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  • Rich Flowers/Athens Review Coach Brad Smiley speaks to Kiwanis Club members Tuesday.

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July 26, 2011

TVCC coach optimistic about 2011

Rich Flowers The Athens Review

ATHENS — Trinity Valley Community College Football Coach Brad Smiley told the Athens Kiwanis Club membership Tuesday that he’s starting the 2011 football season with a good feeling.

Smiley’s team lost in the Southwestern Junior College Football Conference title game a year ago. He is pleased about the players that will be returning this year, and believes there are some promising newcomers to provide the other pieces of the puzzle.

“You know how it is sometimes. You look around the room, and know what kind of people you’re around, and they can feel it too,” Smiley said.

Smiley, in his fourth year at TVCC, saw things start to jell for the Cards last October in one of the strangest homecoming games ever played. TVCC had to have a win to stay alive for the playoffs. The Cards were down by 17, when severe thunderstorms caused the game to be suspended in the third quarter. Smiley got on the phone, and called Eustace, and got permission to finish the game there.

“The game lasted seven hours and 46 minutes,” Smiley said, adding the rain delay to the actual time on the field. “When we got to Eustace, we outscored them 21-0, and won that ball game 31-27.”

The Cardinals were able to springboard the strong finish into an excellent recruiting season, and that led to strong workouts in the spring.

Coming in this summer are signees from the University of Texas, University of Mississippi and Baylor University, to add to those who committed during the winter.

The experience edge coming into 2011 is on the defensive side.

“We’ve got nine lettermen in the secondary alone on defense,” Smiley said.

Smiley was watching University of Alabama Coach Nick Saban recently, and noticed that their abundance of returning talent was similar to TVCC with its 27 returning lettermen.

Saban said the challenge is to convince the players that they can’t relax, but have to give it their best effort every time out.

“The line between good and great is a fine line,” Smiley said.

On offense, most of the skilled players from last year are gone, including the conference’s leading passer, and a first-team All-American running back. Filling the gaps are two quarterbacks who were highly-successful in high school, and a bountiful crop of running backs to choose from.

Smiley believes TVCC competes in the best junior college conference in the nation. Many former SWJCFC stars are now playing on Sundays, and TVCC has produced its share.

“We had six guys in the NFL last year,” Smiley said. “There are a lot of great guys out there doing a lot of great things representing this college.”

The players’ reporting date is Aug. 9. The first game is Aug. 27 at Independence Community College in Kansas.

 

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