Blue Devils Eye Improvement In 2024 Season
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WATER VALLEY – The second year of the Coach Clint Faust era kicked off as MHSAA Statewide football practice began Monday, August 5. The Blue Devils are coming off a (4-7) campaign, a second place finish in Region 2-2A, and a MHSAA Playoff Berth. Head coach Clint Faust reported the team returns a solid core of battle-hardened veterans looking to build upon the foundation of last year’s team.
“I am excited about the upcoming season because of all the hard work that our guys have put in this off-season,” Faust said. “We only graduated six guys from last year’s team, so we have the core of our team returning from last year. We have a veteran offensive and defensive line mixed with some young athletic skill position guys. I believe this gives us the right formula to have a successful football season.”
The Herald will take a position by position look at what to expect from the 2024 version of the Blue Devils.
Quarterbacks
The quarterback room may be inexperienced, but what they lack in experience, they make up for in athleticism. Sophomore Tre Adams is poised to be the varsity signal caller after showing flashes of brilliance in junior varsity, spring football, and summer 7-on-7 games. He will look to grow under Offensive Coordinator Rusty Coach Smith and Coach Faust’s tutelage. Junior Zae Bradford, sophomore Miles Buford, and freshman move-in Robert Swanner will all serve in backup capacities.
“I expect us to play fast and physical Blue Devil style of Football and execute at a high level,” Smith said.
This expectation starts with the quarterback position.
Running Backs and H-Backs
The Blue Devils graduated most of the rushing production from 2023 in Jaden Morgan’s 1,321 yards and 19 Touchdowns. Junior Zae Bradford looks to be starter and carry the load at Running Back. Bradford saw significant time as the primary backup in 2023 and accrued 463 yards and 6 Touchdowns in last year’s campaign. Providing quality depth will be Sophomore Miles Buford and Junior Drake Mabary.
A trio of upperclassmen will be fighting for H-Back playing time as Senior Dez Campbell, Senior Tyler Richardson, and Junior Parker Turnage all are more than capable of getting the job done as they are all threats in blocking and receiving. Providing depth will be Sophomores Nehemiah Brown and Parker Logan.
Offensive Line
There may not be a deeper position on the 2024 roster than the offensive and defensive Lines. Coach Faust’s men boast three returning players with postseason honors from the 2023 squad. Seniors Donalvin Wilson, Hayden Schurr, and Ezaryon Riley lead the unit. The other two spots will be earned by either junior Jake Griffin, junior transfer Brayden Gray, junior Preston Potts, junior Jeremy Hampton, or sophomores Ja’Cameron Elmore, Jay Hervery and Kaleb Vire. Even beyond these 10, there are more talented underclassmen that make this a very deep position and a strength for the 2024 Devils.
Wide Receivers
The five top receiving targets from 2023 are all gone. It will be up to the likes of senior Reid Burress, sophomore Derion Gale, junior Gabe Butler, junior Kemauri Page, and junior Channing Freeman to step up be viable targets for Adams. Three move-ins – senior Kaden Norlander, junior Nick Rubio, and sophomore Kyler Norlander will factor into playing time as well.
Defensive Line
Coach Bryant Mix’s defensive line has adopted the mantra “Do Your Job,” in 2024 according to the 24th Year Blue Devil defensive line coach. The group will be the anchor for the “The Wrecking Crew Defense.”
Senior Donalvin Wilson was voted MAC All-State Honors in 2024 as he amassed 108 total tackles (second on the team), 10 sacks, and 33 quarterback hurries. This deep unit includes seniors Dez Campbell, Ezaryon Riley, Tyler Richardson, Hayden Schurr, Juniors Brayden Gray, Jeremy Hampton, and Sophomores Kaleb Vire, Parker Logan and Ja’Cameron Elmore.
Linebackers
The leading tackler from 2023, Reid Burress (114 total tackles), returns for his senior campaign to lead both the linebacking corps as well as the defensive unit.
Looking to replace 2023 graduate Will Embry’s 82 tackles will be underclassmen J.D. Gooch and Miles Buford as both drew 2023 starts and return to action in 2024. Juniors Gabe Butler and Parker Turnage will also fight for playing time as well as freshman Robert Swanner.
“I expect the 2024 Wrecking Crew to be a lot more coachable and always play with relentless effort,” reported Defensive Coordinator Coach Richard Russo about the 2024 unit. “The front seven are deep and are going to have execute while we bring along our younger defensive backs. I am extremely excited about the ceiling of the potential of the 2024 unit.”
Defensive Backs
No unit was harder hit by graduation than the defensive backfield. All four starters and two of the immediate backups are no longer on the roster. Only Senior Isaiah Webb returns with quality reps in the secondary. Many players will be competing for the starting spots including juniors Zae Bradford, Channing Freeman, Kemauri Page, Drake Mabary and Alijah Pegues, senior Kaden Norlander, and sophomores Tre Adams, Kyler Norlander, and Nick Rubio. This group will have to be coachable and grow up quickly for the Blue Devils to experience early defensive success.
Specialists
A loaded specialist room returns with senior punter Tyler Richardson, senior long snapper Reid Burress, and junior place kicker Gabe Butler all receiving postseason MAC honors from 2023. Richardson boasted a 31.6 yards per punt average and 917 punt yards last year with a long of 45 yards. Butler provided 27 kicking points to the offensive output as well as handled the majority of kickoff duties. Burress is a top tier long snapper and sophomore Alex Spruill and junior Parker Turnage will provide depth at that position. Another spot hit hard by graduation was in the kick return game. This season Buford, Gale, Adams, and Kyler Norlander will be featured in the return game.
Coaching
A bright spot is the fact that Coach Faust was able to keep the entire coaching staff intact from last year, which is a rarity in today’s world. Faust will be the head coach and oversee the offensive line as well as some of the special teams’ units. Coach Mix will oversee the defensive line. Coach Smith will serve as the offensive coordinator and coach quarterbacks and cornerbacks. Coach A.J. Bratton will work with the wide receivers and safeties. Coach Russo will serve as the defensive coordinator, coach running backs, linebackers, and oversee some of the special teams’ units. Consistency always is a plus when building a new program.
The Schedule
The Blue Devil football program’s strong reputation makes it difficult to find opponents every two years during MHSAA Reclassification. The Blue Devils will host East Webster (3A) and Ripley (4A) in a Preseason Scrimmage on Friday, August 23. Their non-region schedule features a Class 6A opponent in Saltillo, a Class 4A opponent in North Pontotoc, a Class 3A opponent in Independence, two Class 2A opponents in Eupora and J.Z. George, and a pair of Class 1A opponents in Baldwyn and 2023 State Champion Biggersville.
Region 2-2A will remain the same for 2024 with Calhoun City, Bruce, and M.S. Palmer being Region foes. The Blue Devils were able to finish 2023 as Region 2-2A Runners-Up and earning a home playoff berth.
