Having waited patiently for seven months through the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic that closed schools and shut down professional and amateur sports across the nation, Chris Young stands on the verge of his first game as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Greenwood travels to Fort Smith Southside on September 4th to open the 2020 season.
Following last week’s scrimmage at Fayetteville, Young sat down for a lengthy interview with the Greenwood Dog Pound and talked in detail about his team and players, his staff, and the upcoming schedule (see related article). The Bulldogs are once again highly ranked and are expected to compete for yet another conference and state title in Class 6A.
Asked about his roster, Coach Young said, “We’re at 87 [players] right now. We’ve got a couple kids that are no longer with us, [and] we’ve got a couple that are with their parents right now due to [Covid-19] concerns. But when they feel comfortable, we will welcome them back with open arms. That’s an individual decision we feel like every parent needs to make on their own, so we have a couple kids that hopefully will [come] back. We’ll be excited when they [rejoin] us.
“We’ve [also] had a couple young kids that have moved in, sophomores that are going to play with us, but not kids that I see on the two-deep [right now].” There have also been some injuries that have impacted the roster and the scrimmage, the coach revealed.
“We’ve had some injuries,” he confirmed. “We held quite a few guys out [against Fayetteville] that were banged up, [and] we’ll welcome those guys back in a hurry. It will be nice to get them back on the field.
“[Senior receiver] Coleton [Payton] had an ankle injury, but we expect within a week or so he will be okay. [Junior] Colin Daggett, a cornerback, was out, and we’re just trying to protect him for now. He’s a returning starter for us. [Sophomore] Colton Castillow, a backup corner, was also out. So we were missing two of our really good corners, but those guys will be back [soon].”
Young also mentioned that the multi-talented Noah Jantzen was also sidelined due to a leg injury. “Our punter is [junior] Noah Jantzen, and we held him out. [He’s] hurt with a groin injury. Noah is a big, strong, athletic kid. He’s a good wide receiver for us with a big leg [for] punting.”
But there have been two additional injuries of the season-ending kind, one of them devastating and career-ending for senior defensive lineman Tayshaun Leader, who injured his achilles tendon in a non-contact drill earlier this month. Leader was arguably Greenwood’s best defensive player and was destined to receive numerous college offers after his senior year.
“It’s frustrating when a young man works as hard as [Tayshaun] does, and has an injury like that, a non-contact injury, kind of a freak deal,” said Young. “Tayshaun had really taken on a leadership role with our team. I was really proud of how he handled the younger players. Any time you have a returning starter who is a great player, and you lose him, that’s a huge blow. But we [still] feel good about our defensive line. That’s one of our deepest groups.
“[Defensive line] coach [Brandon] Elmore and [Defensive Coordinator Jason] Gill will find a way to plug the next guy in, but you just hate it for Tayshaun because he’s worked so hard and had the ability to have a great [senior] season. Certainly, it’s going to hurt any time you lose a player of his ability.”
Asked about how the injury may impact Leader’s chances of playing college football, Young said, “I don’t know. I don’t have a lot of experience with achilles injuries. It [can be] a devastating injury, but I don’t know the extent of his. [But] Tayshaun is a fighter and I expect he will do whatever he needs to do to rehab and have the opportunity to play at the next level.”
The other season-ending injury happened to underclassman Harrison Adams. “He’s a sophomore receiver who was having a great fall camp for us,” explained his coach. “He’s a real smart kid who could play several different positions. He would have been a [junior varsity] starter for us. He tore his ACL (knee) in a non-contact [drill].”
Thirty percent of the players on the 2020 roster are twelfth graders. “We have 26 seniors, and we’re happy with that,” said Young. “We’ve got a good [bunch] of seniors with a lot of good football players in that group. Our sophomore numbers are a little bit down, 24 or 25. It’s been like that since seventh grade, but it’s a talented group. We’ve got four or five really good skill players and some linemen that we think will develop into players. We’ve just got to keep them all out [for football].” There are also 27 juniors listed on the active roster.
As for the odds of completing the 2020 season in the midst of a viral pandemic, Young was cautiously optimistic tempered with a heavy dose of realism. “There’s so much [that’s] unknown, I don’t even know how to answer that question,” said the coach candidly. The Arkansas Activities Association is following the lead of the Governor and the state health department.
“Every day we get different information or new information. Sometimes [we] feel really good, and an hour later [we] get a call that shuts something down. All we’re going to do is put everything we have into [preparing for] Southside. We’re going to get ready for those guys, and after that we’re going to put everything into [getting ready for] Northside.
“If we get caught thinking about playing in week eight or making the playoffs, I think we’re wasting time, because we don’t make those decisions. All we can do is be ready if we get to play. So we’re going to follow the protocols. We’re going to spread out. We’re going to mask up. We’re going to take care of our kids and coaching staff, because we want to play, and that’s all we can do. I think [things] are changing daily,” said Young.
