By Kyle Roberts
Following its first championship in over three decades, the Ruston High School Bearcats have begun their official fall practice — now atop a brand new turf at James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium.
But one thing that won’t change is Bearcat Head Coach Jerrod Baugh’s approach to season prep: working hard every day and fighting complacency.
“It’s no different to what we as a staff have talked about all through the spring and summer — trying to guard against complacency about where our football program is,” Baugh said. “We’ve got some good kids, and we’ve gotten some good work in, but I just think human nature allows you to get comfortable with what your situation has been previously. It’s something we have to be cautious about and make sure that we’re not being complacent about where we are and just continue to work in the way that has gotten our football program to where it is.
“It’s a constant work in progress or our coaching staff and the kids just to realize that we have to continue to come to work everyday and work on the things that got us where we are. There’s a lot of teams in the situation that we had been previously that won some ballgames but had not done enough to win a state championship, and they’re going to be hungry and get after us. Teams on our schedule legitimately have a shot to win a championship regardless of the state they are in, and it they hungry and we’re not, then their preparation and diligence does not need to surpass what we do on a daily basis.”
Ruston High has had tremendous success on the gridiron over the last few seasons and have appeared in the state championship game two years in a row — winning the 2023 crown.
The Bearcats have an experienced offense returning, including the 2023 Non-Select, Division I Most Valuable Player and senior quarter Josh Brantley, along with skill position players at the tailback position in seniors Dylone Brooks and Jordan Hayes.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ruston graduated seven starters who had a tremendous impact on the team’s success last season in both defensive ends Ahmad Breaux and Geordan Guidry, linebacker Jadon Mayfield, and defensive backs Nate Johnson, Ronald Findley, Semaj Jones, and Jacoryian Crowe.
“We’ve seen improvements in the areas that we’ve needed,” Baugh said in regards to spring practice and prep. “The guys understand that there were some guys that graduated that has allowed them to step into some spots, and they know we need them to be good players there. They’ve worked to do that.”
Following the installation of the new turf, Baugh said so far it has met all of his expectations to this point, citing the EcoTherm technology that is keeping the field temperature between 15 and 20 degrees cooler than what it was last summer on the turf.
“This week is probably going to be the hottest week of the summer,” Baugh said. “We’ll still be monitoring the wet bulb out there; sometimes, the grass surface (near the field house) will still be a little bit cooler than the turf. So, when we get full pads on next week, we’ll have to juggle back and forth between part of practice on the grass and part on the turf.
“But the new technology has certainly made a different for us once it was all finished up.”
The Bearcats will practice in the mornings for the remainder of this week in helmets only, and will be in shoulder pads Monday through Wednesday of next week before moving into full gear that Thursday and Friday.
Ruston’s 2024 season is now officially one month away as Acadiana will come to James Field at Hoss Garrett Stadium on Friday, Sept. 6, for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
