Wildcats Begin Football Fall Camp on Wednesday
7/27/2025 7:33:00 AM | Football
The journey to Abilene Christian's anticipated 2025 football season takes its next step with the first practice of fall camp on Wednesday.
ACU returns 51 players from its 2024 United Athletic Conference championship team, including nine total starters. The Wildcat coaching staff has revamped the roster with 43 newcomers with 25 coming directly from FBS schools. Six players have transferred from FCS, Division II or junior college, and another 12 are high school recruits.
Offensive Starters Returning (3)
Defensive Starters Returning (6)
ACU will employ a new starting quarterback for the first time since head coach Keith Patterson became the Wildcats' coach. Maverick McIvor started from 2022-2024, and finished with the fourth-most career passing yards in ACU history (8,012). He transferred to Western Kentucky for his final year of eligibility.
Five quarterbacks will battle for the starting job: returners Carson Haggard and Quayde Hawkins, and FBS transfers Stone Earle (Marshall, UNT), Cade Fennegan (BYU, Boise State), and John David Black (East Carolina).
Haggard started in place of an injured McIvor in ACU's 24-0 win over Northern Arizona in the first round of the FCS Playoffs. Hawkins played in six games as a redshirt sophomore in 2023.
Earle is making a return to Abilene. He spent his first two collegiate seasons with the Wildcats, appearing in two games as a true freshman in 2020, and then starting the first seven games of the 2021 season before suffering an injury. Earle threw 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions in his two previous years at ACU. He then transferred to UNT where he played in eight games. In 2024, Earle won the starting quarterback job at Marshall to begin the season and played in nine total games.
Along with a new quarterback, the Wildcats will have five new starting offensive linemen. Guards Alan Hatten and Jacob Thielen, and center Tay Yanta combined for more than 100 starts at ACU, but all three must be replaced.
Five linemen from last year's team return, including George French II who made one start at right tackle. Seven transfer linemen have been brought in with six coming from FBS programs -- Kaden Carr (Texas Tech), Anthony Rosas (UNLV), Landon Roaten & Luke Roaten (Washington State), Brady Stephenson (Texas A&M) and Luke Farr (Nevada). Center River Gordon began his college career at UTSA, and then transferred to nearby UIW before coming to ACU.
Defensively, the Wildcats return a bulk of their playmakers highlighted by Will Shaffer who has been named a first-team preseason all-America linebacker by FCS Football Central and Stats Perform FCS. Shaffer was also voted the UAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He accumulated 123 tackles and 9.5 for loss last season.
Edge rusher Chris Wright made 84 tackles and three sacks in 2024. He also forced two fumbles, and recovered one for a touchdown on a 28-yard return.
Lineman Kaghen Roach -- who enters his sixth season of college football -- was selected as a third-team preseason all-America player by both FCS Football Central and Stats Perform FCS.
In the defensive backfield, Jordan Mukes, Dorian Plumley, Tyson Williams, and Harold West return. The foursome recorded a combined 47 starts in 2024 with Mukes and Williams starting each of ACU's 14 games.
There is a three-way battle for placekicker with returner Kyler Meschi competing against newcomers Brandon Perez (East Central Univ.), and Giovanni Cardenas (Lubbock Monterey H.S.). Meschi served as ACU's kickoff specialist in 2024.
The Wildcats open their season on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Tulsa, which is a member of the American Conference. ACU has never played the Golden Hurricane in football.
The following week, the team comes home to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium to face rival Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. The season's four other home games are conference matchups -- Sept. 20 vs. Austin Peay, Oct. 4 vs. North Alabama, Nov. 1 vs. Tarleton State (Homecoming), and Nov. 8 vs. Utah Tech.
Season tickets and mini-plan packages are available now. Single-game home tickets go on sale August 4.
Click here to buy your tickets for the 2025 season.
ACU returns 51 players from its 2024 United Athletic Conference championship team, including nine total starters. The Wildcat coaching staff has revamped the roster with 43 newcomers with 25 coming directly from FBS schools. Six players have transferred from FCS, Division II or junior college, and another 12 are high school recruits.
Offensive Starters Returning (3)
- WR Javon Gipson
- WR J.J. Henry
- TE Jed Castles
Defensive Starters Returning (6)
- DL Kaghen Roach
- DL/LB Chris Wright
- LB Will Shaffer
- DB Jordan Mukes
- DB Dorian Plumley
- DB Tyson Williams
ACU will employ a new starting quarterback for the first time since head coach Keith Patterson became the Wildcats' coach. Maverick McIvor started from 2022-2024, and finished with the fourth-most career passing yards in ACU history (8,012). He transferred to Western Kentucky for his final year of eligibility.
Five quarterbacks will battle for the starting job: returners Carson Haggard and Quayde Hawkins, and FBS transfers Stone Earle (Marshall, UNT), Cade Fennegan (BYU, Boise State), and John David Black (East Carolina).
Haggard started in place of an injured McIvor in ACU's 24-0 win over Northern Arizona in the first round of the FCS Playoffs. Hawkins played in six games as a redshirt sophomore in 2023.
Earle is making a return to Abilene. He spent his first two collegiate seasons with the Wildcats, appearing in two games as a true freshman in 2020, and then starting the first seven games of the 2021 season before suffering an injury. Earle threw 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions in his two previous years at ACU. He then transferred to UNT where he played in eight games. In 2024, Earle won the starting quarterback job at Marshall to begin the season and played in nine total games.
Along with a new quarterback, the Wildcats will have five new starting offensive linemen. Guards Alan Hatten and Jacob Thielen, and center Tay Yanta combined for more than 100 starts at ACU, but all three must be replaced.
Five linemen from last year's team return, including George French II who made one start at right tackle. Seven transfer linemen have been brought in with six coming from FBS programs -- Kaden Carr (Texas Tech), Anthony Rosas (UNLV), Landon Roaten & Luke Roaten (Washington State), Brady Stephenson (Texas A&M) and Luke Farr (Nevada). Center River Gordon began his college career at UTSA, and then transferred to nearby UIW before coming to ACU.
Defensively, the Wildcats return a bulk of their playmakers highlighted by Will Shaffer who has been named a first-team preseason all-America linebacker by FCS Football Central and Stats Perform FCS. Shaffer was also voted the UAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He accumulated 123 tackles and 9.5 for loss last season.
Edge rusher Chris Wright made 84 tackles and three sacks in 2024. He also forced two fumbles, and recovered one for a touchdown on a 28-yard return.
Lineman Kaghen Roach -- who enters his sixth season of college football -- was selected as a third-team preseason all-America player by both FCS Football Central and Stats Perform FCS.
In the defensive backfield, Jordan Mukes, Dorian Plumley, Tyson Williams, and Harold West return. The foursome recorded a combined 47 starts in 2024 with Mukes and Williams starting each of ACU's 14 games.
There is a three-way battle for placekicker with returner Kyler Meschi competing against newcomers Brandon Perez (East Central Univ.), and Giovanni Cardenas (Lubbock Monterey H.S.). Meschi served as ACU's kickoff specialist in 2024.
The Wildcats open their season on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Tulsa, which is a member of the American Conference. ACU has never played the Golden Hurricane in football.
The following week, the team comes home to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium to face rival Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. The season's four other home games are conference matchups -- Sept. 20 vs. Austin Peay, Oct. 4 vs. North Alabama, Nov. 1 vs. Tarleton State (Homecoming), and Nov. 8 vs. Utah Tech.
Season tickets and mini-plan packages are available now. Single-game home tickets go on sale August 4.
Click here to buy your tickets for the 2025 season.
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