Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
HUNTSVILLE EAGLES
2018 RECORD 2-8, 0-7 5A-West Conference COACH Matt Williams RETURNING PLAYERS 5 offense, 5 defense KEY PLAYERS C/DL Jonathan “Bubba” Rhoden (Sr., 6-0, 310), OL/DE Rain Turner (Sr., 6-5, 250), HB/LB Kolton Shepherd (Sr., 5-11, 190), RB/LB Slayter Watkins (Jr., 5-11, 200); OL/DL Colby Shepherd (Sr., 6-1, 235), RB/DB Justin Reynolds (Jr., 5-10, 175)
THE SKINNY Matt Williams was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach during the offseason to replace Randy Barnhill, who remains with the school. … Huntsville, which has bounced around between 5A and 4A over the past few years, will head back to 4A next season. … Slayter Watkins is not only the leading returning rusher with 129 yards and 2 TDs, but he’s also the leading returning receiver with 10 catches for 54 yards. … Jonathan Rhoden returns as a three-year starter at center and will also see playing time as noseguard. … Colby Shepherd will also be a three-year starter on the offensive line, but he moves from tackle to guard and will play defensive end. … Brooks Wiggins takes over at quarterback. … Kolton Shepherd moves from H-back to a slot position and has probably the best hands on the team, and he’ll also see time at outside linebacker. … Rain Turner will be a returning starter at defensive end and could see time on the offensive line.
COACH SPEAK “Last year, we ended the season with 28 kids, and nine of those were seniors,” Williams said. “We’re up into the 40s now, so we have a lot of new faces. We have some kids who didn’t play last year that came back, so we’re excited. We have some good skill players, but they’re inexperienced. We have some good linemen, but we’re thin in that area. In Class 5A, not many teams have to play a lot of players both ways much, but we have to play a lot of them both ways. But the summer’s been great and the kids have worked hard. We’re excited to get started.”