Cadwell Helps Pride To Solid Season
After the 2005 season, Heritage senior Nick Cadwell hit the weight room hard looking to move off the junior varsity roster and onto the varsity roster. His hard work paid off as he started at outside linebacker last season for the Pride. He now looks to take command of the entire defense after last season's captain Zak Burkhard left to play football for Christopher Newport University this season. As well as starting at outside linebacker, Cadwell will also be splitting time at the fullback position with fellow senior Chris Groomes. But look for him to break out more and make more of a name for himself at the linebacker position.
After his sophomore season in 2005, if you went looking for him right after school, chances were that you would find him in the weight room lifting to get bigger or out on the track working on his speed. "I made sure I was in the weight room as much as possible, I made sure I came to every speed camp, and I took every opportunity that I could to work," says Cadwell of his hard work.
Cadwell has been playing football for 10 years and has always played at the linebacker and running back positions. He began while living down in Richmond, VA with flag football before moving up here and playing for CLYFL. He says that his inspirations were all of the different quarterbacks when he was young since he started at quarterback. He says that his biggest inspiration was Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He began his high school career at inside linebacker. But what happens when your size catches up to you? You move to the outside linebacker position, and that is exactly what Coach Jason "Choppy" Burke did last season with Cadwell.
After the Pride finished the 2005 season as Co-district champions with Park View, they had high hopes for the 2006 season. However, last season did not fare like the Pride were hoping. Now, with all-district linebacker and tight end Burkhard gone, Cadwell will need to step up and help out the defense. Coach Dave Bishop, the outside linebacker and fullback coach, had this to say when asked if it will be hard for Cadwell to replace Burkhard, "Not at all, Zak and Nick are completely different types of ball players. Nick just needs to use his strengths to be the best outside linebacker and fullback that he can be."
Cadwell will have to not only be a physical leader on the field but also a vocal leader. Coach Bishop believes that Cadwell is a coach on the field, that he sees things that most people would not recognize, and that he knows the game of football better than most people do.
Fellow senior tight end/ defensive end Michael Massey, a friend of Cadwell's since the seventh grade and a teammate since eighth grade, had this to say about Cadwells playing. "Some things that he does well is knowing where he is supposed to be at all times. He also knows how to use his speed with the position that he plays to make a lot of tackles."
"I just hope to do my best on offense when they give me the opportunity, and on defense I just look to anchor down the defense as well as I can. Also, I hope me and Russell [East] can anchor down the defense along with Bryan [McCarthy], because we are the starters on defense." Says Cadwell when asked about what he hopes to do to help the Pride reach the postseason. "I expect Nick to take more of a leadership role on and off the field. He is a returning starter and a senior. I have high expectations for Nick and know that he can handle that role," says Coach Bishop about the same question.
Cadwell is also a vital member of the lacrosse team at Heritage, while starting at midfield, where he helped them win the District Championship for the first time in school history. Heading into his senior year of high school, Cadwell currently holds a 3.38 G.P.A. Unfortunately, he doesn't just want to concentrate on football. He says, "I don't want to choose a college because of football, but if I go to a college that's interested in me for football, than I would definitely be interested in walking on and red-shirting." Coach Bishop believes that Cadwell has the tools and work ethic to play at the next level, saying, "The coaching staff would love his determination and he is very coachable."
