Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part mid-summer interview with new Bryant football coach Buck James, assessing the team’s progress so far.
With the dead period underway in which it is mandated by the Arkansas Activities Association that there be no contact between coaches and players, Bryant head football coach Buck James sat down to assess his team’s progress.
“We’re working on being three deep,” he said. “We’ve been playing three or four guys at every spot. We’re trying to give them all the same amount of reps and let them develop, get some confidence. I think if we were working 11 on offense and 11 on defense, we might be better as a group but we might not be better as a team.
“I think that’s why our numbers are up still so much from the summer. We’re doing the best we can to get every kid the same amount of reps. I would say that a guy who’s going to just play on our JV team has gotten as many reps as a guy that we’re going to start of Friday nights up to this point because we’re all still trying to learn. We have had guys that are, every day, showing us something that they’re doing better than they did the week before. I know people think I’ve got to be crazy but we still don’t have a starting lineup. We still don’t have a starting quarterback. We still don’t have a starting tailback. I think people, probably sitting at home, have a better idea of the starting lineup than I do.
“I want everybody to understand, there’s not anything sewed down,” James asserted. “We definitely have guys that are looking better than other guys but that has changed from day to day too.”
At the break, there were still more than 140 players.
“I think Coach (Robert) Hooks has about 30 receivers, Coach (Kirk) Bock has about eight quarterbacks, Coach (Shane) Clancy has about 30 offensive linemen. I think Coach (Brad) Stroud has about 20 defensive linemen. Coach (Travis) Queck’s got about 10 to 15 linebackers. Coach (Darrell) Burnett probably has 20 or 25 d-backs,” James said. “So we’re really operating on about four teams on offense and five teams on defense.
“The coaches are getting to know those guys and what makes them tick,” he continued. “We’re holding them accountable for not being here. If they’re not here and they don’t let us know, there’s consequences. The only way we can have a good football program is if everybody’s held accountable. Everybody has a job and role to play.
“Football’s a lot like family. I think it’s the only sport out there where big ol’ heavy guys and tall skinny guys and short fast guys all mix into the equation. We’ve got to be accountable to each other. We’ve got to be accountable to our community and to the tradition of Bryant football. I want that to keep going. I want it to be a situation that our community, our parents, our kids are proud of the product that we put on the field and that they’re quality — a disciplined, fast, powerful group of guys. That takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
Asked who’s in the running for playing time, James said, “We’re still a long ways away. There’s obviously some guys making some moves. I think our biggest thing right now is getting the best guy at the best position. Not necessarily the best player at every spot because I think it gets to the point where we’ve got to be a little bit more skilled at the receiver position and we’ve got to be a lot more athletic at defensive back. We’ve got guys that may be playing on the defensive line who need to be offensive linemen. We’ve got guys on the offensive line who could be our better defensive linemen. We had the same thing happen at d-back and receiver, and the same thing at running back and linebacker.
“We have some guys that went through most of the spring on offense that we put over on defense the last two or three weeks before the dead period, taking a look at them there,” he related. “There’s not anything won or lost or solidified as far as who’s going to start. It’ll probably be that way until the first week we get in pads. When we get in pads and get through our first week of practice and we have a scrimmage on the 6th (of August), we’ll start making some moves.
“We’re working three or four quarterbacks right now and we’re working them pretty much equally,” the coach mentioned. “There’s not one who’s got the nod over the other. They all have something they’re good at. We’ve really got to find out what our team can do by what quarterback we play. We’ve got one that’s a great runner. We’ve got a couple that are really good passers. We’ve got really the whole smorgasbord of quarterbacks. We’ve got some good leaders. That’s a competitive position for us. And it can’t do anything but make us better.
“The same on the defensive line,” he added. “I think we’re two deep as good as we can be right now. The rotations on defense have to be much greater. So those guys have got to be switched out more. And there’s really not a difference in a guy that starts on defense and a guy who is in the rotation. At the end of the game, they’re both going to play about the same amount.
“Offensive linemen, you try to really get that narrowed down because you don’t play as many of those guys. But I think we’ve got about 10 guys on the offensive line that are competing for a starting spot. We’ve got some young guys that are really going to be good high school football players. That’s a position you sort of have to mature into.
“Running backs, we’ve got a couple of really experienced guys that have been through the fire then we have some guys who haven’t been through the fire who are going to be good high school running backs.
“The same way at receiver. I think we’ve got some guys at wideout that might wind up being slots and we’ve got some guys at slot that might end up being wideouts. I think we’re pretty competitive at those positions. And it always factors in how much tight end you’re going to play, how much H back you’re going to play or fullback, and the chemistry of what we’re going to be able to do running the football or throwing the football, different packages that we might have.”
The four quarterbacks include senior Beaux Bonvillain, a top back-up last year, along with junior Cameron Vail, a starting safety as a sophomore, as well as sophomore Ren Hefley and junior Reid Mobley.
“Those guys have worked their tails off, to learn the offense, to be able to execute it,” James stated. “Beaux hasn’t been here very much. Ren hasn’t been here very long. Ren’s a sophomore who moved in from Pulaski Academy. He’s a very talented young man. He’s got a high football IQ. I think Beaux has a high football IQ and so does Cameron. Reid Mobley surprises me every day how much better he gets.
