By Kyle Roberts
Ruston High Head Coach Jerrod Baugh was raw and honest when asked to summarize how this past week of practice had gone for the returning state champions.
“It was erratic and inconsistent,” Baugh said in response. “You know, we’ll see some flashes of some good things. And it’s not even practice to practice: it’s parts of practice that are really good either offensively or defensively, and then you move on to the next segment and it’s flip-flopped. We’re just not as consistent as we need to be.”
Baugh was quick to point out that it was the first week in full pads for the team and that his expectations may be set too high. Still, he harkened back to what he had been saying all summer about staying focused and consistent.
“It’s probably a lack of focus for us right now,” Baugh added. “We do a lot of things during the summer leading up to our practice, and I know it’s hard — but I just think we need to make sure that we’re focused on what it is we need to take care of on a daily basis. We can’t get satisfied with only have a good segment of practice. We’ve just got to learn to be more consistent.
“This senior group has been to the state championship in both seasons, so there’s some human nature to grow accustomed to that. But none of that’s guaranteed. So we just have to keep on continuing to work in a way that got us to that point.”
Baugh then shared some of the highlights from the last week of practice.
“I’ve been really pleased with our skill kids on offense,” Baugh said. “I think (senior quarterback) Josh Brantley has had a very good camp to this point. The receiver group is coming along, and the running backs have been really steady in Dylone Brooks, Jordan Hayes and Lander Smith. And we need them to be.
“Defensively, seniors (cornerback) Aidan Anding and (linebacker) Zheric Hill have been solid. And that’s to be expected. But I’ve really been pleased with the safety group that we’ve been rotating in there. You know, they’ll brand new, and they’ve shown some promise. They get out and come to work everyday. It hasn’t always been perfect, but they keep getting better.”
Next week, Ruston High will finally line up against a different team: C. E. Byrd in Shreveport, La., for the annual summer scrimmage between the Yellowjackets and the Bearcats.
“Nearly everything we do over the summer is us-versus-us,” Baugh said in conclusion. “Coming out to practice, our guys are seeing the same one or two guys then entire time, so that likely gets old. So I think playing a new team will freshen things up next week when we have a change to go against Byrd.”
The scrimmage will be Friday, Aug. 23, on Byrd’s campus. The freshmen will start at 6 p.m. and varsity will begin at 7 p.m.
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