Tigers looking to finalize depth chart

BENTONVILLE — Friday’s morning showers caused Bentonville to conclude its second week of preseason drills with a scrimmage inside the Tiger Athletic Complex.

The Tigers conducted 6 a.m. practices each day, and the coaching staff spent the second week looking for a little separation from their players.

“Early on, everybody was getting reps and everybody was getting an opportunity,” Bentonville coach Jody Grant said. “Each week, the depth chart is addressed, and the focus becomes more on the varsity — ones and twos. Sophomore reps decrease, but they still get reps.

“We’re just trying to find people and fit them in the right places. We have some guys in the two spots that are competing for the one spots, and we wanted to heat up those competitions. That’s specifically what we did in our scrimmage.”

Grant said those on the defensive line have caught his eye during this week of drills, particularly some younger players that can bring length to the position as they learn their roles. The Tigers like to rotate players in their three-man defensive front, so depth becomes an issue there. Grant said he feels like there are six or seven who can play those spots.

Another interesting battle is at inside linebacker with players competing for playing time.

“It’s a good problem to have that kind of situation because you have quality players,” Grant said. “But we have to make some decisions on some guys. That’s what this week was about.”

Bentonville will shift to its normal afternoon routine Monday when classes begin, and Grant said the Tigers will go through a mock game week.