When he took the athletic director and head football coaching positions in February 2007, Southern had less than three months to assemble a staff, get to know the players and institute his program.
This year, the familiarity between the full staff of coaches and players has the Tigers ahead of schedule.
“The kids are going to walk out there Monday and are going to know what our terminology is,” Southern said. “Our teaching terms will already be set in.
“(Unlike) last year, they won’t have to work on thinking of the term and then doing it. And also, this spring we will be able to do a lot more individual teaching that we were not able to do to the degree last year.”
Belton, which begins spring football Monday and will conclude with its spring game May 30, hopes to come out of the 18 total practice sessions with a clearer view of which varsity players will lead the Tigers back among the top programs in District 12-5A.
Belton lost 31 seniors from Southern’s first squad, which finished 3-7 overall, fifth in District 13-5A at 1-5 and was a few plays away from a potential playoff spot.
Had the outcomes of three-point losses to Round Rock McNeil and Harker Heights and a four-point loss to Killeen Ellison been reversed, Belton would have had its first winning record and playoff berth since 2003.
Two key positions that will be up for grabs are quarterback and running back.
Junior-to-be Kevin Thornton, who was 12-for-30 passing last season in a backup role, won’t begin spring practice until Belton’s baseball season ends. Competing with Thornton will be junior Ian McCoig, last year’s junior varsity quarterback, David Ash, a sophomore transfer from Academy, and sophomore Jonathan Paysee.
Senior Cole Dominguez, who saw the most action at QB last year, is slated to play wide receiver and safety.
A big hole looms at the running back position because of the graduation of Keith Daniels and Khiry Robinson, who rushed for a combined 1,976 yards and 14 touchdowns and accounted for more than 63 percent of the Tigers’ total offense.
Southern said senior Josh Newman and Anthony Huber, who both moved up from JV during the middle of last season, are among the top candidates.
“We have to come out of spring with the top number of players as varsity players,” Southern said. “There are a few guys on the bubble, but in order to move up from where you are as a team, you always need to come out of spring with your varsity team intact.”
A Zero Week meeting with perennial power Ennis - which finished 7-5 and advanced to the area round of the Class 4A playoffs - in the H-E-B Classic in Waco should provide Southern an indication of where his program stands.
“Hopefully that is going to be a playoff-type atmosphere,” said Southern, whose Marshall team lost to Ennis in the 4A Division I state final in 2004. “I know what kind of program they’ve got, so we’re going to have our hands full right off the bat.”
Next up for Belton is its annual matchup with McNeil before a meeting with Mansfield Timberview, which finished 9-4 and advanced to the 5A regional semifinals before losing to Lewisville Hebron.
“I think we’re going to be better than we were a year ago at this time,” Southern said. “We’ve got a year experience. We have another year in the program and in the weight program and hopefully those things are going to make us better going into a schedule like that. I don’t think we can play a non-district schedule that will truly 100 percent prepare us for our district.
“We’ve got to play some good people and figure out how to compete with those people."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
