Rhea County 2018

[RCfan]

I don't think we wanna go there and start accusing CJF of "recruiting".

Kids transfer and leave for all sorts of reasons. To clarify: the "stud" QB that we lost to Meigs is there because his father got a job in Meigs when one wasn't  available to him here and this all happened before his freshman year. Also, we lost a couple of starters last year because they were dismissed from the team due to poor decisions they made but were fortunate enough to get another shot to play somewhere else for their senior year; one at Meigs and one at Bledsoe. It would have been nice to had them both last year but I'm glad they got a second chance to play somewhere.

We lost another one to Bledsoe after Spring practice last year but he had just moved here from Bledsoe and went back. None of this is recruiting....not even close.

I also am hearing the rumor that we may be losing a Senior linemen to Meigs for whatever reason. Perhaps it's playing time or lack there of or maybe his family is just moving, I've heard both. But that again isn't recruiting.

While we are on the subject of O-line, and I'm not trying to ruffle feathers but the offensive line had major issues last season and was a weak spot on thIs team. I think it was more about O-line chemistry than ability and hopefully CMP can get this worked out in Spring practice. With the inexperience the Eagles will have at running back the O-line need to be better than average and firing on all cylinders to have a successful season.

GO EAGLES!!!

Edited April 16, 2018 by RCfan

[Eagle57]

Maybe we can add another OL..............we don't need a tight end.    

[QB14]

10 hours ago, RCfan said:

I don't think we wanna go there and start accusing CJF of "recruiting".

Kids transfer and leave for all sorts of reasons. To clarify: the "stud" QB that we lost to Meigs is there because his father got a job in Meigs when one wasn't  available to him here and this all happened before his freshman year. Also, we lost a couple of starters last year because they were dismissed from the team due to poor decisions they made but were fortunate enough to get another shot to play somewhere else for their senior year; one at Meigs and one at Bledsoe. It would have been nice to had them both last year but I'm glad they got a second chance to play somewhere.

We lost another one to Bledsoe after Spring practice last year but he had just moved here from Bledsoe and went back. None of this is recruiting....not even close.

I also am hearing the rumor that we may be losing a Senior linemen to Meigs for whatever reason. Perhaps it's playing time or lack there of or maybe his family is just moving, I've heard both. But that again isn't recruiting.

While we are on the subject of O-line, and I'm not trying to ruffle feathers but the offensive line had major issues last season and was a weak spot on thIs team. I think it was more about O-line chemistry than ability and hopefully CMP can get this worked out in Spring practice. With the inexperience the Eagles will have at running back the O-line need to be better than average and firing on all cylinders to have a successful season.

GO EAGLES!!!

True. I'm not accusing him of recruiting. Just seemed fishy to me that, of all the schools, they would end up there. 

And, about the O-Line, I think they will be making some changes up front. Moving away from two platoon would be ideal, but I don't know if that is happening or not. The O-lineman I am hearing about probably would start this year for us if he stays and almost definitely would for Meigs if he leaves, but we have options there, even if the majority of it is inexperienced. I won't be shocked if we see another sophomore in the mix for a starting job up front, maybe even a freshman depending on how the summer goes. 

I agree on the running backs being inexperienced, but I think they should be fine as always. That is also another group where some youth could mix in pretty early. There is one back from Spring City that I would not be surprised if he got some carries with the varsity this season, even being behind Morrison, Langley, Garmany, Shelfer, Newman, and others. 

One corner spot, one safety spot, and the outside linebackers are my concern for next season. We lost the starter and the backup at one of the corner spots, but we do have Rice back which should help. We lost Cooley, but still have Smith, Thundquist, Young, and Hampton back there, but Smith is the only one with a ton of playing time. We lost our outisde linebackers from last season, but maybe the awesome depth we have in the middle (Kaylor, Alday, Goodwin, and Garmany) will help lighten the blow of losing Suttles, Ty Goodwin, and Graham.

Defensive line should be strong again with some big, mean kids playing up front, as well as the middle linebackers. 

Quarterback is a little top-heavy when it comes to depth with two seniors and a junior with a chance to add a couple freshmen, but it is Zach's job for his senior season unless one of the other two surprises and takes it. 

Tight end is a problem area. We will only have 2 (Laws and Kaylor) returning from last year, and, from what I have seen, there is no depth behind them. One of the incoming freshmen, Jeremy Easter, could be as high as 2nd team next season due to his size and skill as well as lack of capable bodies there. 

I doubt we use wide receivers this year, but we do have options there if they do decide to try them out. 

All in all, I think Rhea Co finishes 6-4 or 7-3 with losses to Bradley Central, Catholic, Cane Ridge, and maybe Cleveland. 

[MarsBlackmon]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 0:28 PM, RCfan said:

I don't think we wanna go there and start accusing CJF of "recruiting".

Kids transfer and leave for all sorts of reasons. To clarify: the "stud" QB that we lost to Meigs is there because his father got a job in Meigs when one wasn't  available to him here and this all happened before his freshman year. Also, we lost a couple of starters last year because they were dismissed from the team due to poor decisions they made but were fortunate enough to get another shot to play somewhere else for their senior year; one at Meigs and one at Bledsoe. It would have been nice to had them both last year but I'm glad they got a second chance to play somewhere.

