When John Kenny arrived in Brooklet early in 2007 he didn’t want to build a team. He wanted to lay a foundation to build a program.
Year one was tough on Kenny and the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets as they finished 2-8 (1-5 Region 3-AA), and switched from a run-based, Wing-T attack to Kenny’s more pass-heavy spread offense. The growing pains were obvious, but as the season progressed, the offense began to take shape.
Wide receivers Tony Raymond, Leroy Evans and Greg Wright, quarterback Joe Wilson and running back Tharon Davis — all juniors — as well as freshman fullback Dieon Evans each showed vast signs of improvement, and Kenny feels that he is ready to take the offense to the next level.
“I think from day one to the end of the year, we improved in a lot of areas,” Kenny said, “especially building depth on both sides of the ball — establishing an offense that can both run and throw the football.”
Depth should not be a problem for the 2008 Jackets, as a bulk of the talent, defensively as well as offensively, will be back on the field. “We lettered 34 players on varsity,” Kenny said, “and another 31 on JV, so I’m really excited about the numbers. 55 of those 65 are coming back. I think that is defiantly something that we build on. A lot of those guys played, and that is something we can build on for the future.”
The next rebuilding stage, according to Kenny, is the offseason. He expects his players to remain dedicated and hit the weights over the winter and up to spring practice. He feels that the added size and strength will combine with the experience in the spread system.
The final piece of the puzzle leading up to 2008 will be a solid class of freshmen. They met their future coach at the middle-school banquet, and Kenny expects to see the eighth graders in the weight room when SEB resumes classes on Tuesday.
And Kenny’s on-the-field outlook for the 2008 Yellow Jackets?
“I really feel that at every position, we have people returning — either as backups or starters — with the exception of middle linebacker,” said Kenny about the graduation of senior LB Kyle Greathouse. “It’s the only spot we don’t have people returning. All the other positions — we’ve got plenty of depth.”
It has been a while since SEB has seen football success, but with a plethora of offensive playmakers returning as seniors in 2008 and some standouts on defense — DB’s Matt Conner and Raymond to compliment a deep defensive line — Kenny and the Jackets will be looking toward turning that corner.
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.
Year one was tough on Kenny and the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets as they finished 2-8 (1-5 Region 3-AA), and switched from a run-based, Wing-T attack to Kenny’s more pass-heavy spread offense. The growing pains were obvious, but as the season progressed, the offense began to take shape.
Wide receivers Tony Raymond, Leroy Evans and Greg Wright, quarterback Joe Wilson and running back Tharon Davis — all juniors — as well as freshman fullback Dieon Evans each showed vast signs of improvement, and Kenny feels that he is ready to take the offense to the next level.
“I think from day one to the end of the year, we improved in a lot of areas,” Kenny said, “especially building depth on both sides of the ball — establishing an offense that can both run and throw the football.”
Depth should not be a problem for the 2008 Jackets, as a bulk of the talent, defensively as well as offensively, will be back on the field. “We lettered 34 players on varsity,” Kenny said, “and another 31 on JV, so I’m really excited about the numbers. 55 of those 65 are coming back. I think that is defiantly something that we build on. A lot of those guys played, and that is something we can build on for the future.”
The next rebuilding stage, according to Kenny, is the offseason. He expects his players to remain dedicated and hit the weights over the winter and up to spring practice. He feels that the added size and strength will combine with the experience in the spread system.
The final piece of the puzzle leading up to 2008 will be a solid class of freshmen. They met their future coach at the middle-school banquet, and Kenny expects to see the eighth graders in the weight room when SEB resumes classes on Tuesday.
And Kenny’s on-the-field outlook for the 2008 Yellow Jackets?
“I really feel that at every position, we have people returning — either as backups or starters — with the exception of middle linebacker,” said Kenny about the graduation of senior LB Kyle Greathouse. “It’s the only spot we don’t have people returning. All the other positions — we’ve got plenty of depth.”
It has been a while since SEB has seen football success, but with a plethora of offensive playmakers returning as seniors in 2008 and some standouts on defense — DB’s Matt Conner and Raymond to compliment a deep defensive line — Kenny and the Jackets will be looking toward turning that corner.
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.
