Editor’s note: This is part of a series previewing the 2014 Bryant Hornets football team heading into their season-opening game against the Benton Panthers in the annual Salt Bowl and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Friday, Sept. 5.
File photo by Rick Nation and Kevin Nagle
On a team with 30 seniors and considerable playing experience, probably the most veteran warriors on the 2014 Bryant Hornets football team are cornerbacks Drew Tipton and Mar’kevious (Mark) Nelson. Both played a lot as sophomores two years ago and they turned into perhaps as good a tandem as have suited up for the Hornets over the years.
Mark Nelson (4) made an interception in the 2013 Salt Bowl. (Photo by Kevin Nagle)
“I’ve never had two that have played as much, with as much experience as Mar’kevius and Drew,” acknowledged secondary coach John Wells. “My main coaching point to them over the past couple of weeks has been, ‘Trust what you see, trust your eyes.’ Because there’s a fine line between instinct and guessing.
“They’ve seen probably every route that they’re going to see over the past couple of years,” he explained. “Sometimes when that confidence goes up, you start thinking ahead of that quarterback and that instinct crosses over to guessing. They’re out there on that island all by themselves a lot of time with how we play so I tell them over and over, they have the ability and the instinct to play like they’re coached and make some big plays. They know how to play corner. We haven’t changed things up over the past three years technique-wise so the main thing with them is trusting their eyes because they have good vision, good instincts.
“They’re both leaders and they lead on the field,” the coach added. “Drew is a vocal leader as well. They’re going to make big plays just with their ability. I’m really excited about watching those two play this year.
As seasoned as those two guys are, such is not the case at safety.
“This is probably the best group of athletes I’ve had since I’ve been here, as a whole,” Wells said of the secondary. “That means they have potential. That being said, our safeties are the ones that have not been tested.”
Wells has been overcoming shoulder surgery since before spring practice so, in the spring, he had to evaluate through the Hudl video website widely used by coaches to review video of practices and games.
“In the spring, I had to evaluate from my couch a lot but thanks to Hudl, I was able to watch a lot of the guys and see what we need to see,” he recounted. “With the continuation of 7 on 7 and team camps in the summer, we started using those guys and rotating the safeties to see what their fit is, what their niche is in our defense. We’ve got a better feel on what they do well and what we might need to stay away from. They’re still learning.
“My biggest concern with the safeties wasn’t so much playing the run and our run fits, it was people getting behind us,” Wells related. :I actually was pretty pleased (with the pre-season scrimmage against Pulaski Academy) because I knew we would see speed when we played them.”
The Hornets gave up some big scoring plays but also finished with three interceptions, two of them by senior safety Brenden Young, who returned one for a touchdown.
“The mistakes that were made were correctible,” Wells stated. “It wasn’t ability when we gave up any big plays. They were mistakes I felt like we corrected the week after the scrimmage.”
The coach said he’s settled on a four-man rotation with Young and senior Steven Murdock, junior Jaelyn Jones and sophomore Phillip Isom-Green.
“None of them have been full-time safeties,” Wells reiterated. “Brenden has been a linebacker. He’s been a running back. (As a sophomore), he spent some time with me at safety but we made that move back in the spring.
Secondary coach John Wells (Photo by Rick Nation)
“The main thing I wanted to focus on with Brenden was being aggressive toward the football,” he continued. “At first, it wasn’t there. I started to see sparks during 7 on 7 in the summer then, right before the scrimmage, his confidence seemed to really start to go up on the deep ball. He was taking better angles. He was being more explosive to the ball. He was getting his hands out and he was tracking it. Of course, we knew if he could get his hands on it, he could do something with it afterwards. And we saw that in the scrimmage against P.A.
“He’s still progressing, as they all are, but I’m feeling better about him playing in space. We know he’s an athletic linebacker-type body that we feel good in some of our schemes coming down close to the box and playing 6 or 7 yards off the ball and playing more of a linebacker role. So I’m confident about us being able to do more with him than just playing deep half all night long.”
Regarding Jones, Wells said, “An injury has kind of plagued him the past few weeks. He was fitting into our role as boundary safety. He didn’t participate in the scrimmage but he’s been right there with me through all the practices. I feel confident that he knows what we’re doing. We started slowly working him back in this week. We’ll re-evaluate him all the way up to Friday to see if he can go or not. The thing about the secondary, if they’re not full speed, we can give up big plays so we’ve got to make sure.”
The Hornets’ offensive coaches actually looked at Jones at quarterback in the spring.
“We had played him some at linebacker last year,” Wells said. “I’d had him a little bit at safety so we’ve moved him around too. I feel like he’s found a role at safety. And he’s a leader too. He’s aggressive. I was pleasantly surprised how quick he picked it up. And I was told by the offensive coaches that he picked up the offense quick too. He’s going to be a big part of the defense.
Murdock has seen some playing time, particularly last year, in the secondary.
“I’ve had Steven last three years,” said Wells. “He’s mainly been more of a corner-type but we felt like with his athletic ability and speed, we really needed him at safety. He can cover a lot of field. Whether he’s to the boundary or to the field, he can cover some ground on deep balls.
“Those three I feel good about playing right now,” the coach summarized. “Our goal is, by the time, we hit conference play (week four) we know what we want to do with them and we’re confident in any call we make that they can do that.”
Isom-Green played quite a bit in the scrimmage and figures in the mix as well.
“Phillip Isom-Green is a young man who had been playing running back through the spring,” noted Wells. “When I got back in the swing of things this summer, I noticed up here in the evenings in the weight room, his ability. I saw him as a safety.
“So when we got in here and were getting ready for fall practice, I kept bugging our offense, ‘I really think he’s a safety.’ They finally said, ‘All right, you’ve got him.’ So, day one — I hadn’t had him all summer — I get him and right off the bat he shows that he has a natural back-pedal, he’s natural in his drive, he can track the ball like a safety should. I’m really excited about his future. I really think he’s going to help us out at safety. I feel good about spotting him now. As we progress, he’ll help us.”
Asked about the top back-ups for Tipton and Nelson, Wells said, “I’m rotating a few guys, mainly Pierce Finney. He’s still learning but I really think by conference play he’ll be ready to help if needed. Devin Davis is a 10th-grader. Devin’s going to be a Mar’kevious-type that can play a lot of man into that boundary because of his speed. He’s very fast, very quick. He’s just got to learn it. And with confidence, he’ll even play faster.”
