Among the reverberating ping of aluminum bats making contact with baseballs and softballs, another familiar wave of sounds filling the air across high school campuses throughout the tri-state area are pads popping and whistles blowing. A handful of area teams just completed spring football practice but the majority of teams are just beginning the 10-day session allowed by state governing bodies in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
Baylor
The Red Raiders begin practice Monday, and like most of his peers, coach Phil Massey said they will concentrate on reaffirming fundamental blocking and tackling drills and introducing freshmen to the tempo demanded by the varsity.
With six starters returning on both sides of the ball, this is the most experience entering a season in Massey’s tenure. Among the returners are two three-year starters: linebacker David Helton (6-foot-4, 225) and defensive end John Mackey (6-1, 235). Helton has offers from Duke, Memphis and Syracuse, and Mackey is wanted by the Air Force Academy, as is quarterback Jacob Huesman, who will miss much of spring practice while running track.
Bledsoe County
Sophomore Jesse Sandell (6-1, 230) is the Warriors’ only returning starter on the offensive line, which means much of the spring will be spent sorting out depth in the trenches. Brandon Smith, who had more than 1,000 receiving yards last season, also is back.
Boyd-Buchanan
With new offensive coordinator Carter Cardwell installing a spread attack and eight new starters on that side of the ball, the Buccaneers’ focus was on offense as practice began last week. Although he’s still a load, offensive tackle Vinny Jordan (6-3, 315) isn’t as massive as he was last season, which should make him more agile.
Cardwell’s hiring also means head coach Grant Reynolds will go back to working with the defense, which is where he has spent most of his career.
“That’s my roots,” Reynolds joked. “We’ve got some pretty good talent on that side of the ball to work with, too, and I think something that really helped our younger kids were those five extra weeks of practice we got by making a deep run in the playoffs.”
Bradley Central
The Bears will be looking to replace every starting offensive linemen and find two new starters on the defensive line. All but two of Bradley’s defensive backs are busy with spring sports, but one key player who will get plenty of reps is quarterback Bryce Copeland, who showed flashes of being a future star last year as a rare freshman starter.
“We should be able to put a lot more on him now that he’s adjusted to this level,” Bears coach Damon Floyd said. “He can make all the audible calls to get us in the right play at the line, plus he’s about 15 pounds thicker. In the past when we would spread out wide, people didn’t spread with us because they knew we couldn’t throw the ball downfield. Now we can.”
Brainerd
The Panthers just underwent a coaching change this week with Stanley Jackson promoted from an assistant’s role to head coach. Marvin Jones, who had guided the program to three playoff appearances in his five years, has agreed to remain on staff as offensive line coach.
“The kids may think I’m a drill sergeant, but I’m going to really stress technique and fundamentals,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of scheme you run; if you can’t block and tackle, you won’t win. We had a very senior-laden team, which makes the basics even more important.”
Jackson already earned one win by convincing Tyrus Ward to leave his assistant’s role at Red Bank and return to his alma mater.
“We want young role models like Tyrus to be part of our program as someone the kids can look up to,” Jackson said.
Calhoun
The 2009 Georgia Class AA state runner-up has much work to do this spring in anticipation of the graduation of a large and talented senior class, which includes seven athletes who have signed to play college football. Among the chores for coach Hal Lamb is replacing four offensive line starters. “We want to go into spring and develop some depth across the board,” Lamb said. “Our goal is to get better every day we step on the grass.”
Central
The timing of David Barger’s resignation put the Purple Pounders behind for the spring, but there will be plenty of returning talent to work with, led by all-around athlete DeHart Hubbard (6-1, 195), who is being heavily recruited by Tennessee.
Chattanooga Christian
Only three starters are gone from the Chargers’ first varsity season, which means coaches won’t have to spend as much time introducing offensive or defensive basics. But while there is experience on the roster, there will be three new assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Mike Connor.
“It will be good not having to repeat a lot of things that we went over last year,” head coach Barry Loyal said. “The biggest difference the kids have to be aware of is that the expectation level is a lot higher this year. I believe the experience we have, plus a whole year in the weight room, will result in a big step for our program.”
Chattooga
The Indians hit the practice field Monday with several key positions to fill, including a pair of two-way all-stars in quarterback/defensive back Rashad Ramsey and running back/linebacker Senorise Perry. The defense in particular will get a lot of attention, according to coach Brad Waggoner.