Asked what he knew of the district’s plans for implementing the precautions and restrictions required to protect fans attending games this season, Young said, “I’ve heard several different things. I know they are going to limit ticket sales [at home] and quite a bit on the road. We’ll only have 300 tickets for away games, but I think we’ll have a whole lot more for home games.”
Athletic Director Dustin Smith recently released a 12-minute video describing those protocols for both football and volleyball games this season. It can be accessed on the Greenwood Dog Pound Facebook page.
The new GHS head coach was then asked to comment on his starters and top players at every position in the wake of his team’s performance at Fayetteville. The Bulldogs lost 22-21 to the Class 7A Purple Dogs, but the score was far less important than the way they played in their first live action since last fall. And while Coach Young was pleased with the effort and skill displayed by numerous individual players, the scrimmage revealed the need for improvement in several areas.
“I was very disappointed in the offensive line,” admitted Young, “but I’m still very confident we’re going to have a good line. We made a lot of mistakes last night [in the scrimmage]. Some were communication [issues], and some of that is on us as coaches. But some of [it] was just getting beat, so we’ve got to get better.
“We still have some competition up front,” added the coach. “We’ve got two guys rotating at guard and two at tackle, and we need someone to win those jobs. [Senior] Easton Erwin (5-11, 217) is a returning lineman for us and we feel real good about him. We’re looking for a fifth guy, and if that guy is a guard, then we’ll move Easton to tackle. If the fifth guy is a tackle, we’ll play Easton at guard.
“At right guard we’ve got [junior] Trevor Reeves (5-7, 215) and [sophomore] Hayden Webb (5-11, 285) competing, and at right tackle we’ve got [senior] Christian Brown (6-4, 245) and [junior] Corbin Webb (5-11, 228) competing. Those four guys are competing for one spot, and we will move Easton to either guard or tackle.
When you’ve got four guys competing for the fifth spot, those eight will play for us on Friday night. And we [also] have some young guys [with] some size and ability, but they’re going to have to develop. They aren’t going to help us right now, but down the road. They are a year away,” said Young about the potential of his junior varsity linemen.
As for the incumbents on the O-line, Young is confident in the trio of returning starters Braden Stein, Jeremiah Presson, and Ethan Cole, though there remains room for continued improvement.
“[Senior] Braden Stein (6-6, 290) is at left tackle,” said the coach. “[But] Braden needs to be a lot better than he was [against Fayetteville]. He’s capable of being a very good high school lineman, [and] we expect Braden to be good for us.” Stein is the biggest linemen available for the Bulldogs and new offensive line coach Austin Moreton.
“[Junior] Jeremiah Presson (5-10, 250) is at left guard, [and] I thought he was really physical at times [in the scrimmage]. He was driving guys 10 yards down the field, and we were happy with that,” said Young.
“[Senior] Ethan Cole (5-9, 215) at center graded out the highest in the scrimmage,” said the coach. “[Junior] Hayden Leonard (5-10, 258) is a guy we can also play at guard [or center], and he’ll figure into the Friday night conversation. He’ll kind of be the ninth guy. He’s our backup center and we can rep him some at guard, you just get scared about not having a backup center. But Hayden is definitely in the battle too. So there are nine guys we [think] can play for us on Friday night.
“We feel good about our group [of offensive linemen]. They just have to perform better. They didn’t give our quarterback or running backs a chance at times. [But] as they get better, our running backs and quarterback will certainly play better when he’s got more time back there.”
Turning his attention to the offensive backfield, the coach revealed the winner in the QB competition during summer workouts and pre-season practice. Senior L.D. Richmond, who played quarterback in junior high, was battling a trio of talented sophomores, Hunter Houston, Storm Scherrey, and Joe Trusty for the starting nod.
I think L.D. [Richmond] has won the [starting] job and is going to be a good quarterback for us. But he’s got to have [more] reps to get better. He played the first half [in the scrimmage]. Right now, he’s our #1, and Hunter Houston is #2,” said the new head coach and 20-year veteran of GHS football.
“The other ones we have not given up on by any means,” he continued. “We just feel like they can play right now on Friday night at other positions. We will continue to work them at quarterback. [Offensive coordinator and QBs coach Zach] Watson will work with them after practice and on weekends.
“[But] we think Storm [Scherrey] can make a difference at running back and Joe [Trusty] can make a difference at defensive end. The defensive [coaches] love [Joe]. He’s explosive off the ball and he’s a great athlete. They are two of our best athletes and we don’t want to keep them as a third or fourth quarterback on the sideline.”
