By Benny Rogers Sports Editor
It there’s a theme coming out of the preseason workouts for the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals, it’s depth.
“Depth is the biggest difference from this time last year,” second-year Cardinal head football coach Brad Smiley said Thursday morning. “And it’s not just that we have good numbers; it’s that we’ve got numbers of quality players.”
Smiley and his staff will get a chance to see the Cardinals in game-like conditions Saturday in an intrasquad scrimmage at Bruce Field. Action is set to start at 7 p.m. for a practice/scrimmage Smiley said would last around two hours.
“Things are really going good,” Smiley said. “We are trying to ID who ‘our guys’ are. Everyday the depth chart changes.”
Smiley said with just over a week before the season begins at home next Saturday against Dodge City (Kan.) only 6-7 starting positions are solidified.
“(Starting) jobs are up in the air up and down the lineup,” Smiley said. “We will use the scrimmage as a last good evaluation for positions that are still undecided.”
Smiley said 93 players reported for the first day of workouts and 87 were still around. He said the travel squad for the season would be 65 players.
The Cardinals will be attempting to improve on a 2-7 season a year ago. They have been picked to finish sixth in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference behind Kilgore, Blinn, Navarro and Tyler and ahead of NEO and Arkansas Baptist.
With eight starters back on defense, Smiley said that unit is starting to solidify.
Offensively, he said depth at the tailback and wide receiver positions is loaded with potential playmakers.
“That’s another significant change from last year,” Smiley said. “We have some guys who will make plays for us this year.”
Smiley said sophomore Marcus Mann was the frontrunner at tailback. He said freshmen Chad Winbush, Bo Walker and Stacey Womack were also making an impact.
TVCC’s wide receiver position was bolstered last week by James Cleveland, a 6-1, 205-pound transfer from the Iowa, where he was first team on the All-Big 10 freshman squad.
There will be no admission charge to Saturday’s scrimmage and the public is invited to attend.
