Receivers To Battle As A Group

BULLDOGS ADJUST AT WIDEOUT

Cole Harris, Fayetteville receiver, catches a pass Tuesday during practice at Harmon Field.
Cole Harris, Fayetteville receiver, catches a pass Tuesday during practice at Harmon Field.

— With Austin Allen back for another year as the quarterback at Fayetteville, plenty of fireworks should be expected in the Bulldogs’ passing game.

But while the record-setting Allen returns, many of the names and faces who were on the receiving end of his passes last season do not.

Fayetteville had a high-fl ying passing attack in 2011, throwing for more than 4,000 yards en route to the Class 7A state championship. Allen passed for 4,150 yards with then-seniors Brad Culp, Casey Perry, Scotty Thurman Jr. and Reid Holmes figuring in as his favorite targets.

With those receivers now gone, Fayetteville will turn to a diff erent group to help lead the passing game this fall.

“We’ve got to get some more guys there,” said Daryl Patton, Fayetteville coach. “We’ve got Jordan Dennis and Cole Harris, and then we feel good about some others: guys like Chadd Holmes and Ramsey Jones and Tyler Calloway. And then we could bring (Alex) Brignoni over from the defense if we needed to.

“We’d like to have around six or seven receivers. You need that depth in our conference.”

Dennis, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound junior, emerged as one of the top newcomers in the 7A-West Conference last season at Springdale High before transferring to Fayetteville this summer. Used more as a defensive back last fall, he is expected to flip over to primarily an offensive role with the Purple’Dogs.

“I think we’ve got a good group of receivers,” Dennis said. “We’ve got a lot of talent, and I think we’ve got a chance to go all the way this year.”

Harris (6-0, 175) has experience in big-game situations for Fayetteville. Patton believes moving Dennis and Harris to the top of the receiving depth chart will give the Bulldogs not only a new look, but also a new style in the passing game this season.

“Jordan has great hands, and he’s a good route runner but he’s not the downfield threat type as much as Culp was,” Patton said. “Brad Culp was just a one-of-a-kind rare breed. So with Cole and Jordan and our other guys, we’re a little bit diff erent looking offense than last year.

“We’re not as much a home-run hitting passing game.”

Holmes (6-0, 170) emerged in the spring as a player who could be one of Fayetteville’s top possession receivers. At tight end, Patton said the position might not be counted on as heavily in the passing game with the loss of graduate Tyler Tuck.

“It could be more of a blocking type tight end position this year,” Patton said. “We’ve got a few guys there who can catch some passes, but not that Tyler Tuck guy.”

Upcoming Events