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 photos by Rick Nation
Hunter Fugitt (33) and Mario Waits (90) combine on a tackle against Lake Hamilton last year. (Photo by Rick Nation)
Last year’s question mark has become a strength for the Bryant Hornets.
With an apparent shortage of defensive linemen to start the year in 2013, the Bryant Hornets were forced to thrust some inexperienced players into the fire including sophomores Cameron Murray and Mario Waits who turned into revelations.
So, in 2014, the d-line is an area of experience and talent, a strength for the team.
“I’ve been real pleased with all of them,” stated Hornets defensive line coach Brad Stroud. “Cameron has trimmed up, gotten a little baby fat off of him and he’s turned it into muscle and he’s still 270. We just haven’t had 270’s very much. He can move. He’s going to be playing the three technique and he’s done very well.”
Waits plays at the other tackle, the one technique.
“He has done a tremendous job,” Stroud acknowledged. “Those guys are now juniors so we’ve got a couple of men out there now. Mario can run. He’s got a lot of upper-body strength. He’s really put together. We like him taking on a center.”
Cameron Murray makes a tackle for a loss against Texarkana last year. (Photo by Rick Nation)
Both ends got some playing time last year, most notably Hunter Fugitt, now a senior. Ryan Hall, another senior, has stepped into more playing time on the other side.
“Both have come in off the linebacker corps,” Stroud noted. “I had Hunter as a sophomore (at end) so he had a little bit of background in it. Both of them add a speed factor that we haven’t had since Raylen Cantrell and Nathan Probst so I’m really looking forward to that.”
Cantrell and Probst set the standard for ends at Bryant back in the early 2000’s so that’s high praise from Stroud who coached those guys too.
At linebacker, Fugitt was in on 49 tackles last season, second among returning players this year. Waits made 36 stops and Murray 27.
“Standing in against a big 280-pound tackle, Hunter’s still got to learn to get lower and use his body a little bit more but, still, I’ve been very happy with him,” Stroud mentioned. “He’s a great kid.
“Ryan Hall is a very fiery kind of individual,” he added. “He’s got to be disciplined in what he does.
“Of course, all of us, when we get tired it’s hard to focus and what we see with our eyes doesn’t necessarily get to our brain and then to our body,” the coach reflected, referencing the late-night pre-season scrimmage against the fast-break offense of Pulaski Academy on Tuesday, Aug. 26. “So we had a little period (Thursday) called ‘Turbo’ where the two-minute offense got out there, ones on ones, and we ran them through. Their tongues were hanging out. And I said, ‘We did that on purpose just to show you what you’re going to be up against.’
Because of the heat and the number of plays run in the scrimmage, Stroud deployed two sets of four d-linemen and was pleased with the second line.
“We’ve got (junior) Walker Brown, his stock’s come up,” the coach said. “He did good in the scrimmage. He’s a little smaller (5-10, 200) but he’s got mobility and he’s got a little bit more know-how, is aware of where the ball’s going.
“(Junior) Cameron Guillory will back up at an end,” he continued. “Then we’ve got Hayden Knowles. He’s going to be a force to reckon with. He’s still a little raw right now but he’s learning at d-end. He can play defensive tackle and he can play Mike (middle linebacker). He’ll play.
“We’ve got (junior) Dany Murillo who’s 270. He’s still raw and learning what he’s got to do. Then we’ve got Drew Allen who is a senior. He’s logged a lot of time, gotten a lot of reps. He’s still a little mechanical but we’re not going to suffer because he’s in the ballgame.
“That’s the seven or eight that are going to play,” Stroud concluded. “I think we’ve got some depth.”
