Richland Northeast football program hires new coach with history of rebuilding
After turning around the C.A. Johnson football program, Walt Wilson will get a chance to do it to another Columbia high school.
Richland Northeast hired Wilson to be its next football coach. Wilson’s hire was approved at Tuesday’s Richland 2 board meeting. He replaces Will Richardson, who was fired in December after two seasons.
“I take rebuilding jobs. I guess that is what I do,” Wilson told The State. “I look what I do as a ministry. I just go on missions and ask God to put me where you want to be. This is direction God sent me. I didn’t go looking for the job. I didn’t look at sites to see what jobs were open. It is something I was meant to do.
“I am honored to have a chance to turn Richland Northeast around. I remember when Northeast was one of the premier programs. Northeast has the DNA to be successful, and the kids need to understand that is where we are going.”
Wilson informed his C.A. Johnson players of his move Tuesday night, which he said was a tough moment despite him being over the program less than a year. Wilson led C.A. Johnson to a 4-3 record in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the school’s first winning season since 2009.
The Green Hornets started 4-0 before losing the final three games. One of the losses was against Lamar, 50-44 in overtime, to decide the Region 2-A title. Another came in the first round of the Class A playoffs against eventual state champion Southside Christian.
“I truly loved C.A. Johnson,” Wilson said. “They are good kids. I hope I got them ready for the next coach who will come in to a better situation than I did. My job as a coach is to leave a job better than I got it.”
Before CAJ, Wilson led Battery Creek to three straight playoff appearances in his three seasons. He is best known for his run at Calhoun County, where he coached future Gamecock and current NFL player Alshon Jeffrey, among others. Calhoun County won four region titles in seven seasons under Wilson, himself a former standout at Eau Claire High School.
Wilson also was head coach at Kingstree and has spent time as an assistant at Blackville-Hilda, Sumter and Irmo.
Richland Northeast is in need of a rebuild. The Cavaliers went 0-6 in a shortened season this year and haven’t won a game since 2018.
The program also hasn’t made the postseason since 2015, the year they moved into Region 3-4A with the likes of South Pointe, Ridge View, Westwood and York. RNE in 2020 moved into Region 4-4A with state champion A.C. Flora, Irmo, Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin and Westwood.
RNE’s last winning season came in 2011, when it went 9-3. Its best season since then was a 6-6 campaign in 2015.
“We had some really strong candidates and a lot of them had experience,” RNE athletic director Gary Fulmer said. “But Walt had a history of turning around programs and being successful at it. We thought he was the right person for this job.”
Wilson will have new facilities to work with. For the first time in school history, RNE will have a permanent on-campus stadium to play its home games. In the past, the Cavaliers have played their home games at Spring Valley’s Harry Parone Stadium.
The new Richland Northeast stadium is part of the $467 million approved in the 2019 bond referendum, which will fund construction, maintenance and improvement of Richland 2 schools. Turf was installed at Westwood High School and District 2 Stadium at Blythewood High School. New on-campus stadiums are currently under construction at RNE and Ridge View, to be done in time for the 2021 season.
Wilson will meet with RNE players and parents on Thursday night. He also said he plans on bringing to RNE members of his coaching staff at C.A. Johnson, including his offensive and defensive coordinators who have been with him at other stops.
Wilson’s departure from C.A. Johnson leaves three Midlands schools without head football coaches. The other two are Ridge View and Eau Claire.
Midlands football coach openings
School — Former Coach — New Coach
Hammond — Erik Kimrey — Jon Wheeler
White Knoll — Dean Howell — Nick Pelham
Ben Lippen — James Reynolds — Stephen Cagle
Richland Northeast — Will Richardson — Walt Wilson
Northside Christian — Stacy Bell — Dean Howell
Ridge View — Perry Parks — TBA
Eau Claire — Michael Kelly — TBA
CA Johnson — Walt Wilson — TBA
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 9:11 AM.
