By JASON KING
Leader sports writer
The North Little Rock Charging Wildcats had a special guest drop by a recent practice last week. Former Arkansas Razorback and Dallas Cowboy Clint Stoerner paid a visit to the field and watched the Wildcat practice. Head coach Bryan Hutson said Stoerner did not participate in the practice, but was on-hand mostly out of curiosity.
“Clint is friends with one of the player’s parents,” Hutson said. “One of the parents called him and told him we had practice going on, and he stopped by to check it out. He and I went in the office and talked for a while, and before he left, we all went out and threw the ball around for a little while.”
The Charging Wildcats’ practices have been up and down according to Hutson, as the coaching staff has decided some of the key positions for this year’s team.
“Some days it goes well and sometimes it’s kind of sluggish,” Hutson said. “We are still doing a lot of conditioning, trying to get all of the kids ready. We are going to have several guys going both ways, so we have spent a lot of time conditioning. We had a really good practice Friday, so we are definitely improving.”
Hutson did announce part of his offensive lineup for this season.
“Right now, we have Chea Peterman as starting quarterback for this year,” Hutson said. “He’s smart, he’s a great athlete and he’s had the dedication that you need to earn that job.”
Hutson also said that a couple of the seniors have already started getting offers from Division One colleges to play in 2006. Van Stuman, senior running back and defensive end, has received offers from Arkansas and Purdue. Senior offensive guard Jonathon Nixon has gotten letters from Arkansas and Purdue as well. Both Stuman and Nixon are three-year starters for the Charging Wildcats.
“They will both probably receive several more before it is all said and done,” Hutson said. “Those are the only two so far, but there will probably be some more before the season is over with. It all will depend on how each one does throughout the year.”
Another player that Hutson seemed to think was in the running for college offers is Richard Williams. Williams is also a three year starter for North Little Rock, and has been invaluable to the Charging Wildcats on the offensive line.
North Little Rock plans to be prepared for the upcoming season, as a part of the ultra-competitive 5A central conference. While conference rivals such as Little Rock Hall and Little Rock Catholic always pose a tremendous challenge, the Charging Wildcats have worked out over the summer as hard as any team in the area. That along with the seniors that are returning to fill in many of the vital positions should help North Little Rock into the season as they enter conference play.
