Where Are They Now? Wood earns national recognition; Davidson scores again

E.C. Glass graduate Eli Wood joins the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, while former LCA and Rustburg standouts Gideon Davidson and Avery Dixon meet on the field.

Former E.C. Glass standout Eli Wood has earned national recognition for his breakout season at Utah State, while two former Greater Lynchburg high school football players found themselves on opposite sides of the field Saturday when Clemson hosted Charleston Southern.

Wood, a graduate receiver at Utah State, was added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, which recognizes candidates for the nation's outstanding receiver.

The announcement came during Utah State's open week, following a six-game stretch in which Wood caught 36 passes for 472 yards and five touchdowns.

The former E.C. Glass standout ranks second in the Pac-12 and 15th nationally in receiving touchdowns, second in the conference and 27th nationally in receptions per game, and second in the conference and 31st nationally in receiving yards per game.

Wood has been particularly productive over his past three games, catching 20 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. His best performance came against No. 22 Boise State, when he caught seven passes for a career-high 102 yards.

The Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the outstanding receiver in Football Bowl Subdivision college football. Players at any position who catch passes are eligible.

Wood transferred to Utah State after four seasons at Virginia, where he recorded 19 receptions for 220 yards and two receiving touchdowns during his college career with the Cavaliers.

Davidson scores again as former area standouts meet

Former Liberty Christian Academy running back Gideon Davidson scored his fourth consecutive game's rushing touchdown Saturday as Clemson defeated Charleston Southern 37-0.

Davidson rushed 13 times for 59 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, and scored on a seven-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

The sophomore now has 430 rushing yards and five touchdowns through six games, continuing a productive stretch that included consecutive 100-yard performances against North Carolina and California.

But Davidson wasn't the only former Greater Lynchburg standout involved in Saturday's game.

Avery Dixon, a former Rustburg standout and redshirt senior safety at Charleston Southern, led the Buccaneers seven solo tackles, had eight total tackles, including and recorded a tackle for loss.

The two former area players even met on the same play.

With 13:46 remaining in the first quarter, Davidson carried the ball to the right for a six-yard gain before Dixon brought him down at the Charleston Southern 22-yard line.

The matchup offered an unusual Greater Lynchburg connection, with former high school standouts from Liberty Christian Academy and Rustburg competing against each other at Clemson's Memorial Stadium.

Elsewhere in College Football

Alexander Marsteller — Rose-Hulman: The former Jefferson Forest running back led the Fightin' Engineers with 74 rushing yards on 20 carries in a 42-13 loss to No. 25 Heidelberg. Rose-Hulman fell to 4-2 after entering the game with four victories in its first five contests.

Seminole District College Football Roster

Gideon Davidson — Clemson

Position: Running back
Class: Sophomore

Davidson is a sophomore running back at Clemson after a record-setting career at Liberty Christian Academy. He rushed for more than 7,700 career yards, second-most in Virginia High School League history, and scored a VHSL-record 122 touchdowns.

Davidson helped lead LCA to the 2024 Class 3 state championship and was named the 2024 Gatorade Virginia Football Player of the Year and Football Friday Player of the Year.

Jayden Cowart — Elon

Position: Defensive back
Class: Freshman

Cowart is in his first season at Elon after a four-year varsity career at LCA. A team captain and two-time state champion, Cowart contributed on both sides of the ball, finishing his high school career with 85 tackles and four interceptions on defense while rushing for 2,700 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Cowart also earned two varsity letters in track and field.

Austin Tremblay — Liberty

Position: Defensive line
Class: Freshman

Tremblay is a freshman defensive lineman at Liberty after a decorated career at LCA.

A three-year varsity starter, Tremblay helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back state championships in 2023 and 2024. As a senior, he was named LCA's 2025 season MVP and earned all-district, all-region and all-state honors at defensive end.

Dillon Stowers — Army

Position: Defensive line
Class: Senior

Stowers is a senior defensive lineman at Army. He appeared in 11 games for the Black Knights in 2025 after seeing action in six games the previous season.

At LCA, Stowers played linebacker and tight end and finished his career with more than 300 tackles, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions and 10 forced fumbles. He earned all-state honors at both linebacker and tight end before attending the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School.

E.C. Glass

Eli Wood — Utah State

Position: Wide receiver
Class: Graduate student

Wood transferred to Utah State after four seasons at Virginia, where he appeared in 35 games. His best season with the Cavaliers came in 2025, when he caught 16 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Wood originally joined Virginia as a preferred walk-on in 2022 after being lightly recruited out of E.C. Glass. His move to Utah State reunited him with coach Bronco Mendenhall, who previously recruited and coached Wood's older brother, Sackett, at Virginia. Sackett is also a graduate student at Utah State.

At E.C. Glass, Wood caught 50 passes for 1,020 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior, earning Seminole District Player of the Year and VHSL Class 4 first-team all-state honors.

Lyvarius Gilbert — Virginia Union

Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior

Gilbert is a redshirt junior wide receiver at Virginia Union after graduating from E.C. Glass in 2023.

A multi-sport athlete at Glass, Gilbert played wide receiver and free safety and also contributed as a punt returner.

