Welcome to The Deep Post!
Longtime readers will recognize this as a regular column I publish weekly throughout football season and slightly less frequently in the winter and fall. This column serves as a space to share my thoughts and opinions, thus makes it a subjective piece.
This week’s installation is a roundup of what I’ve seen over the first week of training camps and heard in my conversations with area coaches.
Size Matters
There was a lot of buzz about the size of PikeView’s roster when I circulated the team picture. It’s true the Panthers have a smaller roster than you’d expect at the Class AAA level, at least in numbers but physically, this is one of the biggest PikeView teams I’ve seen.
There have been years where I’ve stopped in Gardner and wondered how the Panthers were going to field a feasible offensive line as none of their players looked the part. This year they look the part. Head coach Jack Turner has a weightlifting background, previously serving as the strength and conditioning coach at Ferrum College.
Turner wasn’t brought on board until the end of last May, meaning he missed most of the offseason with his team. Based on the look of the Panthers he clearly made up for lost time. With an offense that relies heavily on running the ball, those gains will be put to the test early. PikeView unfortunately fell in Class AAA, meaning it’ll need to mash and lean on size and strength to improve and compete for a playoff spot but it appears Turner has them pointed in the right direction.
Defensive Stars
It’s rare that I have opposing coaches praise other players this early in camp. The two names I kept hearing this past week were Isaiah Conley from Independence and Kalum Kiser from Princeton.
Both were all-staters a year ago but the pads aren’t even on and opposing coaches are already concerned about them. Conley should be back on the defensive line this year, terrorizing offenses. Independence head coach John H. Lilly told me it’s been hard to practice with him because he only knows on gear and he struggles to turn it down.
An opposing coach told me in conversation he’s difficult to plan for alone but when you throw teammate Landon Riddle in as a pass rusher there’s almost no way for any team in Class AA to stop them. Speaking of Riddle, he was quick to praise Conley as well when I spoke with him. Everything starts with the defensive line and with him being an elite disruptor he makes life easier on everyone else.
While in Coal City on Friday for media day, Lilly praised Princeton’s Kiser who tested well at the Coalfield and Co. showcase alongside Conley. The pair were two of the top overall performers amongst defensive linemen in Morgantown in the spring, topping the leaderboards in several measurables. Expect both to be game wreckers and the first players opposing teams plan for. We’re only a week into camp and their names are already being uttered throughout the region.
An additional name to keep an eye on is Beckley’s Jamarques Manns, a player who head coach Street Sarrett believes can be the best defensive lineman in the state if he wants.
Hot out the gate
It’s been evident how coaches have effectively utilized their flex days to build up to training camp. Independence has had spring ball and joint practices with teams for a couple of years and Beckley spent the last three weeks of July burning flex days for practice.
Princeton hosted and traveled for 7-on-7 competitions throughout July under new head coach Nate Tanner.
My takeaway from glimpsing the practices I did is the teams are already ahead of the curve when it comes to their preparation. Sarrett told me he believed his team could play a game on Aug. 4 following their annual midnight practice. That’s despite the loss of several starting linebackers and over 1,000 yards of rushing offense. His practice reflected that.
There was teaching and instruction but it felt like it was more on the 201 and 301 levels instead of a 101 introduction course.
The first day of training camp feels like more of formality than it does an official first day of practice with teams coming out of the gate with weeks of practice already under their belts.
One game at a time
It’s not a secret that Princeton and Independence come in with lofty expectations. Both have been title contenders over the last few seasons but stumbled in the semifinal round last year. Both seem to be managing those expectations well or even blocking them out altogether.
Independence acknowledges it’s part of the program’s culture with four straight semifinal appearances or better but every player I talked to seemed to understand that they’re not afforded the luxury of glancing ahead to the playoffs when they’re far from guaranteed a seat at that table.
The Patriots’ scheduling woes forced them to build a schedule that makes them an honorary Ohio team. Even when you look at their in-state opponents it’s a daunting slate with Class AAA runner-up Herbert Hoover greeting them in the opener, a trip to Princeton on tap in October and a pair of duels with quarterfinalists Bluefield and Scott penciled in as well. It’ll be weekly reminder of just how hard winning a title is but if they can navigate it and slip into the playoffs there likely won’t be a more tested team in Class AA.
In Mercer County the hiring of Nate Tanner at Princeton seems to have provided a welcome reset. Those inside the program disagree but from the outside a push for a championship seemed all-consuming for a program that finished 2023 as the state runner-up.
Talking with the players and coaches during my camp tour, I got the sense that they’re more focused on the details of their jobs. All-staters Brad Mossor and Kalum Kiser will have new roles in different packages this upcoming season and they were candid in the difficulties in learning them. For Kiser he’ll be required to play much differently than he did before but he’s embraced that challenge. Mossor will probably get a snap at every position, though I’d be surprised if he played less than 85 percent of his snaps at receiver. How they use him at receiver is what will be interesting to watch with the offense focused on hunting matchups.
Sticking to it
There were many lessons learned this week by yours truly. I had three videos that were corrupted or didn’t save, thus interviews with James Monroe’s Ryan Mann, Kadyn Hines and Princeton’s aforementioned Mossor were lost.But one of the key takeaways for me that I can share came during my talk with Hines who recently committed to play baseball at WVU.
Only a junior, I asked him point blank if he planned to specialize in baseball moving forward our continue as a standout three-sport athlete. Without hesitation he said he plans to play football, basketball and baseball for the rest of his high school career.
That was refreshing to hear because Hines earned a generous offer to join the Mountaineers. Most athletes would drop their other sports on the spot but Hines plans to be force for the Mavericks throughout the year.
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