By Chris Parker
Thayer bounced back from its first losing season since 2014 with a 6-5 record last season. The Bobcats have some experience returning this year, but a large group of freshmen will also push for playing time.
The SCA is a line of scrimmage league, and Thayer has one of the conference’s best returning linemen in Cooper Clark. He was a first-team all-region defensive lineman and second-team all-region offensive lineman and.
“He (Clark) is one of those natural born leaders that that we don’t have to push too much. He knows what’s expected of him and he’s done that for the last three years,” Thayer head coach Briar Hancock said. “Cooper’s only played football for three years. This last season that we had was kind of his breakout.”
Defensively, Clark had 86 total tackles and 16 quarterback pressures. He will see time back at linebacker as well this season.
“We’ve been rotating him (Clark) here and there with defensive line and some linebacker spots just because of some rotational pieces that we have now that we didn’t have last year,” Hancock said. “He’s kind of taking that to heart and understands that learning new spots can be tough. He’s just one of those leaders on the field and off the field that kids look up to. He’s one of those guys that gives those young kids rides. He does it all for us, and we kind of look for him to be that coach on the field force again this year.”
Zeb Dubois is another two-way lineman returning this year. The junior was all-region both on the offensive and defensive lines. He had 64 total tackles with nine quarterback pressures last season.
“Zeb is another one of those guys that just has great explosiveness and a great motor,” Hancock said. “He creates double teams and does a really good job getting pressure in the backfield and all that good stuff for us, and kind of keeps the linebackers free to go play.”
While those two handle duties up front on defense, look for Brandon Prince in the secondary where he was a second-team all-region defensive back. He had a team-high three interceptions last season while he pulled down 43 total tackles.
“Brandon’s really taken this off-season to heart. I’d say he’s gained about 20 to 25 pounds,” Hancock said. “He did a really good job for us last year at the corner spot. He didn’t lose any gaining all that weight. He is a kid you can move in or out at that corner spot or outside linebacker.”
Prince will also play tight end and provide blocking along with Clark and Dubois.
“He (Prince) has done a really good job for us as a tight end not just as a receiving tight end but blocking in the run game too,” Hancock said. “He does a really, really good job for us, and still kind of developing there, but I am really excited for his senior season.”
Xavier Gonzales will move to strong side linebacker after posting a 75-tackle season last year.
“He (Gonzales) is not going to scare you coming off the bus. He started as a freshman (weighing) 110 pounds, and he’s just not afraid of anything,” Hancock said. “He gets downhill and goes and makes plays in the backfield. We’ve been really focusing on getting some weight on him and getting stronger in the weight room. He’s another one of those kids that has kind of taken it to heart and understands that if he wants to be really successful and help our team out a bunch that he’s going to have to gain weight, and he’s going to have to become faster and stronger. And he’s doing a really good job this offseason.”
Maddux Underwood will join Gonzales at linebacker in his freshman season.
“He (Underwood) is about like Xavier. He doesn’t scare you getting off the bus, but instincts wise, he sees the field really well. He gets in the backfield quick and uses his speed to get around blockers and go make plays for us,” Hancock said.
Dominick Boyce, Trenton Johnson or Clark will also see time at linebacker. Jasper Cypret, Rowan Johnson, Heath Combs, Thomas Poole, Kutler Shannon and John Zuchowski are all in the mix at linebacker as well.
Dubois will be a nose guard on the defensive line with Clark at defensive tackle when not at linebacker. Eric Beville will be a defensive tackle.
Colton Mills will join Prince at cornerback with freshman Corbin Taylor playing safety.
Offensively, Dawson Harris will move from tight end to quarterback in his junior season. He played quarterback as a freshman due to injuries and moved to tight end as a sophomore.
“(Harris) has shown really great improvement this summer at quarterback,” Hancock said. “He makes great reads in our option game. He does little things right as far as carrying out fakes. He works extremely hard in our quick game passing sets. He just tries to do the little things right and tries to be a leader. And I think that goes a long way.”
Poole will be a versatile weapon in the offensive game. Combs will be at running back along with Underwood
“(Poole) has shown flashes that he can be a really versatile force in our offensive scheme. (Combs) has put on some weight and some size and as great vision of the field,” Hancock said. “(Underwood) is one of those hard-nosed kids that if you ask for three yards, he’s going to try to get you three. He runs extremely hard downhill.”
Mills, Tucker Wade, Gonzales and Riley White will be wide receivers to watch.
Conner Crowder will join Dubois and Clark on the offensive line at left tackle.
“(Crowder) is a freshman who has really exceeded our expectation. He does a really good job and understands defenses. He’s a big, physical kid. I’d say he’s about 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4 and probably 235 pounds. He doesn’t look like a freshman or play like a freshman,” Hancock said.
Kaleb Tipton will be at right tackle after starting as a freshman.
“I think he (Tipton) has really developed his game to go out and finish drives. That was his biggest issue last year is not finishing drives. I think he’s done a really good job this offseason,” Hancock said.
Fellow freshman Canyon Harper and junior Blain Grimes will also be factors on the offensive line.
Much of Thayer’s success this season will be determined by a freshman class that Hancock thinks will adapt quickly to playing on Friday nights.
“We have been watching them (the freshman class) since they were in Mighty Mites. They just play really well together,” Hancock said. “They understand what our expectations are from a young age. They’re not your typical freshmen that may take a week or two to get acclimated to high school football. They may have those freshman mistakes and I expect that. In the other sense of that I think we’ve had maybe nine or 10 freshmen that have competed for spots, and that’s great for our older guys, because no spot right now is solidified. Our practices are a lot more intense because everybody’s fighting for a spot. It’s an interview every day you get out there. Nothing is set in stone yet, but those guys have done a really good job of understanding what we’re trying to do offensively and defensively.”
Thayer will travel to Mountain Grove for a jamboree on Aug. 23 before opening the regular season Aug. 30 at Hayti.
Limiting mistakes of all kinds will be a focus heading into Week 1.
“I think limit your freshman mistakes, because we’re going to be extremely young with three seniors,” Hancock said. “We’re going to be young again and limiting those mistakes, those big plays defensively and stall outs on offense goes a long way for us. Right now, we’ve done a good job of keeping the football off the ground and limiting turnovers. Obviously, the summertime is a lot different than a Friday night, but that’s been our main focus. If you want to be successful, we can’t turn the ball over. Our completion percentage has to be a lot higher than last year in the passing game, and then defensively, we can’t give up the big plays.”