Lincoln Funke — Christopher Newport

Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman

Funke is a freshman tight end at Christopher Newport after graduating from E.C. Glass.

He earned all-region and all-district honors as a senior and served as a team captain. Funke helped the Hilltoppers win two district championships and a region title.

Julius Scott — Bridgewater

Position: Defensive line
Class: Freshman

Scott is a freshman defensive lineman at Bridgewater after playing at E.C. Glass. The Lynchburg native is listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds

Brookville

Jor'dyn Whitelaw — William & Mary

Position: Running back
Class: Sophomore

Whitelaw is a sophomore running back at William & Mary. As a freshman in 2025, he appeared in all 12 games, primarily as a kick returner, returning 25 kickoffs for 510 yards.

At Brookville, Whitelaw was a team captain and two-time first-team all-district selection. He rushed for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns and finished with 1,567 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns.

Trevor Johns — Hampden-Sydney

Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt freshman

Johns is a redshirt freshman wide receiver at Hampden-Sydney after playing at Brookville.

Heritage

Terrell Washington — North Texas

Position: Defensive line
Class: Junior

Washington is a junior defensive lineman at North Texas after playing at Heritage. He appeared in all 14 games for the Mean Green in 2025, recording 13 tackles, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries.

Before North Texas, Washington played at Northeast Mississippi Community College, where he recorded 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2024. He began his college career at Hampton.

Bre'Andre Horsley — UNC Pembroke

Position: Defensive line
Class: Senior

Horsley transferred to UNC Pembroke after three seasons at West Liberty.

The former Heritage standout earned first-team All-Mountain East Conference honors in 2025 after recording 61 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries. Over three seasons at West Liberty, Horsley totaled 102 tackles, eight sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss.

Jayden Miller — Christopher Newport

Position: Defensive back
Class: Freshman

Miller is a freshman defensive back at Christopher Newport after a standout career at Heritage.

He was a three-time all-district selection and earned all-region honors for the Pioneers. Miller served as a team captain, helped Heritage win a district championship and led the district in interceptions twice.

Ayden Slash — Christopher Newport

Position: Defensive back
Class: Freshman

Slash is a freshman defensive back at Christopher Newport after playing at Heritage. A multi-sport athlete for the Pioneers, he competed in football, basketball and track and field.

David Bradley — Christopher Newport

Position: Running back
Class: Freshman

Bradley is a freshman running back at Christopher Newport after a standout career at Heritage.

He was a two-time first-team all-district selection at both running back and linebacker and earned second-team all-region honors at linebacker.

Zaid Holloway — Bridgewater

Position: Defensive back
Class: Freshman

Holloway is a freshman defensive back at Bridgewater after graduating from Heritage. The 5-foot-8, 171-pound Lynchburg native is in his first season with the Eagles.

Jefferson Forest

Britin Witt — Jacksonville State

Position: Offensive line
Class: Senior

Witt is a senior offensive lineman at Jacksonville State after transferring from VMI, where the former Jefferson Forest standout started all 12 games at left guard for the Keydets in 2025.

Witt also appeared in 10 games as a true freshman at VMI, logging 300 snaps. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds.

Logan Candis — Norfolk State

Position: Defensive line
Class: Redshirt freshman

Candis is a 6-foot-3, 345-pound redshirt freshman defensive lineman at Norfolk State after playing at Jefferson Forest.

Camerohn Parker — Hampden-Sydney

Position: Defensive back
Class: Sophomore

Parker is a sophomore defensive back at Hampden-Sydney after appearing in seven games as a freshman in 2025.

The former Jefferson Forest defensive back earned all-district honors as a senior. He also played basketball for the Cavaliers.

Alexander Marsteller — Rose-Hulman

Position: Running back
Class: Senior

Marsteller is a senior running back at Rose-Hulman. He earned honorable mention All-HCAC honors in 2025 after rushing for 579 yards and five touchdowns and adding 118 receiving yards and a touchdown. He returned for 2026 as one of the program's All-HCAC honorees.

The former Jefferson Forest player is majoring in civil engineering.

Spencer Sloan — Johns Hopkins

Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman

Sloan is a freshman tight end at Johns Hopkins after playing at Jefferson Forest. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds.

Rustburg

Avery Dixon — Charleston Southern

Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt senior

Dixon is a redshirt senior safety at Charleston Southern after previously playing at Bryant and The Citadel.

The former Rustburg standout started 10 games at strong safety for Charleston Southern in 2025, recording 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two pass breakups.

At Rustburg, Dixon earned first-team all-district and second-team all-region honors as a senior.

Ari Reid — Virginia Union

Position: Linebacker
Class: Freshman

Reid is a freshman linebacker at Virginia Union after playing at Rustburg.

Help us find them

Lynchburg Agenda will update Where Are They Now? throughout the college football season, following former Greater Lynchburg high school players competing at the next level.

Know of a former football player from Amherst County, Brookville, E.C. Glass, Heritage, Jefferson Forest, Liberty, Liberty Christian Academy, Rustburg or Virginia Episcopal School currently playing college football who should be included? Let us know at contact@lynchburgagenda.com.