Not ecstatic, but just very pleased and optimistic about the progress he hopes he continues to see.
“It went pretty good,” Belton’s second-year coach said. “We were a little sloppy this morning, but we were much better in the afternoon.”
The Tigers worked out from 7:30-9:30 a.m. and from 4-6 p.m. on Monday. They’ll resume practice at the same times today through Friday, when full-contact drills begin, before Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage.
In the morning session, Belton players spent most of their time doing basic drills in groups. The quarterbacks and wide receivers worked on their timing while the linebackers and cornerbacks practiced defensive schemes. Then, the Tigers practiced two phases of special teams before retiring until the afternoon.
The second session included a little more instruction but mostly focused on conditioning and weight lifting. Southern said the same practice agenda will be used today.
Southern’s biggest objective heading into the first day of practice was to see how well his players retained the knowledge they had gained after an entire year in his system.
The Tigers had 18 practices in the spring, and several players were part of the Belton team that qualified for the 7-on-7 state tournament last month.
“Overall our retention level was really good,” Southern said. “There were a lot of little things that I saw the kids pick up on and ones I hoped they would pick up on.
“We just need to keep working on our concepts and schemes. Overall, I was impressed with the little stuff and what they took from spring football and 7-on-7 over the summer.”
The Tigers return 12 lettermen to a team that finished 3-7 overall and fifth place in District 13-5A in Southern’s first season.
Belton graduated quarterback Jacob Phillipe and moved Cole Dominguez - 36-of-76 for 555 yards last season - to wide receiver, leaving a void at the signal-caller position. Kevin Thornton is the only quarterback with experience after going 12-for-30 last season in a backup role. David Ash, a sophomore transfer from Academy, and sophomore Jonathan Paysee are also in the mix.
In contention to replace Keith Daniels and Khiry Robinson at running back are speedy senior Josh Newman, senior Anthony Huber and junior Seth Alcozer.
Senior Kyle Voss, who was District 13-5A’s Newcomer of the Year in 2006 and an all-district first-team outside linebacker in 2007, will be moved to middle linebacker.
One player that caught Southern’s eye on opening day was senior Justin Jefferson. In a battle for one of the starting cornerback positions, Southern said Jefferson definitely showed up in excellent shape and was determined to earn playing time.
“He had a little more bounce in his step,” Southern said. “He performed well in the morning and the afternoon and got off to a nice start.”
