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
Kylon Boyle (Photo by Rick Nation)
Now, about those running backs . . .
Head coach Paul Calley and offensive coordinator Lance Parker adjusted the Bryant Hornets’ offense for 2014. And the reason was simple:
Depth and talent at running back; enough that the coaches felt they had to create more opportunities for each of them.
“We have come a long way from two years ago, from maybe having one (running back), this year is probably our deepest year,” said Dontre Harris, the Hornets’ running backs coach. “Our offense had to kind of changed from throwing it around a lot to maybe balancing it out this year. I think we’re going to be more run heavy because we do have those running backs. We’ve got to use them. The more of those guys we can get on the field, the better we’ll be.”
Four backs are returning from 2013 in which they combined for over 1,500 yards on the ground including three of the top five on the team individually. Brushawn Hunter led the team with 718 yards in just 68 carries. He also led the team in receptions and yardage as a wide receiver with 34 catches for 507 yards. He ran for seven touchdowns and caught nine TD passes.
Hunter will be used at both positions again this season. And he may be at wide receiver more because of the emergence of Kylon Boyle (448 yards on 76 rushes in 2013) particularly late last year and Sevonte Turner (312 yards on 52 tries).
“Kylon has made tremendous strides from his sophomore to his senior year,” Harris said. “He started the last few games for us last year.
Brushawn Hunter (Photo by Rick Nation)
“(Turner) also played a lot last year as a sophomore,” he continued. “Behind him is Cameron Coleman, a sophomore, and DeAmonte Terry, also a sophomore who’s going to play a little bit at receiver.
“Brushawn’s our home-run hitter,” the coach related. “He can score from anywhere. I was telling Kylon the other day, ‘I’m going to start calling you 7-Up because 7 yards, you get 7.’ I said, ‘Second and 3 is always good.’ Sevonte’s a slasher. He can make people miss, cut on a dime.
“I think they all have the ability to break big runs,” he related. “But we tell we want to be second-and-manageable. If we average 7 yards a carry, that’s great. If we get 5 yards a carry, that’s great. So we’re trying to get 5 and more.”
Coleman led Bryant’s 8-2 freshman team last year with 716 yards on 95 carries and seven touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a score. Terry, who was one of the team’s top tacklers at defensive end, played running back enough to pile up 303 yards on 36 totes with five touchdowns.
The depth allowed the Bryant coaches to move another strong running back on the freshman team last year, Phillip Isom-Green, to defense, helping out at safety along with senior Brenden Young (81 carries, 399 yards for the varsity in 2013). Young made two interceptions in the Hornets’ pre-season scrimmage against Pulaski Academy, returning one of them for 6.
Demaja Price sets his sites on a defender to block. (Photo by Rick Nation)
“Cameron Coleman, when you see him, looks like he’s 18 years old,” Harris said. “He looks like a man but he’s like 15. He looks like a power back but, really, he’s not as much a power back as we would like him to be. In the future, hopefully, he’ll develop into that power back but he’s a tough, strong runner and he likes to run outside.
“DeAmonte is kind of the same mind frame as Brushawn,” he continued. “He’s not as fast as Brushawn but he can go to house, cut on dime, make people miss.”
At fullback, Demaja Price, who played a lot last year as a sophomore, and Drew Alpe, another junior. Both can be dominating blockers.
“We may be in some situations where they both can be on the field at the same time,” Harris said.
