By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The numbers are not overwhelming, but the talent returning is the best the program has seen in years.
The North Pulaski football Falcons ended their two-week run of spring practice this week, with numbers as high as 38 and as low as 27.
Player numbers have not been the only thing down this spring. There are currently three coaching vacancies among the North Pulaski staff, leaving the Falcons with just head coach Tony Bohannon and assistants Rich Rogers and Robbie Walker.
“This time of year, you (normally) have six of us,” Bohannon said. “You work three groups, and you have two coaches working with each one. So we’re half-staffed right now. That’s made it a little bit tough at times.”
Although the coaching situation is difficult, Bohannon says he is not concerned with the lower player turnout. He said the numbers don’t include most of next year’s sophomores, so the turnout should be higher come August.
Injuries have also played a role in the spring, most notably to starting returning senior Daniel Thurman, who is out with back problems. Junior Camaron Stoneking has also had back issues, but Bohannon expects both players to be back at full force by August.
A solid core of skill players are returning, including quarterbacks Andrew Allen and Marshall Shipley, along with senior running back Jerald Blair and sophomore Darius Cage. Senior Alex Harper will return at tight end and defensive end in the fall, and Huston Reagan will see time at fullback and linebacker this year. Defensive ace Arlando Hicks will also return for his senior year of football in August.
Four returning linemen return to the offense, including 6-foot, 9-inch, 325-pound Cliff Copeland. Copeland tipped the scales at over 350 during certain times last year, but Bohannon says he has done well with his exercise regimen over the past several months, which has him in much better shape over this time a year ago.
“This is the most returning starters we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Bohannon said. “We just hope we can keep them all together. There are some days when we will be thin on linemen and other days where we’re thin on backs. But the one thing about it is, the young guys that are out there, they get worked in, and a lot of them are guys that haven’t got a lot of work before. Everybody’s getting some this spring.”
Changes in both the offensive and defensive schemes have taken center stage for the Falcons this spring. The defense has been working on going to a five-man front, while the offense is adding another running back.
The Falcons have used primarily a wing-T formation for most of Bohannon’s tenure, but are now switching to the newly revived dead-T formation.
“The T we ran before was more of a veer-type,” Bohannon said. “Where you break it down and run the pro set out of it. What we’re going to now is more like what you see out of Cabot and Beebe. We’ll see if we can hang on to the ball a little bit more and get a little more out of it.”
The plan is to alleviate fatigue as much as possible on both sides of the ball, but Bohannon said that may not be a reality at the interior. Senior linemen Jared Pflaster and Dylan Shefield will most likely line up at both offense and defense throughout the season, and Copeland could even see time on the D-line in the fall.
Bohannon has high expectations for senior running back/defensive back Jerald Blair. Blair was the only Falcon to make All-State last year, and has lined up in the spring at running back and quarterback, along with his defensive job in the secondary.
Bohannon said it is more than just the Falcon faithful who have their eyes on Blair.
“He has gotten a lot of mail this spring,” Bohannon said. “We’ll see how it goes. They’re checking transcripts and all of that good stuff. We’ll have to see how it all works out.”