Regarding Richmond’s performance at Fayetteville, Young added, “At times [L.D.] was really good, but at times his decision-making [faltered]. But [wearing] a yellow [scrimmage] jersey hurts L.D. It takes away his athleticism. We think he’s going to be great when plays break down. That’s going to be the strength of his game.”
Backup QB Hunter Houston, who split time behind center with Scherrey last season as a ninth grader, had some good moments against Fayetteville too, aiding the Bulldogs in their second half comeback. “That was our young guys and two different quarterbacks (Houston and Trusty) that led scoring drives,” said Young. “So we were really happy with our young guys late and their ability to move the ball and put some points on the board.”
Senior tailback Hunter Wilkinson (5-10, 194) has started the last two years and is expected to carry the bulk of the load in 2020. Rushing for over 1,000 yards last season, Wilkinson is a proven workhorse, but will also need rest and relief at times to help keep him fresh and injury-free. Backups Cameron Krone and Storm Scherrey will be needed.
“We’re going to limit Hunter’s touches [in a scrimmage], but we were happy with how he played. He’s very physical. He ran [hard] and made some good cuts. He did a great job on the fly sweep around the edge for Caden [Brown]. He’s a good player for us. We’re really concerned with finding guys to take reps away from him. I think Storm (5-11, 155) and Cameron and [senior] Caden Brown [can do that].
“So we moved [Storm] to running back. We see him being able to give [Wilkinson] a break, but also do some things with both of them in the backfield. With Hunter and Storm, and L.D. at quarterback, we’ve got three great athletes in the backfield. That will probably be a package we’ll work on going forward.”
Regarding Krone (5-9, 180), the coach said, “Cameron is physical. He can do some stuff in short yardage for us. He needs to get his pad level down a little bit. But I thought he made some [good] cuts [against Fayetteville], and I was happy with how he ran.” Speedy receiver Caden Brown will also see occasional action in the backfield, said Young.
Focusing on the kicking game, a big part of Greenwood’s gridiron success over the past two decades, the Bulldogs have a trio of kickers available this season, including senior Luis Morales with juniors Ben Moy and Noah Jantzen, though Jantzen is currently out of action due to his injury.
“Ben Moy did the punting [against Fayetteville],” said his coach. “Luis and Ben are competing for kick-offs and field goals. Right now, Luis is ahead on the kickoffs, but on field goals there are times when Ben is more consistent and making extra points. We may split that up. That battle has yet to be won. But we’ve got to get better. We’ve had great kickers the last few years, and that’s huge. It’s a weapon. We feel like those guys are going to get there, but we’ve got to improve.”
As for putting kickoffs in the opponent’s end zone, somewhat of a rarity on the high school level, Young said, “We would just as soon have a big, high kick to the five-yard line. We’ve got guys that can cover a kick. We just need to stay away from the line drive kick.”
The coach then turned his attention to the defense, particularly the D-line, a major strength for the ‘Dogs this season, even with the loss of Tayshaun Leader. “Anytime you lose a great [player] it cuts your depth down,” admitted Young. “We were a lot better two weeks ago [before the injury]. But we still feel confident in those guys. We [just] need to stay healthy. At linebacker it’s the same thing.
“[Senior] Bo Asher (6-1, 201), [junior] Tyler Crossno (6-0, 220), and [senior] Ty Cowan (6-1, 265) – those three guys up front really played well [in the scrimmage],” observed Young. “When [Fayetteville] had a tight end, [senior] Jordan Hanna (6-2, 205) walked down. So we feel like those three and Jordan really played well.”
With Asher and Crossno guarding the edges and Cowan in the middle at nose guard, the Bulldogs have an experienced and talented defensive front. Crossno is a state wrestling champion and Jordan Hanna is the younger brother of Morgan, currently a redshirt freshman defensive lineman for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
“Asher and Crossno are ends in the three-front, and when we walk Hanna up, we slide Crossno down,” explained Young. “So we play a 3-2 some and a 4-1 some. [Joe] Trusty 6-1, 191) is a second defensive end and they play him on either side. He and [juniors] Jaelin Fowler and Cameron Dehart are battling for that second spot.”
But while experience reigns on the defensive line, the same can’t be said for the GHS linebackers right now, all of which are new this season. “Our linebackers [are juniors] Parker Gill (middle) and Fletcher Gill (outside), and [senior] Conner Marvin (outside).” Parker Gill (6-0, 218) is the son of defensive coordinator Jason Gill.
“All of our linebackers are first year guys, and that [scrimmage] was their first taste of Friday night action, and I thought they responded well,” said Young. “Parker made some great plays. He’s a long kid and was able to take on a block and still reach out and make plays. Conner Marvin (5-8, 195) is a great athlete with good size and runs really well.
