Stuart Draft High School alum Aaron Nice brings power, lift to Bridgewater defense

Bridgewater College football standout linebacker Aaron Nice, a star for the Eagles in 2023 as a third-team All-American, took last season off. But that doesn’t mean the Stuarts Draft High School graduate was not staying in top physical shape.

Nice passed on football for the Division III Eagles in 2024 to focus on powerlifting and trying to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. That effort fell short, so now the senior linebacker is back with the Eagles and causing havoc for opponents.

Nice posted a video on Feb. 20, 2023, that showed him deadlifting 445 pounds. The video generated more than 1.4 million views and was featured on ESPN – which rarely gives much attention to Division III athletes.

“He has been a great, he is a legacy (student). His mom and dad have a long history here at Bridgewater,” Bridgewater head coach Scott Lemn, sitting in his office earlier this season, said of Nice. “In the recruiting process, that was something that had a lot of value to him and a lot of value to us. He has been nothing but terrific to have here. We missed him last year, for sure. He was able to put himself into a position where he had a great shot (to qualify for the Olympics). Aaron put up tremendous weightlifting numbers.”

“This is an individual thing, weightlifting,” added Lemn, who was 26-16 in his first four seasons as the Eagles’ head coach going into 2025. “He is a tremendous individual. We were rooting for him in a big way. We are happy to have back, but a little disappointed he did not reach that goal.”

Nice most likely won’t use his fourth year of eligibility in 2026. “He will be applying for vet school, coming up. That has also been the goal for him,” said Lemn, a former offensive center at JMU.

Nice returned with a vengeance this season.

In the first game against Stevenson, at home on Sept. 6, he had a team-high nine tackles as the Eagles lost to the Maryland program that is now 4-1 through Oct. 11.

On Oct. 11, against Roanoke, Nice had a team-high 10 tackles in a 24-14 loss at homecoming as the Eagles dropped to 1-5 on the season.

In the first six games on the 2025 season, Nice led the Eagles in tackles (47), tackles for a loss (10.5), sacks (5.5), quarterback hurries (three) and forced fumbles, also with three.

Roanoke, a new program, improved to 4-1 under head coach Bryan Stinespring, a long-time assistant at Virginia Tech under Frank Beamer and a former VMI associate head coach.

Junior placekicker Augustin Miguel of Staunton High School averaged over 60 yards on five kickoffs for BC against Stevenson – three were touchbacks. He connected on all three PAT attempts after taking over for Jack Henderson, who was a four-year starter.

“Now that he is a junior, he has stayed around three years to take advantage of the position,” Lemn said of Miguel.

Miguel made both of his field goal attempts in the first six games and averaged 62.9 yards on 14 kickoffs.

Richmond transfer shines for JMU

Landon Ellis had six catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns for JMU in a 24-14 win at home Oct. 11 against Louisiana.

Ellis, a transfer from Richmond, is from Orange County and played in high school at Woodberry Forest.

The Dukes were 5-1 and 3-0 in the Sun Belt after the victory.

Ellis had 19 catches in the first six games to rank second on the team.

Sani Reed is listed on the roster as a freshman offensive lineman at JMU. He played at Western Albemarle High School, where he was an all-district offensive lineman as a junior and senior. Reed was also seventh in the state in the shot put.

Notes

• Christopher Newport (5-0) was ranked No. 17 in the country by com in games through Oct. 11. The quarterback for the Captains is Connor Barry, who played football and was all-district in baseball at James Madison High School in Vienna. In the first five games he passed for 19 touchdowns with just one interception. His father, Shawn, was a pole vaulter at Virginia Tech.
• Hampden-Sydney (4-1) dropped out of the national poll after games of Oct. 4. One of the top defenders for the Tigers is safety Markevus Graves-Franklin, who is from E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg. The Tigers host Bridgewater on Nov. 8.
• Randolph-Macon (5-1) was in the Top 25 earlier this year before dropping out. The Yellow Jackets, who won 27-3 at Bridgewater earlier this season, entered the poll again at #25 after games of Oct. 11.
• A sophomore wide receiver for Shenandoah (4-1) is Riverheads alum Caleb Weston, who had 15 catches this season going into Oct. 18 play. He had three catches Oct. 4 as the Hornets beat Bridgewater 24-21.
• Will Wolfe III of Charlottesville (Covenant School) is on the roster of Division III Shenandoah as a freshman linebacker. Spotswood grad Eli Harman is a freshman offensive lineman on the roster at Shenandoah. His volunteer assistant line coach at Spotswood was John Wade, a former standout at Harrisonburg High School and in college at Marshall and a center in the NFL for Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Oakland.
• The combined record of Bridgewater’s first six opponents through Oct. 11 was 20-11. The only school with a losing record was Averett (0-5) – and that was the only win for the Eagles in the first six games.