UWF Football: Kaleb Nobles preparing for first game as head coach against former team, Valdosta State
It’s been nearly a decade since Kaleb Nobles was the starting quarterback at Valdosta State.
Since he left the Blazers to join the University of West Florida in its inaugural season, there’s been a few coaching changes. Valdosta State is now led by second-year head coach Tremaine Jackson. Nobles noted it’s a “pretty different” team from when he was there, obviously.
But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed since Nobles was at Valdosta State.
“The talent. They’ve got a lot of good players. … Big guys on both lines of scrimmage. Football has changed a lot since I’ve been there,” Nobles said. “Things have changed a lot, and the team is really good. That has not changed, I know that for a fact.”
UWF hosts Valdosta State on Saturday for another Gulf South Conference matchup, coming off a 24-21 comeback victory at Delta State last week.
This won’t be the first time Nobles goes against his former team, but it’ll be the first time he’s leading a team against the Blazers. In all the years that Nobles has been with the Argos, UWF has only beaten Valdosta State once – it was in 2019 in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Division II Playoffs at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
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After that year, Nobles spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Clemson University before returning to northwest Florida.
“Our guys know that, yeah, I’ve played there. And they mess with me a little bit, ‘Coach, you wearing your red this weekend?’ I ain’t wearing none of that. They know I’m focused on us. I’ve been blessed to be at UWF,” Nobles said. “Now being able to coach against them as head coach adds another element to it, but at the end of the day, I’m worried about us playing well.”
Revisiting Week 9
If there was one word that Nobles could use over and over again about Saturday’s game at Delta State, it was “believe.” Down 21-10 at halftime, the message to the players in the locker room was “about believing.”
Throughout the season, Nobles has emphasized playing a full 60-minute game. The Argos had only played 30 minutes – and they had time to come back in the game.
“And our guys answered the challenge and played well when it mattered most in the second half,” Nobles said.
UWF’s defense shut out a prolific Delta State offense in the second half, and the Argos got the two necessary touchdowns they needed in the third and fourth quarters to secure the narrow 24-21 victory.
It was a much-needed win after the low-scoring loss at West Alabama the week prior.
“They were frustrated about the loss (at West Alabama). Our guys also know that this conference is a one-week mentality,” Nobles said. “You better be ready to play no matter who shows up, and you better be ready to practice and play at a high level whenever it matters most. …
“Obviously coming off a loss, our guys thought about it, but they flushed it pretty early in the week last week.”
Peewee Jarrett went 13-for-21 with 205 yards and three touchdowns. John Jiles had two of those touchdowns – both in the second half to secure the victory – with 108 yards receiving. Caden Leggett also recorded a touchdown with 48 yards receiving.
C.J. Wilson led the Argos with 70 yards rushing.
“We ran the football pretty well. It may not be huge numbers, not 200-plus yards, but the way we ran the ball, the way we controlled the clock, we felt like we used some stuff to control the line of scrimmage a little bit,” Nobles said. “And then guys like C.J. Wilson – who don’t always get the credit – he played his butt off. He did a great job of blocking, running the ball hard. Very rarely did he finish going backwards running the ball. Really excited about him.”
The UWF defense limited Delta State to its lowest point total all year, and held quarterback Patrick Shegog to just 186 yards passing. The Statesmen ran for just 109 yards, as well.
Jacob Dorn, who was named the GSC Defensive Player of the Week, had eight tackles (6 solo, 2 assisted). Walker Robinson also recorded eight tackles (5 solo, 3 assisted). Dorn broke up a pass, as well.
“Very excited about how our defense played. They gave us a chance,” Nobles said. “Shutting any team out in the second half is great, especially when you’re playing a great offense like Delta.”
Around the GSC
After the West Alabama loss, things became a little cloudy in terms of the postseason for the Argos. Now, after upsetting Delta State and handing the Statesmen their first loss of the season, that opens up the GSC a lot more.
If UWF wins the rest of the regular season – after Valdosta State on Saturday, the Argos are on the road at Mississippi College before hosting Chowan University for Senior Day – that means it will be the conference champion.
But that’s not even a point of conversation for the team right now.
“The narrative’s out there. Conference championships are great. For me, I’m worried about controlling our destiny one week at a time,” Nobles said. “I told our guys after the West Alabama game, ‘Hey, we still control our destiny. We still have the pen to this story.’ … We’re not focused about that, but how can we win this game coming up?”
Here are the current GSC standings and the team’s upcoming opponent:
Delta State (7-1 overall, 5-1 GSC) BYE WEEK
Valdosta State (7-1, 4-1 GSC) at West Florida
West Florida (6-2, 4-1 GSC) vs. Valdosta State
West Georgia (5-2, 4-1 GSC) at Shorter University
Mississippi College (3-4, 2-3 GSC) at North Greenville
West Alabama (3-4, 2-3 GSC) at Chowan University
North Greenville (3-5, 2-4 GSC) vs. Mississippi College
Shorter University (3-5, 1-4 GSC) vs. West Georgia
Chowan University (0-8, 0-6 GSC) vs. West Alabama
Scouting Valdosta State
When Nobles mentioned that Valdosta State doesn’t lack talented players, all eyes tend to shift toward quarterback Sammy Edwards. Edwards is sixth in passing yards and passing yards per game in Division II.
Edwards has thrown for 2,340 yards (292.5 per game) with 18 touchdowns. He’s completed 70.12% of his passes thus far this season. On the ground, Edwards has added 239 yards rushing with four touchdowns.
It’s just another dual-threat quarterback the Argos have to lockdown, similar to Shegog last week for Delta State.
“Sammy’s electric,” Nobles said. “He’s a great athlete. You certainly don’t want him to get loose. Our defensive line knows they’ve got a challenge ahead of them.”
Valdosta State has several weapons for Edwards, as well. Though he has keyed in on a couple receivers more than most, including B.K. Smith (35 receptions, 508 yards receiving) and Council Allen (35 receptions, 413 yards receiving).
The Blazers also have a few running back options, including Eric Watts (338 yards rushing) and Isaiah Flowers (292 yards rushing).
Most likely, Saturday’s game will come down to which defense can defend against the pass game better, given the Argos’ offense in the air.
“This offense is the real deal. They’ve got a bunch of skill guys that make a lot of plays,” Nobles said. “Our guys know they’ve got to buckle up and be ready to play from play one.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF football hosts Valdosta State on Saturday for GSC matchup
