Published: May 14, 2008 01:11 am            

Right around the corner

Huntsville football coach believes team has talent to contend for title in 2008

Until last Tuesday, Mitchell Coey had been licking his chops, waiting for the day the Hornets hit the football practice field again.

Huntsville’s head football coach and new athletic director, Coey knows what kind of talent he has returning later this fall.

The Hornets have a star in the making at quarterback, they have depth in the offensive backfield, they’ve got some size on both sides of the line and they’ve got some guys who like to create havoc and knock heads on Friday nights.

That’s why Coey was itching to go — more than most of the players, even — when the initial workout was rained out, pushing the start of spring practice back one day.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” Coey said late last week. “We’ve got so many athletes on the field right now. During the spring, we’ll be looking at all of our players to see where they can help our team the most.”

At some positions, Coey knows exactly what he’s got.

Justin Gilbert will be back to run the show for the Hornet offense. At times last season, Gilbert really shined. There were times, too, when the slick-footed quarterback made some rookie mistakes.

Coey is looking forward to fine-tuning and polishing Gilbert’s skills during the next couple of weeks of spring practice. He wants Gilbert ready for the season opener on Sept. 5.

Lonny Lipscomb, Kevin Butcher, Joseph Maxey, Shaquille Ross and a few others provide the Hornets several options in the offensive backfield.

Howard Brown and George Perry are two top-notch receivers who have the size and hands to give the Hornets a pair of dangerous wideout weapons.

On the offensive and defensive lines, Coey and his assistant coaches will be looking closely at guys like Adam Ayala, Anthony Griffin, Marcus Williams, Forbes Baggett and Andrew Ginsel to see where they best fit the Hornets’ scheme.

Huntsville also has hard hitters like Kirby Ennis, James Davidson, Brys Baggett and Travis Rex returning.

Coey feels like he’s got the pieces to put together a team that can contend for a district title in 2008. It’s his job, and the job of his coaching staff, to figure out where those pieces belong.

“We’re looking at a lot of kids on the offensive line,” Coey said. “With coach (Scott) Stoughton leaving, he’s taking one of our returning offensive linemen (Shelby Stoughton).

“So far, though, I’ve been pleased with the offensive linemen. Some of those guys look like they want to play.”

“We’re doing what we’ve been doing the last few years offensively,” Coey added. “Defensively, basically we’ll be running the same package. We’ve hired Shane Martin as our new defensive coordinator. He’ll be here (this week) to start working with our defense.”

Practices continue after school this week. At the end of the spring, the Hornets will cap their offseason workouts with a scrimmage on May 30.

        

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