Practices with Jacksonville State bring some deja vu for quarterback Gavin Wimsatt.

Just last season, he faced off against his now-head coach’s defense when Charles Kelly and Auburn traveled to Kentucky in late October.

”Tricks, pressures, he’s, he’s got it for sure,” Wimsatt said of the defense under Kelly, who is now at Jax State after a season coordinating Auburn’s defense. “It’s funny, I’m starting to see some of those things here in practice and I see it better because we’re practicing it.

“You see it all the time, but it’s definitely a tough defense.”

It was in that game and others when Kelly saw potential in Wimsatt, who entered against Auburn in relief of starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff.

New Jax State defensive coordinator Brian Williams — previously at Maryland — also had familiarity with Wimsatt from his time at Rutgers.

“I remember seeing him, seeing some of the games he played in,” Kelly said. “Brian Williams actually coordinated against him, and then I played against him last year when we played Kentucky. He actually didn’t start the game, and they brought him in. We were playing pretty good early, and when he comes into the game, it’s just a dual threat.”

Wimsatt committed to play for Kelly at Jax State this offseason after serving last season as a backup at Kentucky; he was the first announced signee under Kelly.

“Jacksonville has been treating me great,” Wimsatt said. “It’s just been great to come here. It’s a smaller town, which is nice, very aesthetically pleasing, and the people here are great: it’s all love around here. All the guys are close and I’m really excited to grow closer to these guys here and help them accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

Before his time at Kentucky, Wimsatt spent three seasons at Rutgers and served as the starter in 2023; he threw for 1,735 yards and nine touchdowns while running for 497 yards and 11 touchdowns as Rutgers posted a winning record for the first time since 2014.

Kelly and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Clint Trickett were the difference makers for Wimsatt, who added that he quickly learned from one conversation with Trickett “how much he cares and loves the game.”

“They’re coming off a conference championship too, so it was a chance to get to do some winning and really compete,” Wimsatt said. “From talking with coach Kelly and coach Trickett, they wanted to compete and wanted to get rings. That’s what I wanted to do, especially for my last year.”

The new Jax State coach praised Wimsatt for his leadership and humility in learning the system, noting the quarterback’s work ethic has drawn the attention of many within the team.

“He’s got a good arm, he can throw the ball, but when he tucks and runs, he’s hard to handle,” Kelly said. “One thing I’ll say about him, he’s done a good job of trying to stay in the pocket and stay, stay, stay, and taking what the defense gives.”

Among the positives for this year’s Jax State group is a veteran wide receiver group, which includes returners Brock Rechsteiner, Jordan McCants, Carter Lambert and sixth-year senior Michael Pettway, who Wimsatt said was quick to jump in and make him feel welcome.

Jax State will open the season at UCF before its home opener against Conference USA foe Liberty on Sept. 6.

“One of the biggest things when I came here was that everything happens for a reason,” Wimsatt said. “God put me here to be able to make an impact. They’re helping me, Pett’s been helping me transition, and the other guys in the locker room. It’s just amazing, honestly, we’re bringing winning here.

“We get to bring the community together and they get to watch us play the game we love.”