Cleveland
Numbers are way up from last season as the Blue Raiders begin spring drills with 60 players. “We just had a lot more kids who had been walking the halls or not playing for one reason or another to decide they wanted to come help us,” Blue Raiders coach E.K. Slaughter said. “There’s a pretty good surplus of faces, but we have no idea what they can do. Hopefully this spring will give us an idea of a depth chart for the fall.”
It was one year ago almost to the day that Slaughter was hired, and he admitted there is more of a calmness to the start of practice this time around. It also helps having quarterback Chad Voytik back to direct his spread offense as well as an athletic new receiver, Nathan Bradford (6-2, 185), who transferred in from Meigs County.
Copper Basin
The Cougars’ 11 rising seniors helped turn the program’s fortunes last season. After suffering through 0-10 and 3-7 records their first two years, those seniors led the way to last year’s 7-5 turnaround.
“Getting to the second round of the playoffs, it’s made a huge difference in attitude during the offseason,” coach Patrick Daly said. “We only had four seniors last year, so this group of kids has been really key in getting us going in the right direction.”
Dade County
For the first time in years, the Wolverines go into spring drills with most starting positions filled. Coach Bradley Warren will concentrate on filling out the depth chart.
“Our biggest spring goal is to establish depth,” Warren said. “We feel pretty good about our starting 11 with several college prospects in the lineup. However, we have got to close the gap between our starters and our backup players.”
Dalton
Among the countless jobs new coach Matt Land is learning as he goes is how to handle the daily recruiting requests for Watts Dantzler (6-8, 320), who is rated as one of the top five offensive tackle prospects in the nation. Land played for the Catamounts and had been a lay coach for 17 years before taking over as head coach earlier this spring.
“I knew what to expect in terms of the community and the boosters,” Land said. “But there are other things that I’m adjusting to, and one of those is the fact that my phone rings constantly from coaches wanting to recruit Watts. From USC and Alabama to Tennessee and Auburn, you name a school and they’re calling about him.”
Two other players drawing recruiting interest are defensive end Floyd Coffey (6-3, 215) and running back Tre Beck. Land said he expects around 140 players out for spring practice, but about 50 of those are freshmen who won’t work with the varsity in the fall.
East Hamilton
Although it will be the Hurricanes’ second season, this is their first spring practice.
“We were practicing last summer with kids who didn’t really know each other because school hadn’t even opened yet,” Hurricanes coach Ted Gatewood said. “Now we’ve had a year in the weight room and there is a noticeable difference physically in every kid. We just weren’t strong enough to compete at times last year. We’ll spend the spring developing a very physical attitude.”
Two seniors who benefited greatly from the offseason conditioning and will likely set the physical tone are linemen Dakota Fearn (6-1, 265) and Cody Raborn (6-0, 280).
East Ridge
For the third time in as many years as Pioneers coach, Mike Martin is breaking in a new quarterback. But he believes junior Demetrius Bumpass should handle the job for the next two seasons. East Ridge completed its spring practice early to avoid the overlap of other spring sports.
With most of the offensive and defensive linemen returning, Martin said he was able to concentrate on getting Bumpass prepared and may have discovered a go-to receiver in junior Avious Griffin.
“Two things that stood out to me were that Demetrius really took control of the huddle and became a leader and we found out the Avious is fearless and has great hands,” Martin said.
Gordon Central
Coach Chad Fisher has plenty of talent returning, but he felt that talent didn’t mesh well last season. The Warriors are in the middle of spring drills, where Fisher’s focus is on bringing his team closer together.
Gordon Lee
Spring drills are ongoing in Chickamauga, where coach Kevin McElhaney and his staff are installing the spread offense. The Trojans need to settle on a quarterback and find replacements for graduating stalwarts such as two-way stars Austin Goodlet and Taylor Pace.
Grace Academy
The combination of being a small school that has to share athletes with other sports, plus being a new head coach intent on introducing new offensive and defensive schemes, led Bob Ateca to move the start of practice back to May 18.
“We’re hoping to have most of the kids from other sports out there by then, and we’ve got a lot to teach them in a short amount of time,” said Ateca, who was an assistant at McCallie last year. “Right now I’m still learning everybody’s name.”
Two players Ateca is eager to work with are Nathan Rector and Josh Smith, who will battle for the starting quarterback role. According to Ateca, whichever player doesn’t win that job likely will be a receiver.
