching experience was tremendous for me. He helps me with the little things that you usually don’t think about. The kids have responded really well. They’re excited.”

Wilds — played at Rock Hill from 2008 to 2012 — is the son of Bob Wilds who was also a coach for the Redmen. An All-Ohio wide receiver, Wilds played at Marshall his freshman year and transferred to Bluffton University where he played for Tyson Veidt who is the current linebacker coach at Penn State.

“I played for a lot of good coaches and learned a lot great stuff in college,” said Wilds.

This year’s team has a 45-man roster which is good news in many ways for the Redmen and the coaching staff.

“We have 45 overall and 8 seniors. We’re very happy with our numbers. Last year, we were around 35 or 36. We had a good freshman class which is always good,” said Wilds.

“Some of these guys are going to get broken into varsity football very quickly. But I think they’ve got a lot of fire.”

The quarterback will be sophomore Jarred Bridges (6-2, 165) who took over week 10 last season and into the playoffs.

“Bridges got thrown into the fire the last week of the season. We lost our starter and he came in and he struggled, but he came back against Dayton Christian (in the playoffs) and played well and did what we asked him to do and he did it really well. I think that first game he was nervous,” said Wilds.

“He hasn’t missed a second of workouts. He’s starting to make his reads. We’re excited where he’s at.”

The backfield returns senior Kelan Davidson (5-10, 185) and he will be joined by junior Colton Lewis (5-9, 165) and sophomore Bridger Kerns (5-9, 150) to make it a three-head monster.

“Brayden McClellan has been fantastic this summer. Kelan Davidson has been great for us. Yaden Bailey, Workman have been great. We have a lot of good guys who are showing these kids expectations,” said Wilds.

Leading the receiving corps will be senior Braylon MClellan (6-2, 185) who is a three-year starter. He will be flanked by junior Gavin Malone (6-0, 190) while the slot features junior Cash Lyons (5-10, 165).

Kerns and seniors Aaron Workman (6-2, 220) and Yaden Bailey (6-0, 225) will share the slot duties.

“We have some guys we can get the rock to and make some plays,” said Wilds. “Workman is 6-2, 220 and can run. Gavin is a possession guy for us. McClellan is explosive. He has great ball skills. He’s going to be a nightmare matchup for a lot of guys. Lyons and Kerns give us a lot of speed in there.”

The top candidates for the offensive line are sophomore Gabe Chamblee (6-3-255) at left tackle and sophomore Chris Wilson (5-10, 240) at left guard.

Wilds said right guard “is by committee right now” with junior Tyler Dixon (5-11, 265), sophomore Ryder Henry (5-11, 200), junior Caiden Robinson (6-0, 285) and senior Tomas Miller (5-9, 200) all in the running.

One of the players who doesn’t play guard will be the center and the other tackle spot could be senior Gavin Brooks (6-1, 230), junior Aiden Dillon (6-2,240) or junior Maveric McFann (5-11, 275).

“Up front, we’ll be young. We have seven or eight guys fighting for those five spots,” said Wilds. “Miller started for us last year. We’ll see after boot camp with the National Guard how much weight he’s lost. We’re getting that front five figured out. We don’t have anybody solid yet. It’s day to day to see who fits in there best.”

On the defensive side, Wilds said the Redmen will go with a four-man front this season as opposed to the 3-4 alignment used last year.

“We went back to the 4-2-5 this year. That’s what I ran when I was the (defensive coordinator) in 2024. With the way we’re built, I think we can run a 4-2-5,” said Wilds.

The defensive line will come from Chamblee, Brooks, Wilson, Dixon and Robinson. The weakside end will be senior Carson Doolin (6-0, 190) or junior Aiden Cochran (5-10, 210) with a few freshmen possibly getting a look later in the season.

“We’ve got six or seven guys we can rotate and feel pretty good about any of them,” said Wilds. “We have some depth on the defensive side that we’re excited about.”

The anchors of the defense will be the tandem of Workman and Bailey who were both all-district last season.

“Both linebackers are back and that’s huge for our defense. Both move well and are really smart football players,” said Wilds.

The secondary has plenty of speed with Lyons and Kerns the cornerbacks while McClellan is the strong safety and Lewis the free safety.

In the kicking game, junior Cameron Howard (5-9, 145) returns to do the placements with either McClellan or Davidson the punter.

“We feel we are pretty solid there,” said Wilds.

In the Ohio Valley Conference, Wilds expects a competitive race.

“Gallia has some really nice players. Portsmouth has Poxes and Cam Williams and a lot of good athletes. Coal Grove has a lot back. There are several teams with new coaches,” said Wilds. “We just want to get better. I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

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