“I felt like those guys really controlled the run. Fletcher (5-11, 185) tweaked his knee a little bit, and [junior Colt] Owenby came in and did a good job. He’s a kid I think can help us down the road, so it was good to see him out there getting some reps. He’s a great young man who plays hard. He’s very intelligent, and we expect him to step up.” Colt is also related to Tatum Owenby, a Bulldogs’ great from the 1990s who also lettered with the Razorbacks.
Asked to describe his team’s defensive approach, Young said, “We’re [mixed] defensively and Coach Gill does a great job game-planning [the opposition]. But in scrimmages we’re working on our base stuff. [Our defense does] a great job moving. They slant a lot and get after the passer. But they played well against the run last night. Fayetteville had two good running backs. If we don’t turn the ball over? They scored off two turnovers and two busted plays,” he lamented.
The defensive secondary was somewhat undermanned against the Purple Dogs with starting cornerback Colin Daggett and backup Colton Costillow both out due to minor injuries. All-purpose senior Jayden Jasna is the other starting corner.
“Jasna is a corner we feel very comfortable with,” said his coach. “He’s a great athlete and a returning starter. He’s a guy we can match up on the other team’s best [receiver]. So we will move him around a lot this year. [Senior] Tatum Sadler is the other corner playing for Daggett, and Tatum did a great job.
“[Jayden is] a [player] you will see in all three phases [of the game],” added the coach, “at corner covering the other team’s best receiver, returning kicks and punts, and on offense at wide receiver. He’s a special athlete and runs great routes as a receiver and catches the ball really well.
“At safety we have [senior] Auston Trevino. It was the first action for him. [Senior] Hayden Wells is our other safety, and he played well at times. He did a good job covering, but those guys have got to be able to come down and make tackles too, and we didn’t do that last night.
“We’ve [also] got to get better covering the deep ball,” added Young. “It hurt us last year, and it’s something we’ve talked about all pre-season. We knew we had some guys back there that are inexperienced. But they will get better. They are competing with [juniors] Sebastian Crumb and Lui Honkala, but we can also do some things with our three corners, Jasna, Daggett, and Sadler. We can move one of those guys there as well. We’ve got to put kids in a place where they have the best chance to be successful, and Coach Gill does a great job of that.”
Regarding team speed, Young said, “We’ve got a few guys that can really run, but we’ve got to getter faster as a team. That’s something we’ve got to talk about as a staff. Some guys are fast, and some guys play fast. We need to continue to find ways to improve our team speed offensively and defensively.
“We’ve got a couple guys on offense that can stretch the field. Caden Brown can fly, so we’ve got to take advantage of that. Luke Brewer, when he gets back, is a guy that’s explosive and can run. Hunter [Wilkinson] and Storm [Scherrey] can run, so we feel good about our team speed at skill positions on offense.
“Defensively, especially at safety, we need to make sure we are playing faster,” he added. “It’s one thing to see these kids in practice, but it’s another thing to see them in a game, and we got a glimpse of that in the scrimmage. But it will be at another level when we play Southside.”
Asked about any substantive changes he’s made since assuming the reigns from Coach Jones, Young said, “We’re [still] very similar. We’re using the same blueprint. Obviously, Covid-19 changes everything. We spend more time “coaching Covid” than we do coaching football sometimes. It drives me crazy because I want to be coaching football. But we’ve got to do it for the health and safety of our kids and coaches. That’s hard, but it’s just something everybody has to deal with.”
Young added that his players seem to have taken the pandemic-induced changes in stride. “Our kids are 100% in. They’ve been doing great. They’re excited [about the season]. The buy-in has been great. They’ve been having a good time. We’ve just got to clean up some stuff so we can play better.”
Finally, offering a critique of his coaching staff, especially the three new hires he brought in last spring, Young said, “They’re doing great – learning as they go. Coach Watson is doing an outstanding job with our quarterbacks. As he learns the offense, he will increase his role. Coach Moreton has changed the demeanor of our offensive line. I’ve seen another level of physicalness. The guys are competing. Coach [Chase] Meyers with special teams and running backs is really coming on.
“I’m excited about all three of those guys. They are good men. We are lucky here. We hire the best. We don’t hire the guys who send in applications. We go find coaches from all over the state. People want to work in Greenwood, so we’re able to find great men,” offered Young. Other members of the GHS varsity staff include Steven Thessing and Travis Sandifer.
So, it seems the more things change the more they stay the same concerning Greenwood Bulldogs’ football. Rick Jones has departed, but Coach Young has been here for two decades and is more than qualified to carry on the proud winning tradition established by Jones and Ronnie Peacock before him. The 2020 season should be a testament to that truth. Let’s hope they get to finish the season as planned.