As a 4-year-old, Courtney Stamper didn't like football.
"I got hit. I didn't like getting hit, so I quit. I was a pretty boy," Red Bank's versatile senior prospect said.
He returned to football five years later and has never looked back, not to his freshman year playing for Tim Daniels or his sophomore and junior seasons under E.K. Slaughter.
And now he's looking ahead with his teammates to playing for Chad Grabowski.
"It's tough. I got to know Coach D and Coach Slaughter real well, but the last two years we went through a lot of different offenses," he said. "Coach Grabowski is very enthusiastic, and I'm very comfortable being around him."
For his part, the new coach has been pleased with his top prospect's performance.
"I think he was broken down and told he couldn't do a lot of things, and we have tried to pick him up," Grabowski said.
Changing offenses wasn't so much of a concern to Stamper, though, because thus far he has made his name as a linebacker/defensive end.
Nowadays, though, it might bother him more because he's likely to show up offensively at receiver or tight end or even at quarterback or running back.
"Courtney's a good athlete, a hard worker, and he has the potential to be a big-time college football player," Grabowski said. "He has come a long way since I got [to Red Bank] as far as his attitude toward things."
Grabowski gave the Lions a new look in the spring, spicing up practice by throwing in some strong-man competitions such as truck pushing or pulling, tire-tossing and tugs-of-war.
Stamper missed most of it, though, after suffering a concussion in the first week of drills. He's made up for lost time by working in the summer and doing double-duty in early preseason practices.
"Offense is still a little new to me," he said. "I played a little as a receiver in middle school, but I've been used to hitting people, not getting hit. I have told the guys, though, that I will take a hit."
- Ward Gossett
RED BANK LIONS
Head coach: Chad Grawbowski (38-23 overall; first year here)
Last year: 3-7; last playoff appearance was 2011, when the team went 7-4
Returning starters (O/D/K): 5/5/0
2014 Schedule
(all games at 7:30 Eastern, unless noted)
Aug. 22 - at Boyd-Buchanan
Aug. 29 - Soddy-Daisy
Sept. 5 - at Brainerd*
Sept. 12 - at Signal Mountain, 7
Sept. 19 - at Central*
Sept. 26 - Rhea County
Oct. 10 - East Ridge*
Oct. 17 - Hixson*
Oct. 24 - at Howard*
Oct. 31 - Tyner*
- District 6-AA game
Control panel: OL Myles Smith (6-4, 290, Sr.) pushes his peers to work hard and is always the last to leave the field. WR/DB Malik Davis (6-3, 180, Sr.) is the leader of the skill players and provides energy they feed on. LB Gabe Smith (5-10, 210) is the defensive anchor and has set expectations for hustle and hard work.
New producers: RB Kendrick Willbanks (5-6, 150, So.), a member of the Lions' 4x100 relay team last spring, didn't play last year but is expected to be a key member of the offensive backfield. DB/WR Ben Brown (5-9, 170, Sr.) is back in the fold after skipping his sophomore and junior seasons, and Grabowski said he's likely the fastest player on the team. WR/Athlete Jamel Davis (6-3, 215, Fr.) will be on the field somewhere, and Grabowski said the sky is the limit for him and that he could be a Tennessee- or Alabama-type receiver.
Items of interest: This is the 75th year for Red Bank and the topic has come up in team meetings. "We've talked about what it means; the tradition and what they're representing. It isn't just that it's the 75th year but all the coaches and business people throughout the Chattanooga area that have come from Red Bank," Grabowski said.
After so much stability for so many seasons - Tom Weathers was Red Bank's coach from 1973-2001 and Tim Daniels from 2002-2011 - Red Bank seniors are playing for their third head coach. E.K. Slaughter, an offensive coordinator under Daniels for several years and now head coach at Heritage in Georgia, was with the Lions in 2012 and 2013. Grabowski, though, is just the Lions' seventh head coach in the school's 75-year history.
Since a 12-1 season in 2009, a year ended by a heart-breaking 14-13 quarterfinals loss to Greeneville, Red Bank football has struggled - at least by Red Bank standards, coupling a pair of seven-win seasons with two losing efforts. The Lions last won a playoff game in 2010.