In this feature, PalmettoPreps.com speaks with Williston-Elko head football coach Derek Youngblood and poses three questions about his squad.
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PALMETTOPREPS: As far as what you wanted to accomplish this offseason, what were those goals and where do you feel like the team is with them?
YOUNGBLOOD: First thing for us was, we kind of had to do it the last couple years, we're having to play double digit seniors every year. Schools our size, we're about 240 kids right now, that kind of takes a toll on your program. Last year we had 11 seniors, the year before that 14. For us, it's trying to get the right people in the right spots. We use scrimmages, jamborees, and those non-conference games to figure out the best 11 guys we can put out there that gives us the chance to win. Some time it takes us a little longer. Last year, it was probably about week 6 or 7 before we felt like we had the right people in the right spots.
Just like everybody else, we want to get our guys bigger. We had a lot of kids during the school day so we were able to take advantage of them being in class, weighlifting. We took advantage of the time and things we had. We had a good summer. Our numbers have been pretty consistent all summer long. Varsity wise, anywhere from 28 to 35 has been about our average. We have about 24 kids that will play on our JV team.
We're just trying to get the right guys in the right position.
PALMETTOPREPS: When you look at all phases of the game, who are a few guys that you feel like, at this point, you're going to be counting on to be leaders?
YOUNGBLOOD: We have a kid named Jeb Lott. Jeb's a junior, sort of a do it all guy. He can play any position up front. He's starting at tackle and has started every game since he's a freshman. He has two years of experience under his belt.
We bring back our quarterback, this will be his second year as a starter, Tres Rimes. Tres is one of those guys that's a great manager, he knows what we want to do offensively. He's a really outspoken guy, very fiery. He does things the right way and is going to yell and holler and get after guys.
Our running backs, we have two guys. Jairius Tobin, he's a bowling ball type guy. Then we have Javier Rudolph. Downhill guys back there at running back, more ground and pound type guys. At wideout we have AJ Chandler, he's a rising junior. Real long, good hands, runs well, can get vertical. He also gets underneath and does well in space.
Defensively, I would probably say our guy up front is Karrlen Waymyers. He's a rising junior defensive tackle. He's 6-3, 255 with really good hands, feet, plays with a high motor. He's a strong kid and plays football the way it needs to be played. It really all starts with him on defense. He's a lot like Tres, very vocal.
We have a bunch of young puppies we're trying to turn into dogs in the next weeks.
PALMETTOPREPS: How do you see the region race breaking down?
YOUNGBLOOD: Wagener-Salley and Blackville bring back a lot from their teams last year. Wagener had a really good run last year, real special run. Coach Fox has really turned those guys into some go-getters over there and they have a lot of people's attention over there. Blackville has a pretty good crop of talent running through there. Last year, I thought they were as good on defense as anybody we played all year long and they bring a lot of guys back.
After that, I think you can take the rest of us and stick us in a bag and shake it up. The rest of us kind of lost a good bit and are trying to find ourselves. Those other two are pretty solid in what their identities are, a continuation of what they did last year. The rest of us are going to be in a battle. Your Ridge Springs and H-K-T and Estill and Denmark and us, as we progress, those matchups against Wagener and Blackville will be some good matchups that could go either way.. On paper, those two teams are the two that bring back the most with the most experience.
*** 2019 Williston-Elko Football Schedule ***
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