Gardner-Webb Alumnus Coaches for Team USA in Australian Track and Field Event

Although Joseph “J.P.” Weaver (’07) was a successful linebacker on his high school team, recruiters told him that his height (5-foot-9-inches) put him at a disadvantage for playing college football. But the coaches at Gardner-Webb University in 2003—head coach Steve Patton and his assistants, Travis Cunningham and Phil Jones—saw his determination and gave him a chance to join the Runnin’ Bulldogs defense. “It was a great opportunity for me,” Weaver declared. “It drove me to work much harder, because I was always told I couldn’t play that position at the next level. Gardner-Webb was a great fit for me.”https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/gardner-webb-newscenter-archive/1339/thumbnail.jp