For a football coach it’s all about the tape and what’s on it. The tape is all-seeing and it doesn’t lie.
There are several Bryan County football players who know they’re set either as a starter or as someone who is going to get plenty of playing time. There’s another group, mainly sophomores and freshmen and a few untested juniors, who are fighting to establish themselves in the eyes of the coaches.
Those players do their best in practice but it’s when asked to perform in game-like conditions they can make or break their chances of getting on the field.
With the season opener against Johnson only a week away—the Redskins host the Atomsmashers on Aug. 15— those players on the fringe will get a last chance to make an impression Friday night in a scrimmage session against Bradwell Institute and Windsor Forest starting at 7 p.m. at Bradwell.
It will be Bryan County’s second outing of the pre-season. The Redskins faced Beach last Friday night in a two-quarter scrimmage that did not start until after 10 p.m. due to weather delays.
“We were looking at getting a lot of guys on the field, a lot of young guys,” Coach Cherard Freeman said of that initial outing. “We wanted to see how the offensive line was jelling, just little things like that.
“We just want to get some film and see where we’re at and reevaluate everyone and see if we need to move some people to different positions,” Freeman said. “We started a freshman and sophomore at linebacker.
“We know Zane Renteria and Corey Collier (starting linebackers) can play but we wanted to look at two young guys and get some tape on them.”
Renteria, a seasoned senior, and Collier, who had an excellent sophomore season, are among a coterie of Redskins who are experienced and give Freeman and his staff players they can build around.
The most experienced of the group is Ger’bravion Collins who is in his fourth year as a starter at defensive back. Collins will also be a backup quarterback and teams with Anddreas McKinny to form a solid one-two punch at running back.
“We’ve got some seniors who have played a lot of football for us,” Freeman said. “Ger’bravion has started every game for three years. Anddreas was out two years ago with a knee injury but he’s coming off a really good year. He was runner-up for region player of the year last year.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys. Going to Bradwell we’ll be looking at a little more, wanting to jell more so when we go into the following Friday’s game (Johnson) we’ve got things lined up so we realistically have an idea of what we’re going to look like.”
Mike Brown is a sports correspondent for the Bryan County News.