Grundy County
The biggest news for the Yellow Jackets is no news. The continuity of having no staff changes or switches in offense or defense is a welcome change for this program. Second-year head coach Nick Bryant will have six defensive and eight offensive starters back, including shifty quarterback Destin Nunley and running backs Kevin Nowlan and Johnny Cook.
They will be running behind junior tackle Austin Fults (6-3, 300), who already has college coaches stopping by to watch him work out.
Heritage
Going into the program’s third year of existence, the Generals finally are starting to build some depth, which is allowing the coaching staff to expand the playbook on both sides of the ball. Coach Tim James wants to see improvement in all aspects. “We have 115 kids going through spring drills,” James said.
Hixson
The Wildcats have completed their 10 days of practice, and the staff will spend the rest of the spring touring college and other prep programs not on their schedule. “We came out of spring with a pretty good idea of where we need to work going into the summer,” Wildcats coach Houston White said. “And I’m always looking for ideas on how to be better.” While the quarterback battle between Blaine Long and Justin Matherson will carry into preseason practice, one player who stood out is running back Clarencio Holmes.
Howard
One player rarely changes the fortunes of a team, but a healthy Eric McCullough (5-11, 195) is that type player. He missed most of last season with a back injury but is healed and set the tone on both sides of the ball as a sophomore.
“When we had him 100 percent two years ago, he was something else,” Hustlin’ Tigers coach Alvin Tarver said. “He’s a leader for us, and we never found anybody to take his place last year. We’re a totally different team with him because he’s our playmaker on both sides of the ball.” Eddie Sparks (6-3, 275) is the only starter returning on the offensive line, but sophomore Brandon Walters (6-4, 260) could be special, according to the coaches. The combination of McCullough and Evander Rollins (5-10, 195) gives Howard two bruising fullbacks to set up the outside running ability of Darian Rochelle (5-7, 140).
LaFayette
In his successful stint at Trion, new Ramblers coach Tab Gable was known for having strong running games, and though the Ramblers ran the ball well last year, it was from the shotgun. Gable still plans a passing game with senior quarterback Josh Morgan, but he wants to develop more of a power offense.
Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
Graduation will take a heavy toll on the Warriors’ offense with 10 starters to replace. Center Tucker Wilson is the only returner, but the new group of linemen will average nearly 250 pounds.
“We’ve got a lot of really big, strong younger kids, so this will be the biggest group of linemen I’ve worked with,” LFO coach Todd Windham said. “Every position is wide open, and we’re going to be very physical to see who really wants to play and get after it.” Windham will return to the role of offensive coordinator after Tawambi Settles left to coach at his alma mater, McCallie.
Lookout Valley
The Yellow Jackets may have as many as seven sophomore starters on both sides of the ball, and the first point of emphasis will be finding four new starting offensive linemen.
“We have a lot of bodies that can play up front, but there isn’t much experience among them,” Jackets coach Tony Webb said. “This sophomore class is the most athletic group I’ve had since I’ve been here, so I like how the future looks for us.” One sophomore who has been impressive in the weight room is Jamal Jones, who despite being just 5-8 and 160 pounds is squatting 400 pounds. He and Terrance Marbury will give the Jackets two shifty running backs.
Marion County
Few teams were hit as hard by graduation as the Warriors, who return just two offensive starters and three on defense.
“And two of those are the same kids who start on both sides,” Marion coach Troy Boeck said. “In January we had just one kid who ran under a 5-second 40-yard dash. That was pretty depressing, but we did a lot of speed work and by April we had eight kids running under 5.0.”
A couple of bright spots were sophomore quarterback Matt Zeman (6-0, 190) and Brandon Gibbs, who is athletic enough to play several positions. Boeck said he expets Derek Tucker (6-1, 230) to develop into a punishing between-the-tackles type runner and added that linebacker Austin Schild (6-1, 195), who transferred from Grundy County, had become a “headhunter.”
McCallie
The Blue Tornado must replace their entire secondary as well as most of the offensive and defensive line starters.
But there are bright spots to build on, namely linebacker Jarrod Coleman (6-4, 235) and athlete Keenan Hale (6-2, 180).
“There are a lot of colleges looking at both of those kids,” McCallie coach Rick Whitt said. “Jarrod has a chance to be a really good player. There’s a toughness and drive about him; he really works and wants to be good.
“Having Keenan back on offense is really big for us. We have to find as many ways to get him the ball as we can.”
