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Rising freshmen ready to fill key roles for Russellville in 2017

Don’t look now, but a youth movement is officially underway within the Russellville football program.

“I’ve never been in this kind of position before, to have this many young kids who will have a great opportunity to play in the fall,” said fourth-year head coach Mark Heaton, whose team began its second week of spring practice on Monday. “It’s kind of a two-fold process there, a lot of times. You get kids that are just that good and have that potential to play early as ninth-graders. It’s a completely different competition level though, so it’s a growing process regardless of how athletic or good a kid is.

“The other part of it, too, is we’ve got some spots where we’re really thin. We’re gonna need those guys to step in and play at a high level.”

There are, of course, plenty of spots where the Golden Tigers are not thin, where they have established contributors returning in 2017. Rising seniors Logan Jones and Robert Hamilton bring experience and athleticism to the starting corner spots, and they’re both part of a deep rotation of slot receivers that also includes rising senior Bernard Phenizee and rising junior Theran Pounders. In the backfield, rising junior Zaye Boyd returns after a breakout sophomore season in which he gained 100-plus yards from scrimmage in all 12 games and scored a total of 25 touchdowns.

“We’ve got a lot of experience in the slot and at the running back position,” said Heaton, who is 27-9 in three seasons at RHS, including last year’s 8-4 mark. “Trying to get those outside receivers and quarterback and offensive line spots to gel, that would be huge.”

And that’s where the youth movement potentially begins. The Golden Tigers, who finished runner-up to Brooks in Region 8 last season and then lost to Briarwood Christian in round two of the Class 5A playoffs, must replace a three-year starter at quarterback in Payton Nichols; four starting offensive linemen, including All-State left tackle Austin Stidham; and veteran outside receivers like Colin Garrison and Nate Franklin.

Fortunately for Russellville, Heaton believes that a talented class of rising freshmen has several players who are ready to make an immediate impact.

“We had seventeen kids move up from the middle school level at the end of the year last year,” Heaton said, “and that was really big. They practiced with us for three or four weeks, and that gave them a chance to feel more comfortable coming out in the spring. It gave them an understanding of how we practice, our attention to detail, and that was big as far as making this transition a little easier.”

One of those impact freshmen in 2017 could be Luke Barnwell, whose development at quarterback would be critical for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the Golden Tigers have a need at the position following the departure of Nichols, who threw for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2017. Secondly, the more responsibility Barnwell can handle at quarterback, the more Heaton can use rising junior Devin Buckhalter as a dynamic weapon at the skill positions.

Buckhalter, who led the team with 35 catches for 514 yards as an outside receiver last season, also served as Nichols’ primary backup and has been splitting time at quarterback with Barnwell this spring.

“Luke Barnwell is an incoming ninth-grader who has been very impressive this spring,” Heaton said on Monday. “Devin is our leading receiver coming back, but he’s gonna take snaps at quarterback for sure. He’s our guy now, just because of that experience factor. But Luke has been very promising. If he can get to the point where he can help us some and take snaps on Friday nights, that would allow us to put Devin in some different roles.

“Devin is a playmaker. We want to get him involved and keep him involved. The more he can help us in different situations, the better. But that’s all dependent upon how well Luke comes along. He’s very mature for his age, and he’s a competitor.”

A ninth-grader starting at quarterback at the 5A level isn’t unheard of, but how about the idea of ninth-graders starting at quarterback and left tackle—perhaps the two most important positions on offense? Heaton said that rising freshman Edgar Amaya was taking first-team snaps last week in Stidham’s old spot. Other new contributors on the offensive line could include rising sophomore Noah Pounders, rising juniors Herson Rodriguez and Andre Armstead, and rising senior John David Aycock, who played almost exclusively at defensive end last season.

John David Palmer, a rising senior who played well at left guard last season, is the lone returning starter up front, but Heaton likes what he’s seen thus far from Aycock at right tackle.

“John David [Aycock] was the fourth guy in the rotation at D-line last year,” Heaton said. “With his great feet and athleticism, we felt like he would be able to help on [the offensive] side. One of the greatest things about Austin Stidham was the way he was able to set the edge with his athletic ability, to find that edge defender and really get on him. We think [Aycock] can pick up in that area and really help us there. He’s been tremendous so far. And he’ll still rotate in on the D-line this fall.

“We’ve been moving some guys around on the offensive line. We’ve got some young guys up front who played that jayvee role last year who are gonna have a great opportunity ahead of them.”

Opportunities are plentiful at outside receiver as well, where Heaton said rising freshmen Rowe Gallagher, Cole Barnett, Caden Watts and Ashaad Williams are already in the mix, along with Buckhalter and another veteran, rising senior Kevin Partrich. Rising freshman Grayson Eady has been getting first-team reps at safety this spring while also rotating in on offense. Heaton said that Peyton Ray, another incoming ninth-grader, had been very impressive early in spring practice before sustaining a knee injury last Thursday that will require “a longer recovery period.”

Heaton has been pleased with the leadership shown by returning veterans like Phenizee (who finished strong last season, catching 10 passes for 152 yards over the final five games), Jones (a big-play threat who totaled 372 yards and four touchdowns on just 21 offensive touches in 2016), Hamilton, Palmer, Aycock and rising senior Roman Cortez (who anchors an experienced and productive defensive line that also includes rising senior Jeff Lloyd and rising junior Will Rushing).

“Really, some of the guys we expected to kind of step up and lead us have done that and are even playing at a higher level than we anticipated,” Heaton said. “Those guys have shown a lot of good leadership skills.”

Heaton also praised Boyd, who finished last season with 1,401 rushing yards on just 168 carries, for his growth in the leadership department.

“Zaye Boyd has had a good spring,” Heaton said. “He’s fast, but the biggest thing this spring is just the positive attitude he’s had at practice. He’s kind of been jumping in there with other guys, showing a little bit of assertiveness in trying to be a better leader, things like that. He’s gonna make plays, no doubt about it, and he’ll continue to grow.

“We’re gonna play faster this spring and faster this fall, so you’ll probably see more rotation back there, and in other spots as well. That’s the good thing about having all these young guys coming up.”

The Golden Tigers will conclude spring practice on Friday night with a spring game against Saks High School at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium on the campus of Jacksonville State University. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m., and pre-game coverage will begin on WGOL-AM 920 and 100.7 FM at 7 p.m.

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