Bulldogs picked fifth by league coaches in Big South/OVC preseason
Gardner-Webb football may have won back-to-back conference championships, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs will begin this season under the radar.
Coaches voted Gardner-Webb fifth in the preseason predicted order of finish for the nine-team Big South/OVC Football Association. The voting was released Wednesday as part of the Big South/OVC’s virtual media day.
UT Martin, co-champions with GWU a year ago, received five first-place votes and led the way in the balloting. Eastern Illinois finished second, followed by Southeast Missouri. Both of those schools received two first-place votes.
Tennessee State, which nipped Gardner-Webb on a last-second field goal a year ago, edged the Bulldogs yet again – by one point for fourth place. Charleston Southern, Tennessee Tech, Lindenwood and Western Illinois rounded out the balloting behind Gardner-Webb.
“We’re really optimistic about where things are at,” first-year GWU coach Cris Reisert said Wednesday. “Certainly there has been success in the last couple of seasons, and we are very grateful for that. We’re looking forward to continuing to elevate and continuing to add to that success.
“We’ve got a really good group of young men, a really good group of coaches. We’re just eager to be put to the test … We’re ready to chase success.”
Reisert replaces Tre Lamb, now at East Tennessee State. He comes to Gardner-Webb from Division II Tiffin University in Ohio, where he was 40-11, 32-4 in conference games. His final Tiffin squad posted an 11-1 mark a year ago.
Reisert’s first few months in Boiling Spring have been a whirlwind, he said. But heading into preseason camp, the Bulldogs, who lost double-digit players to the transfer portal, are “fully stocked.” That includes a healthy dose of incoming transfers to match those who exited.
Reisert and his staff have built a “unique brotherhood in a short amount of time,” he said.
He aims to play an attack style in all phases of the game and wants to continue to build the program that Lamb left him with “high-level” young men.
“It’s build a team not just acquire talent,” he said.
Gardner-Webb opens at home Thursday, Aug. 29 against Wofford. The Bulldogs will then face back-to-back FBS foes, James Madison and Charlotte. After a road trip to Presbyterian, the ‘Dogs will jump into league play. The first conference opponent: Tennessee Tech at home Sept. 28.
GWU must tackle UT Martin and Southeast Missouri on the road. Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State come to Boiling Springs later in the season.
The Bulldogs won the 2022 Big South crown before the league lost schools and melded its remaining members with the Ohio Valley Conference to form the Big South/OVC Football Association a year ago.
“I think this is a group that can do the three-peat,” said returning defensive lineman Ayden Bell, who played with the Bulldogs in 2023. “We have a lot of guys who can contribute. We’ve set that foundation early on with the core group of guys and now we’re just building the structure even more.”
Big South/OVC Football Predicted Order Of Finish
| Rk – School (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1 – UT Martin (5) | 61 |
| 2 – Eastern Illinois (2) | 53 |
| 3 – Southeast Missouri (2) | 51 |
| 4 – Tennessee State | 41 |
| 5 – Gardner-Webb | 40 |
| 6 – Charleston Southern | 27 |
| 7 – Tennessee Tech | 24 |
| 8 – Lindenwood | 18 |
| 9 – Western Illinois | 9 |
Preseason Players of the Year
Offense: QB Pierce Holley (Eastern Illinois)
Defense: LB Bryce Norman (Southeast Missouri)
Gardner-Webb Preseason Watch List
- QB Ren Hefley (Grad.)
- RB Carson Gresock (So.),
- WR Jordan Bly (Sr.)
- TE Cole Schnieder (Jr.)
- OL CJ Dawson (So.)
- All-Purpose: Edward Sayeed (Sr.)
- PK: Jay Billingsley (Jr.)
- DL: Ayden Bell (Sr.)
- LB: Trevor Moffitt (Jr.)
- DB: Raequan Ousley (Sr.)
- P: Nick Bigelow (Sr.)
- KR: Anthony Lowe (Sr.)
- PR: Jordan Bly (Sr.)
- LS: Jamie Wilson (R-Jr.)
