SIGNAL MOUNTAIN EAGLES
Head coach: Josh Roberts (4-7 in one year here and overall)
Returning starters: 7 offensive, 8 defensive
Key players: OL/DL White Hunt (6-1, 275), WR/DB Drew Lowry (6-2, 190), OL/DL Davis Payne (6-1, 185), WR/DB Travion Williams (6-1, 190), LB Jake Woodlief (5-11, 175).
Team strengths: Overall team speed and depth across the board are much improved under Roberts, particularly at receiver. The Eagles not only return their leading pass catchers but also added several newcomers from the basketball team.
Team concerns: Inexperience in the backfield. Junior quarterback Jack Wilson is the likely starter, while the running back foursome of seniors Will Bennett and Terrance Russell and sophomores Braden Casner and Andrew Eichner are talented, but none has been a varsity starter before.
Newcomers to watch: Three players who joined the receiving corps from the basketball team will bring height and added athletic ability to the position. Owen Honroth (6-4), Malone Howley (6-4) and Jarren Radden (6-5) are still adjusting to the physical nature of the game, but because of their speed and height, they can add more big-play elements, especially near the goal line.
Season outlook: When Roberts took over last year, the program had hit a low point in virtually every way - overall numbers, strength and conditioning as well as confidence. There was improvement in 2017, but the work in the weight room, along with the return of four offensive linemen (three of whom are seniors), should pay off even more this fall.
The culture has been reset and expectations are again on the rise.
"We've seen guys put on 15 to 20 pounds over the offseason, so we're finally looking more like a football team," Roberts said. "We'll be able to move the ball through the air. The line of scrimmage was the issue last year, but with the weight room work, hopefully we'll start catching up and take some pressure off the passing game and sustain the run to be more balanced."
The return of Lowry and Williams will give Wilson two of the area's top receivers to target, and there isn't as much of a drop-off behind them now. There is such an abundance of talent at linebacker and in the secondary that the Eagles will use a three-man front more often.
The schedule remains very tough, including a five-game gauntlet to begin the season. The Eagles lost four of those matchups last year but rebounded to win three of their last four and make the playoffs.