McMinn Central
The Chargers have no returning starters among their skill-position players, and second-year coach Josh Goodin intends to change the offense to a more option-oriented style. That switch should suit new quarterback Calvin Walker, who has a knack for avoiding tacklers and finding room to run.
McMinn County
When the Cherokees took the field last week to begin spring practice, coach Bo Campbell noticed a disturbing sight.
“When the offense walked out, we had zero kids who have started,” Campbell said. “We have three starters back, but they’re in other sports, and it was kind of scary seeing so many new faces. “Hopefully the defense will carry us early on.” Leading what should be a stout defensive front are senior tackle Ken Starr (6-0, 255) and junior end Ty Kimpson (6-3, 220), who had not played football before last season.
Meigs County
The Tigers haven’t yet hired a new head coach, but the assistants are continuing workouts.
“The staff is doing a great job of keeping things going,” said principal Clint Baker, a former Tigers head coach. “It is frustrating that we haven’t made a hire yet, because I thought we would have by now. But we want to make sure we get the right man for the job and not just make a quick hire.”
MURRAY County
Second-year coach John Ziegler’s program will be dropping to Class AAA this year, and he believes the Indians will be more competitive.
“We are increasing the level of intensity in our practices,” Ziegler said. “We’re seeking competition, so we’re making our drills more competitive.”
North Jackson
Replacing a quarterback who rewrote every school passing record would be a daunting task at most programs. But Chiefs coaches feel Zac Barnard, who has started several games and will have three-year starter Dustin White at center, will allow the offense to not miss a beat. Having leading rusher Montel Hale back helps, as does the arrival of Deontae Johnson (6-0, 205), one of two transfers from county rival Scottsboro.
The other transfer is safety Khaleem Jones (5-11, 185), who along with sophomore Austin Blevins (6-0, 180) and senior Denzell Bynum (5-11, 165) form one of the area’s top secondaries. Bynum recently finished second at the Alabama state meet in the 100 meters with a time of 10.59 seconds.
“Denzell is getting a lot of colleges calling and coming by because of his speed and athleticism,” Chiefs coach Shawn Peek said. “He has a 43-inch vertical jump and can power-clean 290 pounds. He’s special.
Northwest Whitfield
The Bruins will not be hit as hard by graduation this year as in recent seasons, but one major hole to fill in their spread offense is at quarterback, where coach Mike Falleur says the competition is wide open.
“The biggest opening is at quarterback, where we have three or four who will battle it out,” Falleur said. “Also, finding some depth is a major issue. We’ve had the best winter we’ve ever had since I’ve been here, and I’m excited about getting out there and seeing the difference in the kids.”
Notre Dame
Considering the rash of injuries that struck last year, second-year coach Josh Sellers is just glad to start with a clean slate of healthy bodies.
When the Irish took the field for their fourth game of last season, they were missing nine starters because of injury.
“For better or worse, we’re stressing to the kids that there are no excuses this year,” Sellers said. “Things went downhill pretty quick, but it doesn’t matter what happened last year anymore. The good thing about that is there were a lot of young kids who got playing experience. That should help us this year.”
One player Sellers expects to become more of a leader is senior Jordan Middlebrooks (6-1, 180), the likely quarterback who also will double as a safety.
Ooltewah
Beginning atop the program and continuing through the roster, the Owls will have a completely new look. Shannon Williams, who had been the team’s offensive line coach the last two years, takes over as head coach and inherits a very inexperienced team.
The Owls will have an entirely new offensive backfield and must replace All-America defensive end Jacques Smith.
Richard Manning takes over at quarterback and is joined by a new receiving corps, led by T.J. Warren and Mikhil Creech. “There are certainly a lot of younger kids who will be asked to step into new roles, but we have talent,” Williams said. “We’re not starting from scratch. I’ve been around these kids, and I have a pretty good idea who can play.
“We’ll also have a new defensive coordinator hired before the summer, so I expect some changes on that side of the ball as well.”
Polk County
Coming off the program’s first district championship in 24 years, the Wildcats hope the return of seven starters to both sides of the ball will produce a deeper playoff run. As is typically the case, there is no shortage of size and toughness, led by two-way junior lineman Marty Parris (6-1, 245) and senior tight end/linebacker Adrian Martinez (6-1, 230). Skill players Jared Allen and Michael Hargrove will miss spring practice while playing baseball but will be joined in the backfield by fullback Derrick Saxe.
