Thomas Wilcher will begin his 22nd year as head coach of the Detroit Cass Tech Technicians and has built his high school program into a midwest regional powerhouse and arguably the best in Michigan. Since 2010, he has won 3 state championships (2011, 2012, and 2016), compiled a 103-15 overall record, and has won 10+ games in 8 out of the last 9 seasons. Wilcher was inducted into the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2018 and has another team this year that will contend for the Division 1 state championship.
The Technicians started the 2018 season winning 10 straight games, including big wins against Chicago Simeon, Cleveland St. Ignatius on the road, and blowing out their rival, Detroit Martin Luther King, 42-8 in the City Championship game.
Cass was the #1 team in the state heading into the Division 1 District Championship game against Dearborn Fordson. Fordson has been a team that has played Cass tough in previous years, beating them 3 other times, and the Tractors pulled off the upset again in 2018 with a huge 41-14 victory. This was an unexpected loss early in the playoffs and ended the season in a disappointing fashion.
All great programs go through some challenging times and have minor setbacks, but you are defined by how you bounce back and respond from that adversity. We expect the Fordson loss will motivate the players and staff to come back even stronger this year and on a mission to go the distance in 2019.
Key Losses
The Technicians lost some great talent from the 2018 team. Jaren Mangham (Colorado), Jalen Graham (Purdue), Devin Nicholson (Missouri), Lew Nichols (CMU), Kyron McKinnie-Harper (CMU), Ormondell Dingle (CMU), James Ester (Northern Illinois), and Marcellus Gaines (Towson) are players that all signed with Division 1 programs.
Offensive Overview
The Technicians averaged 40 points per game in 2018 and just like all their great teams in the past, it starts upfront with the bigs on the offensive line. They were all young last year, and the core guys are 2021 prospects with two years left to play. Terrence Enos (6’5 305) and Raheem Anderson (6’3 305) lead the way after earning All-Detroit honors last season. Enos is an offensive tackle that already holds over a dozen Division 1 scholarship offers. Anderson is the center and has Power 5 offers including Michigan and West Virginia. Charlie Sims (6’5 310) will be another key lineman for the Technicians and has offers from Kentucky and Missouri. All three are 2021 prospects that have a huge upside for their team and their future.
Masai Reddick (6’2 278) and Deone Walker are two 2022 prospects that have each already received Division 1 offers. Marshi Davison (6’5 345), Jarvis Windham (6’0 254), and Craig Rush (6’2, 320) will all compete for starting positions and add a lot of depth.
Sebastian Brown (6’2 185) split time last year at quarterback but will be the starter in 2019. The senior lefty is one of the team captains and showed flashes of being an impact thrower last season. He has a big line that will give him time and he has a lot of young talent at the offensive skilled positions. Jacob Taylor, Nate Briggs, and Carrington Lindsay will be Brown’s primary targets in the passing game. Taylor and Briggs both received Division 1 offers this offseason.
Donny Scott (5’11 180) and Alvin Hosendove (5’11 216) got limited touches at running back last season, but will likely get the bulk of the carries this year. Scott is faster and more elusive while Hosendove is the physical in between the tackles runner. Kobe King (6’0 215) may be asked to play both ways this season and he could emerge as their main threat on the ground.
Defensive Overview
Outside of the Fordson game, the Technicians were outstanding last season. They had 5 shutouts and opponents only averaged 8 points per game. Cass is known for having a strong, fast, and technically sound defense that relentlessly pursues the football.
The Technicians have 4 great linebackers that lead the way on defense. Kobe King, Daniel Wynn (6’0 220), Jason Williams (6’1 217), and Hosendove. All 4 have a nice combination of toughness and speed. King has over 25 Division 1 offers and is arguably the best player on the team.
Clarence Wilson (6’3 250), Doran Ray (6’3 260), Davonte Murray (6’2 225), Duwayne Leggett (5’9 275), and Jackson Pruitt (6’2 235) will all be in the rotation and the bigs inside to stop the run and put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Wilson and Ray are both 2021 prospects with multiple Division 1 offers. Murray and Leggett are veteran seniors that are impact players.
Kalen King (5’10 170) is the top defensive back returning for Cass Tech. He has 20+ Division 1 offers and is a lockdown defender. Donny Scott and Jacob Taylor are two-way players that will help in the secondary. Gmauri Cox (5‘8 150) and Marvin Rushing (5’10 175) are two senior defensive backs that will be key contributors this season.
Cass will open up with Chicago Phillips in week 1 and will get a rematch with Cleveland St. Ignatius in week 2. Cass won on a last-second hail mary and beat St. Ignatius 21-20 last year. The big rivalry game against Detroit King is in week 4. This game is always a battle for city bragging rights. Cass has won 6 out of the last 10 meetings with King. They will likely play in the PSL championship game again in week 9.
2019 Outlook
Cass has a lot to prove this year after an early exit in the playoffs last season. The team is still young with the majority of their top players part of the 2021 and 2022 recruiting classes. The major difference between this team and the other Cass teams over the last 10 years is the lack of top tier national prospects. The main reason for this is because there are more teams recruiting players out of the city and the young athletes have more options.
The Technicians are solid across the board defensively and on the offensive line. The offensive skilled position players and Sebastian Brown are inexperienced but need to be productive and gel together early. Three out of the first four games will be tough and will set the tone for the rest of the season.
Cass has a great coaching staff that will help speed up the development of this young team and give them every opportunity to make a deep run in the playoffs.
