Starr’s Mill stars shine for Jackets

back down the field to clear a route for A-back Orwin Smith to score on a 77-yard run. Coach Paul Johnson greeted Greene with a hug after the score.

“I said, ‘That’s your touchdown because you’re the guy who just rolled the corner,’ ” Johnson said after the game. “I mean, he rolled him, too. He al- most had him out of bounds.”

After both played limited roles as freshmen last season, the stars of the Starr’s Mill 2010 Class AAAA state finalists have seized opportunities to get on the field and appear to have entrenched themselves as regulars, if not starters.

“I knew it was going to be difficult, but I kind of came in with the mindset that I’m not going to let somebody beat me out,” Laskey said.

Swift and tall, Greene fits the Jackets’ mold at wide receiver, which made him a high-value recruiting target. Since arriving, Greene’s challenges have been to learn practice habits and play with effort on each snap.

Greene’s break arrived with the graduation of Tyler Melton and Stephen Hill’s early departure to the NFL after last season. With his work in spring practice and fall camp, he earned a spot in a three-man rotation. He will start Saturday against Miami, his first start since the opener against Virginia Tech.

To Preston, Greene has shown more attention to things like firing off the line on every play, run or pass, taking the proper pre-snap stance and pushing off with the correct foot.

“It’s just pretty much every time I go out there, come out there with the same mentality of trying to get better,” Greene said. “Don’t just go through the motions. Just go out there and go 100 percent.”

For Laskey, trying wasn’t the hard part. Getting noticed was. He was a two-star player, according to the Rivals recruiting service, on a five-star scale. Be-