Red Bank
For the third time in the last four years, the Lions will not practice in pads during the spring. Instead position coaches will work with their individual players and the team will continue workouts in the weight room. “We just seem to benefit from the extra time lifting,” Lions coach Tim Daniels said. “We do take the younger kids out and introduce them to our terminology so they’re ready for later in the summer, but when you have so many kids involved in other sports or getting ready for exams, I’m not sure how much it would benefit us to go out in pads.
Rhea County
It would be a bit of an understatement to say the Golden Eagles will concentrate on defense this spring.
“I’m not happy at all with how we played on that side of the ball last year,” Rhea coach Jason Fitzgerald said. “We may not even practice offense at all this spring. Our focus will be heavy on the defensive side of the ball, because we have got to be better there.”
Fitzgerald said he will find out who his best lineman is and put that player at noseguard in the team’s new five-man defensive front. There isn’t nearly as much concern on the offensive side, where quarterback Cameron Tallent is a college prospect and has athletes such as Jeremy Moffett and Desmond Sharp to carry the ball and sophomore Jacob Revis (6-2, 275) to block.
Ridgeland
On a roster dotted with college prospects such as running back Devin Bowman (a Georgia commitment), defensive back Deonte Marsh (6-0, 200) and defensive end Mason Harris (6-3, 225), coaches will concentrate on finding a new quarterback in the next two weeks. The biggest question on offense is who will emerge from the three-man race for the starting quarterback job among senior Trey Stewart and juniors Ryan Chastain and Jacob Bracket.
“The spring is huge for us in determining who’s going to take the snaps for us,” Panthers coach Mark Mariakis said. “Once we get the pads on in the fall, we’ll only have about two weeks before our first game, so we need to have a good idea of our depth chart before then.
“There is a lot of interest in Devin, Deonte and Mason. Those guys and a couple of others for us certainly pass the look test.”
Ringgold
The Tigers are well on their way to becoming perennial playoff contenders in northwest Georgia. Ringgold lost two games in the 2009 regular season by a combined four points and lost a playoff game it led at halftime. However, coach Robert Akins said plans are under way to revamp both the offense and the defense before the 2010 season.
“Based on our personnel, we think we can be more successful by going to the spread option more on offense,” Akins said. “We have a lot of linebacker-type bodies on defense, so we’ll switch to a 3-4 there. It’s tough to teach that much change in 10 days, but we’ll get done as much as we can and keep working at it this fall.”
Ringgold returns its entire offensive line intact, and junior Josh Moore (6-3, 190) gained good experience at quarterback last year.
Sequatchie County
What style of offense the Indians run this fall could depend on whether Hunter Lewis takes over at quarterback or goes back to running back. That’s one of the top issues to be decided in the coming weeks for a team that returns six starters on both sides of the ball and hosted a playoff game last year.
“But we’ll be working a lot with the quarterbacks to see if Hunter, Rodney Smith or Logan Summers is going to be the man,” Indians coach Chad Barger said. “They’re all good enough athletes that they’ll be on the field somewhere for us, and Hunter is one of those kids that can play anywhere on the field.”
Signal Mountain
The Eagles had by far the most success of the three Chattanooga-area teams making their varsity debuts last season. A one-point loss in the second round of the 2A playoffs has been motivation throughout the offseason, and with all but three starters returning and the addition of six talented transfers, expectations are again soaring.
“I think the kids who just joined us could challenge for a lot of playing time or even be starters,” said Eagles coach Bill Price, continuing double duty as baseball coach. “I expect us to be a lot better than last year.”
One of the transfers is Donnie Garner, a speedy running back and defensive back who played at East Ridge last year. He joins senior Gervell Morgan (6-foot, 207) as ball carriers, and Morgan also should be a defensive leader at linebacker.
“Gervell has added almost 30 pounds to what he played at last year, and there’s no doubt he’ll be one of the top players in the city,” Price said.
Quarterback Hogan Whitmire (6-1, 190), who threw for more than 1,900 yards and 22 touchdowns, is another returning weapon. He and the Eagles’ runners also will benefit from having offensive lineman Will Sawyer (6-4, 260).
Silverdale Baptist
Coach John Allen continued this year his tradition of not holding spring practice.
Soddy-Daisy
The Trojans spent the offseason working toward coming out in the spring a much more physical group.