“So they all bring something to the table,” he continued. “Cameron runs really well. They have some imagination throwing the football. I think quarterback has to be an extension of what you want to do as a coach, also what your kids can do. We want to be 60-40, 50-50 run-pass. We want to be balanced. We’d like to throw the ball a lot early then run the ball late.
The Hornets also gained an experienced quarterback when Reese Coats, a starter at Pocahontas last year, recently arrived for his senior season.
“Reese is very talented,” James acknowledged. “He can run. He could be a great receiver as well. He had a surgery on his labrum so he hasn’t been able to throw a whole lot but should be released after the dead period. He can throw in a controlled environment but not out there slinging it.
“I think we’re as talented at quarterback as they’ve probably been here in a long time from the standpoint of having a stable of quarterbacks,” the coach asserted. “I think four or five guys who could start for us. That’s a real good thing. And I think being competitive in that position makes your football team better. I’m excited about those guys.
“Cameron’s probably one of the best safeties in the country, much less the state. We take a big hit with him being on offense but he’s a winner. He’s a competitor. He’s smart. The kids believe in him.
Regarding the rest of the offense, James reported, “At offensive line, we have Chase Fox and Preston Kyzer at center. We have a couple of sophomores that are battling in there, but those two guys are upper classmen. We’re also playing Kyzer at guard with Kolby Riffe, LaRae Williams and James McClendon. At tackles, we have Joseph Wylia and Zach Kemp. We have some young guys that are behind them.
“It’s going to boil down to who can play guard, who can play tackle, the chemistry that they have,” he explained. “Coach Clancy has done a good job with those guys. We have a lot of them. To say who the front-runners among those guys are, really all I can do is mention the upper classmen. But we can be very serviceable.
“At receivers, it’s wide open,” the coach said. “I think we’re a solid two deep with guys we can throw with. Landon Smith is the most experienced but I think Luke Curtis and Brandon Murray have looked good. Austin Kelly and Seth Tucker have looked good.
“I think we can put a lot of pressure on the other team’s defense, especially with our two running backs who could be two of the better ones in the state,” he continued, referencing seniors DeAmonte Terry (1,054 yards on 161 carries) and Cameron Coleman (362 yards on 56 tries before season-ending injury). “We can put one at receiver and one at running back or we can go with a two-back set. Kale Kimbrough, Kris King, Jeremiah Long have some talent too.”
Turning to the defensive side of the ball, James said, “Our two defensive ends played a lot last year, Hayden Knowles and Madre Dixon. Avery Everett has looked good. We’re playing him at both end and tackle. Brice Thomas has looked good. D.J. Buckner has stood out. Johnny Wallace has played very well.”
Depth, the coach stressed, will be important on defense.
“In the type of offense we’re in, we could be out there one play or we could be out there 10 plays,” he explained. “I don’t think, from an offensive standpoint, we’ll have a lot of 10 to 15 play drives. The other places I’ve been, I think one year our longest scoring drive was nine plays. So we’re either going to go out there and score or it’s going to blow up in our face really fast. I feel good about our defensive linemen with the amount of guys that we’ve got who can play.
“Our linebacker situation starts with Marvin Moody,” he added. “He’s really maturing. He could end up being one of the better linebackers in the state. We’ve played Nathan Mayes at Mike (middle linebacker) a little bit, moved him from defensive line as sort of an experiment. Really, the covering part is the only thing that’s been really tough for him. He’s done a great job of running and tracking the football. He’s a big, tall, strong kid that can run. I feel good about that.
“We’re also playing Brooks Ellis and Antonio Todd. We’ve got Tim Smith at linebacker. We’ve moved Jeremiah Long over there, taking a look at him. A couple of sophomores have looked really, really good.
Regarding the secondary, James said, “At the safety position, we’ve played Phillip Isom-Green, Caylin Allen and Mike Jones. They’re three of our senior leaders. At corners, Colin Welch and Devon Davis along with James Polite and a couple of sophomores. I feel good about that. Then we’ve got Cameron (Vail) who will probably be our only two-way player. There’s a lot of flexibility back there with a lot of those guys.
“I know I’m going to leave kids out but those are some guys that are in the forefront for us,” he concluded.
“Hayden Ray is our kicker and Martin Ramirez. We’re still working on punters.”
Ray tied a school record with 13 field goals last year as a junior including a 41-yarder.
“I’m excited about the attitude of our kids,” James concluded. “It’s really been good. It’s hard to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning and go to football practice. The beauty of it is, they’re through by 8 o’clock. We don’t have to compete a lot with what else is going on at 6 a.m. For young people, that gets them in bed earlier and gets their day started with a chance to recover and recupe by the time they get back. They can eat the rest of the day and that gives them a chance to keep getting bigger and stronger.
“It’s something that’s been new for them but we’ve tried to do it where we can get every kid here,” he noted. “That’s been the key. To me, every guy is as important as the guy that’s going to start and play every game and do it like they’re supposed to on Friday night. I think if we can do that and we can hold every guy accountable from the time they enter our program then by the time they’re seniors they will know how to hold onto the rope. When you do that, you don’t have to rebuild, you just reload.”
