High expectations for veteran Timberwolves

MILL CREEK

The Jackson football team is ready to find out how much of a difference experience makes.

The 2007 season could best be described as a trial by fire at times because injuries and a small senior class forced the team to start up to seven sophomores on defense.

“We had to grin and bear it last year and hope it would pay dividends down the road,” said Jackson head coach Joel Vincent, whose team finished .500 in the league for the second straight season.

As he and his staff entered the second week of practices, Vincent has noticed a stark contrast in the way the coaches are interacting with the players and it portends well for the season.

“This time last year we were teaching a lot of new stuff to guys that really never played varsity football,” Vincent said. “This year we’re reviewing a lot of stuff with guys who are going to play, so it’s a huge difference.”

The Timberwolves return 17 starters on both sides of the ball. Seven of those are seniors and nine of 11 players are back on offense.

The teams that tend to do well are senior-based teams, said senior wide receiver/cornerback Jordan Kellington.

“Even though we don’t have necessarily the most seniors, our juniors are almost like seniors because they all played as sophomores,” he said.

A junior who will have a huge role in the offense is quarterback Andy Gay, who was named the starter three weeks into the 2007 season. This summer Gay attended the Manning Passing camp in New Orleans where he spent time working with Peyton and Eli Manning.

“I talked to them for about an hour and a half, two hours, both of them,” Gay said. “They gave me a lot of insight on how to be a better quarterback. Work ethic is everything.”

When he returned, Gay hooked up with some of his receivers and also attended other quarterback camps. Gay’s work ethic was infectious.

“He’d call me almost every day wanting to run routes,” Kellington said. “He’s set up the 7-on-7 for the whole team without the coaches. He just worked harder than anybody.”

Gay feels far more comfortable heading into his junior year.

“The game feels like it’s slowing down a couple of notches,” he said. “I see everything way better. Everything is slower. I’m better at making decisions. The game feels way easier.”

This season Gay will be running the offense out of the shot gun as Jackson has tweaked its offensive schemes. The reasons for the change are numerous – running backs Taylor Cox and Riley Carr, wide receivers Trevor Bray, Brian Morse, Kellington and tight end Trevor Hegeberg. The sheer number and talent of Jackson’s skill players forced Vincent to reevaluate the offense.

“What prompted the change is having a bevy of skill players and trying to figure out ways to get the ball into the hands of those various players,” Vincent said. “I just thought the old way we did things wasn’t really conducive to spreading the ball around. … It was harder to get the ball into the hands of other guys.”

At the end of the season last year, Vincent noticed an especially notable statistic related to Cox. He averaged 19 yards per reception.

“Part of the reason we went to the shotgun spread is it gives us more diverse plays to get him the ball rather than just handing it to him,” Vincent said.

From top to bottom, the level of skill players this season rivals what Jackson had in 2000-01 with the likes of Jason Morris, C.J. Marsh and Craig Chambers.

Cox sees Jackson’s running game as potentially among the best in the league. While Cox brings blazing speed, Carr has size, strength and some decent speed too.

“We’re really versatile,” Cox said. “It’s kind of a little combo – lightening and thunder.”

Cox is about 15 pounds heavier than last year, tipping the scales close to 200 pounds. But the additional weight hasn’t slowed him down at all.

“He is bigger and if it’s possible, this is going to sound strange, he seems to be a step quicker,” Vincent said.

The consensus among player and coaches is that Jackson shouldn’t have any problems putting up points on the board. How the defense performs likely will determined the Timberwolves’ fortunes in 2008.

Vincent is emphasizing this point to his players.

“We’ve got to commit to being a better defensive football team,” he said. “Winning games in shootouts isn’t good enough.”

The Wolfpack allowed 38 or more points in four of its six losses. Inexperience was too much to overcome for the defense.

“We were young and people didn’t know their assignments,” Cox said. “We weren’t very disciplined. This year our emphasis is one discipline, knowing our assignments. … We have the talent. The talent is there. It’s the mental part of the game we need to work on.”

Carr, an inside linebacker, will direct and call the defensive signals.

“He’s another kid who’s worked his tail off throughout the off-season to become even better than he was last year,” Vincent said.

Jackson is not only looking at securing a playoff berth but to challenge four-time defending champion Edmonds-Woodway for the league title.

To do that the Timberwolves need their younger players, who are not so young anymore, to continue to make progress.

“You’ve got to get out of that mindset ‘I’m a sophomore and I’ve got to survive’ to ‘I’m a returning starter and it’s time for me to thrive and step up,’ Vincent said. “I think our guys are getting it.”