“We gave them two weeks off after our last game and then got in the weight room and have worked out five days a week ever since,” Trojans coach Kevin Orr said. “I’d say about every kid on the team is twice as strong as they were when we ended last season. I’m real anxious to see what we look like on the field now. We have a lot of younger kids who really impressed us in the offseason and may steal the starting job from some older guys. We may have a complete overhaul in a lot of places.”
Coaches are especially eager to see senior two-way lineman Chris Smith (6-5, 300) in pads. “He runs like he’s 225 and is athletic enough to help us in a lot of areas,” Orr said. “He’s gotten into much better shape and will be really good for us.”
Sonoraville
The Phoenix bring back a slew of skill players but must replace four experienced offensive linemen. Though the front may be lean in experience, coach Chuck King said the new guys make up for it in athleticism.
“We have gotten some good work in to this point,” King said. “I like the character that is beginning to show. We have had some kids that really have grown in the weight room.”
South Pittsburg
With most of its offensive line returning, anchored by Jakoby Reynolds (6-2, 195) and Cody Wordlaw (6-0, 290), and no shortage of ball carriers, the biggest question facing the Pirates is at quarterback. Senior Travis Millard, who made one start last year when Terrell Robinson was sick, is the likely choice. But according to coach Vic Grider, Millard will be challenged by junior Antonio Chubb and sophomore Jake Stone. “We’ll have a battle at quarterback,” Grider said. “All three of those kids are really good athletes and they all can do different things well, so this spring will be a chance for somebody to step up and take the job.”
All-state running back Raquis Hale (5-11, 180) will be joined in the backfield by junior Jonathan Sellers (5-11, 195) and sophomore Demtric “Little Man” Johnson (6-0, 170). “I’m sure most people think this will be the time to get us after the players we lost,” Grider said. “But we have skill people who could play for anybody. It’s no secret we won’t throw the ball around as much as we have. Raquis will be our main guy, but Sellers is a beast and we’re all real excited to see what Little Man can do getting more touches.”
Southeast Whitfield
The Raiders will experience heavy graduation losses, most notably at quarterback, where Tanner McCutchen set several school records. However, coach David Crane said his staff’s biggest goal is to toughen the offensive and defensive linemen.
“Our biggest spring goal is to work on improving how physical we are up front on both sides of the ball,” Crane said. “We’re doing a good bit of live contact work this spring with our guys up front.”
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee
Of the 18 kids who have signed up to play, 15 are currently involved in other spring sports. “It’s a juggling act for us,” Mountain Lions coach Ellis Mayfield said. “Our numbers will be better this season, but right now we just have to wait until baseball, soccer and track are over before we can do much.”
Trion
The Bulldogs will have several starting positions up for grabs this season, and coach David Humphreys wants to get a head start on filling some of the holes, which includes replacing all-state defensive back and running back Ryan Wilson.
Tyner
One of the hottest teams at the close of the regular season last year, the Rams have plenty of reason for continued optimism. It begins with the return of Travis Jones (6-0, 190), one of the top athletes in the city who is drawing lots of recruiting interest as a defensive back but made the biggest difference for Tyner last season after switching from receiver to quarterback midway through the season. “We were a different team when we moved him to quarterback,” coach Wayne Turner said. “Just the confidence of the rest of the team went way up with him back there.”
Jones will be joined in the secondary by cornerback Sean Neal, while linebacker Damiean Suttles (6-0, 190) is responsible for making sure everyone is lined up correctly. “Those guys are pretty solid and we’ve got some depth on the offensive and defensive line now with (sophomore) Darius Lomnick (6-2, 270) and Tevin Cowan (6-4, 215),” Turner said. “We just have to carry the momentum from this spring into the fall.”
Walker Valley
The Mustangs kept things simple and have completed spring practice.
“It was about as basic a spring as you can get,” Mustangs coach Ted Lockerby said. “I think we put in four offensive plays and ran the same defense the whole time. It was all working on fundamentals, blocking and tackling.”
The Mustangs could have as many as four sophomores start in the offensive line and expect Brad Davis, a sprinter in track, to become the go-to ball carrier.
Whitwell
Although the Tigers’ offensive line won’t be as big as in years past, second-year coach Dan Tierny believes that actually may help. “Having a quicker line is better for a wing-based team like us,” Tierny said. “Our heaviest lineman probably weighs around 250 pounds, but we have some kids who are a lot stronger and quicker.”
The Tigers will be a junior-heavy team with only seven seniors on the roster and as many as 12 juniors who will start on both sides. The starting backfield returns, led by quarterback Cole Tucker (6-6, 195).