Oakland trying to fill big shoes at spring football practice

A classic George Jones song asks the question, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?"

Oakland football fans are anxiously awaiting the answer to that question as the Patriots began spring practice this week.

Patriot coach Kevin Creasy hopes the phrase "next man up" will be more fitting to suit his squad.

"I think we'll get a better feel after our scrimmages," said Creasy, whose 2016 squad went 14-1 and finished as Class 6A state runners-up. "Will it be a rebuild or a reload? Only time will tell. We've got some good players to plug in at spots. Only time will tell if they all come together as a cohesive unit."

Oakland graduated all but four starters from last year's team, which dominated its first 14 opponents before being edged 12-9 by Whitehaven in the BlueCross Bowl.

The graduation percentage isn't even as daunting as who the Patriots lost.

Class 6A Mr. Football Back and Gatorade Player of the Year JaCoby Stevens (LSU), defensive back Kaleb Oliver (Georgia Tech), quarterback Brendan Matthews and linebacker Jackson Cauthen are just a few of the names of all-region, all-area and all-state players who molded the 2016 squad into state title contenders.

"We were fortunate to have such a great group of seniors," Creasy said.

With almost every contest being a blowout last year, Creasy was able to get a lot of younger faces into games. That is proving invaluable as those players attempt to step up during spring practice.

"A lot of times we had leads and put in younger guys, instead of giving the same guy the ball 40 times and risking injury," Creasy said. "We were undefeated in (junior varsity) ball the last two years, but getting under the lights on a Monday night is a lot different than getting under the lights on a Friday night."

One of the returning starters for Oakland is incoming junior defensive end Christian Cantrell. He went from being the youngest starter on the team to the elder statesman in just a few months time.

"It all came pretty quick," said Cantrell, of his new leadership role. "I'll have to step up my leadership role. (Spring practice) is very important for us to find guys to step in."

Other players back who started or received considerable playing time include placekicker Aaron Sears, punter Garrett Taylor, running backs Cameren Snelling and Mookie Wilson, linebacker Jeron Rooks and offensive linemen Blake Spencer, Branson Boone, Lionel Patterson and Thadd Chapman.

A first-year player that could make an impact for the Patriots is DCA transfer Michael Bond, who is getting looks as a running back and on defense.

"We're taking a look at where he can play," Creasy said. "He's been a great fit so far."

Oakland will scrimmage Knox Catholic on May 12 at UT-Chattanooga and Rhea County on May 20 at home.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.