We lost another one to Bledsoe after Spring practice last year but he had just moved here from Bledsoe and went back. None of this is recruiting....not even close.

I also am hearing the rumor that we may be losing a Senior linemen to Meigs for whatever reason. Perhaps it's playing time or lack there of or maybe his family is just moving, I've heard both. But that again isn't recruiting.

While we are on the subject of O-line, and I'm not trying to ruffle feathers but the offensive line had major issues last season and was a weak spot on thIs team. I think it was more about O-line chemistry than ability and hopefully CMP can get this worked out in Spring practice. With the inexperience the Eagles will have at running back the O-line need to be better than average and firing on all cylinders to have a successful season.

GO EAGLES!!!

Really appreciate this post. What a lot of people don't understand is that Meigs County is in the middle of everywhere. We are only 20 minutes from Dayton, Athens, Cleveland, Sweetwater, and Kingston, so its an attractive situation for some kids who haven't really had things work out for them at other schools. They get a second chance and an opportunity to play for an outstanding coach in a supportive community. And it also helps that we have won a lot of games recently. And obviously there is no "active recruiting" going on by Fitzgerald or any of his staff. He is a man of high character, and he does things the RIGHT way. He makes sure these kids know that they cannot transfer and play without changing addresses and living in Meigs County. He's good at what he does, and he will continue to do things the RIGHT way.

Good luck to you guys this year!

[RCfan]

3 hours ago, MarsBlackmon said:

Really appreciate this post. What a lot of people don't understand is that Meigs County is in the middle of everywhere. We are only 20 minutes from Dayton, Athens, Cleveland, Sweetwater, and Kingston, so its an attractive situation for some kids who haven't really had things work out for them at other schools. They get a second chance and an opportunity to play for an outstanding coach in a supportive community. And it also helps that we have won a lot of games recently. And obviously there is no "active recruiting" going on by Fitzgerald or any of his staff. He is a man of high character, and he does things the RIGHT way. He makes sure these kids know that they cannot transfer and play without changing addresses and living in Meigs County. He's good at what he does, and he will continue to do things the RIGHT way.

Good luck to you guys this year!

You are correct, Fitzgerald is a high character guy. He cares about the kids and is a great fit for Meigs.

Best of luck to y'all this year as well.

Edited April 18, 2018 by RCfan

[Eagle4life55]

Everyone knows why the QB left, the same reason the rising Sr. quit the same year. The coach's son was going to get to play and that was that. I'm not saying who is better or that I know who should have played or anything like that but that is why we lost the QB to Meigs. I don't know anything about his Dad getting a job but whether he did or not that's not why he left. I don't know the situation with some of the others but looks like to me we need all the talent we can get and something needs to be done so we stop losing players. It's not been long ago that we were the ones accused of recruiting when kids were coming to us instead of leaving. I don't know what's happened or how to fix and don't claim to but I'd sure like it if we had people complaining about kids coming here to play like they used to.

[Eagle57]

Has our QB ever attended a passing camp of any kind? In my opinion the use of a few short passes to the tight end would work wonders toward keeping teams from stacking the box. Just my thoughts       GO EAGLES

[haweanbula]

Is Rhea Co. still running the wing-t out of the shotgun? 

[ocac]

3 hours ago, haweanbula said:

Is Rhea Co. still running the wing-t out of the shotgun? 

I would not call it the WingT.  Their formations usually include 2 wings/slots, but they are running power and trap over & over & over again.

[Eagle4life55]

I don't think you'll see us in the shotgun any this year. We will either be in the T or the double wing/wing T. That shotgun did not work well for us and we lost some speed out of the backfield from last year so I'd say we'll see those backs really close to the line like we had them a few years ago. We just don't have the size and speed that we did a few years ago, just the facts.

[Blaze45]

6 hours ago, Eagle4life55 said:

I don't think you'll see us in the shotgun any this year. We will either be in the T or the double wing/wing T. That shotgun did not work well for us and we lost some speed out of the backfield from last year so I'd say we'll see those backs really close to the line like we had them a few years ago. We just don't have the size and speed that we did a few years ago, just the facts.

The little running back that played against us was a pretty solid runner, and I think if your starting QB had been playing we might have had a tougher time with you all. I just didn't see any dimension. it was going to be a run play 95% of the time. I would load up and put a tight end in the backfield as a blocking back, or at a minimum have him pull with the qb option read . I think you still have alot of talent , it will just have to be utilized properly and you will be in the thick of things this year.

 

Edited April 24, 2018 by Blaze45

[RCfan]

2 hours ago, Blaze45 said:

The little running back that played against us was a pretty solid runner, and I think if your starting QB had been playing we might have had a tougher time with you all. I just didn't see any dimension. it was going to be a run play 95% of the time. I would load up and put a tight end in the backfield as a blocking back, or at a minimum have him pull with the qb option read . I think you still have alot of talent , it will just have to be utilized properly and you will be in the thick of things this year.

 

Hey Blaze, what happened with Blackmon opting out of their home game this upcoming season with Rhea?

I was kind of surprised to see that because it was a home game for Blackmon and Rhea County fans travel extremely well, it would have been a really good gate for y'all.