At least one change is notable for Hulbert football heading into the season.
Over a week into the practice season, things are going very smoothly – maybe even more than expected. When the Riders returned from summer break this season, there wasn’t much need to re-explain their plays, drills or how they go about practice.
The Riders are making early strides in the practice schedule, thanks to retaining what they did in the spring and summer.
“I will say being this early in the season, everyone kind of knows what they’re doing,” HHS head coach Chad Botts said. “Over time, you build consistency running the same system year in and year out. We don’t really have to explain a lot because they’re carrying over that knowledge from previous seasons.”
Along with focusing on hunkering down and putting in the work, Botts and his coaching staff are trying to get the Riders to focus on doing the little things correctly.
From running the right routes to putting in effort in conditioning, the Riders staff is looking for complete buy-in from the roster.
“They’re brining the energy, they’re bringing the focus, so a lot of good positive things,” Botts said. “There are naturally things we need to work on; we are like any team. The small things, proper steps, make sure we are tackling well, getting good snaps on offense. We want to harp on the little things to get better and better every day.”
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Bo Thayer, left, hands the ball off to running back Hunter Rankin at practice Tuesday, Aug. 11.
While the practices have gone smoothly, the Riders are looking to figure out several things on the field.
With a healthy class of graduation players leaving the roster, a new dose of contributors is stepping up for the Riders.
The roster has grown and grown over the past few years, helping the Riders when those seniors do graduate. Now, the returning players are just trying to find the right groove needed for a team to play well together.
“I think we have found out each others’ best attributes and how we can work together to be better,” quarterback Bo Thayer said. “It’s a lot of new players and we are still learning how to play with each other. We are going to work our heart out. We put in everything we have, and we just want to be better and not be OK with losing.”
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Bo Thayer throws a pass during practice Tuesday, Aug. 11.
While a lot of the starters are known already, there are still some holes to fill for remaining start spots and prime reserve positions. Built on the running game, the Riders rotated through several runners and lineman at the Tuesday, April 11 practice.
Ending with a sped-up play clock, the Riders worked through their running schemes and some pass plays to close out the Tuesday practice.
“I think we’re growing a lot as a team, people are starting to step up that should be,” Rider running back Hunter Rankin said. “I think we’re finding out who we’re going to be, offensively and defensively.”
For about anther week and a half, the Riders will keep hitting the practice before opening the scrimmage season with an exhibition vs. Keys and Cave Springs, Friday, Aug. 21.