Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
VAN BUREN POINTERS
2018 RECORD 4-7, 2-5 7A-West Conference COACH Crosby Tuck
RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 6 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Gary Phillips (Sr., 6-0, 180), WR Jude Bartholomew (Sr., 6-2, 200), ATH Jaiden Henry (Jr., 5-10, 155), LB Devin Swearingen (Sr., 5-11, 180), DB David Evans (Sr., 5-9, 165), NG Cha’Raun Page (Sr., 5-11, 250). DR Giovany Alas (Sr., 5-9, 200), RB Brayden Rivas (Sr., 5-6, 170).
THE SKINNY Crosby Tuck takes over as head coach after former coach Casey Dick took the Fayetteville position in the spring. … The Pointers are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2011 and have a lot of returning players. … Gary Phillips returns at quarterback after splitting snaps there last season. Phillips is a dual-threat and can make plays with his arm or his legs. … Jude Bartholomew was an all-conference selection at wide receiver last season. … Jaiden Henry could have a nice impact in a variety of roles. The junior is the son of new defensive coordinator Moe Henry. As a sophomore at Shiloh Christian last season, Jaiden Henry passed for 1,000 yards, ran for almost 500 and caught 28 passes for 402 yards. He also scored on special teams and as a defensive back. … Linebacker Devin Swearingen is poised to have a breakout season. The senior had almost 100 tackles last season and led the team in tackles-for-loss with 9.5.
COACH SPEAK “I think the transition was fairly smooth, knowing all the kids already,” Tuck said. “Not changing the offense and things like that, not changing our workout plan. Those kinds of things, keeping those intact I think are big. Big for the players. We’ve made just a couple of subtle practice changes and changed the defense, but everything else is pretty much the same as it was last year, and that’s what these kids need. They need consistency and stability.”