Eagles vet youth in key spots at early spring drills
Boyd back, but Atascocita finding new faces to receive his passes
The Atascocita Eagles have plenty of holes to fill.
So, coming off last year’s run to the regional finals, they spent much of spring football preparing the players who they need to step up in this fall at wide receiver, running back and linebacker.
“We have guys who are sophomores, going to be juniors, and athletically they’re there, but they haven’t done it yet,” coach Craig Stump said. “That’s the unknown, so getting those young guys a lot of reps and seeing who will be able to help and who still needs to work was our focus this spring.”
They wrap spring practice with a spring game at 6 p.m. Friday at Atascocita.
With receivers Niyl Campbell and Coye Fairman graduating, the Eagles need new weapons for quarterback Daveon Boyd.
With Dawud Shorts still in baseball, Griffin Hammond and Alex Morris emerged as leading candidates this spring.
Both players were brought up from junior varsity for the playoffs.
Hammond, a junior, is working at slot receiver, and Morris, a sophomore, is working outside, where Fairman lined up.
“Griffin is 6-1 and Alex is right in there at 6-1, too, so they have the athleticism and the ball skills,” Stump said. “Now it’s learning the ways you have got to do things as far as routerunning and those kinds of things.”
At running back, Decarlos Demmeritte is expected to fill the void left by Patrick Taylor.
The 5-8 sophomore tailback ran for five touchdowns last season, including two scores with 161 yards on 16 carries in a 5139 victory over Oak Ridge midseason while filling in for an injured Taylor.
“He’s not as tall, so he’s quicker and faster than Patrick but not as big and pounding,” Stump said.
“He’s not a punishing kind of runner. He’s a thick kid, but he’s not 6-2.”
Atascocita also is replacing left tackle Amon Simon and center Logan Stump, but Coach Stump said the competition’s still open.
Boyd, meanwhile, is preparing to use his feet more this fall. The junior was considered a huge running threat two years ago, then he injured his knee and missed his entire sophomore season. He came back last year, but stayed in the pocket more with great success.
He flashed that running ability late last year, though, rushing for 119 yards and scores of 59 and 31 yards against Conroe in the regular-season finale, and Stump expects him to build on that next season.
“We need to (run him more),” Stump said.
“And, really, with him this spring, it’s about him making that decision to pull it down and go. Last year, coming off the knee and everything, early especially, he was a little reluctant to take off and run, and I didn’t have many quarterback runs for him like we did when Greg Campbell was quarterbacking because he didn’t feel comfortable.”
The competition’s open at linebacker, but the projected starters right now are junior Tralan Hutchinson, and sophomores Jaylon Allen and Chris Thomas, who broke his thumb the first day of spring.
Hutchinson, who has sideline-to-sideline speed, spent most of his time on special teams last season, but he’s expected to play a key role at inside backer, where he’s fine-tuning his approach this spring.
“He’s learning more about playing linebacker, reading the run, reading the pass (and) being where he’s supposed to be,” Stump said. “He’s always been a big hitter. He likes to hit, he’s a contact guy, but you can’t always just go run and kill somebody.”