FAYETTEVILLE — Jordan Dennis returns as a clear-cut, go-to target in the Fayetteville passing game this season. The job now is finding the right mix of receivers to go along with Dennis to give the Bulldogs just as dangerous of an aerial attack as they’ve had in the past.
“Jordan is going to get the attention, there’s no doubt about that,” Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. “Everybody has to know where he’s at on the field at all times. If you try to single cover him, we like that matchup and if you double-cover him, that’s where we have to have the Blake Powers and Ramsey Jones step up and give us another big-play threat.”
THE SKINNY
POSITION: RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
BIGGEST STRENGTH: Experienced playmaker. .. Senior Jordan Dennis could be the top receiver in the 7A/6A- West this fall. With a 1,000- yard receiving season already under his belt, Dennis will be the go-to guy in Fayetteville’s passing attack.
BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: Unproven receivers. .. Behind Dennis, seniors Ramsey Jones and Alex Gaspar and junior Tyler Galloway will step into increased roles in the offense.
WATCH OUT FOR: C.J. O’Grady. ... Fayetteville’s backup quarterback should also see plenty of time at tight end this season. And when he does, O’Grady will be a big, tall target who should be tough to defend.
“We’ve gotten real comfortable and 7-on-7 helped a ton. We’ve just got a lot more confidence in our abilities and we’re ready to come out this fall.”
— Ramsey Jones, Senior wide receiver
Dennis caught 64 passes as a junior for 1,001 yards and 10 touchdowns. With fellow top receiver Cole Harris graduated from last season, Dennis (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) figures to be the top target this fall. But in the 7A/6A-West Conference, one receiver alone isn’t enough and Fayetteville is hopeful that a combination of veterans and newcomers will be able to make this year’s receiving corp just as tough to stop as in recent years.
Senior Ramsey Jones (5-10, 150) has some of the best speed among the receivers and could be Fayetteville’s top deep-ball threat. Jones is joined by junior Tyler Calloway (6-1, 190) and senior Alex Gaspar (5-11, 165) as wide outs who will see their role increase this fall.
“We have some depth and we came out this summer for 7-on-7 and really showed out and grew as a receiving corps,” Jones said. “So we’re going to keep getting better.”
Tight end figures to be a key spot in the Fayetteville passing game this season, and the Bulldogs could be stocked at the position. Junior Blake Power (6-5, 190) had 11 receptions last season and senior Jase Rapert (5-11, 195) played a significant role on offense during the Class 7A state championship run.
Fayetteville also has junior C.J. O’Grady (6-5, 230) at tight end, who also serves as the team’s backup quarterback.
“We’re going to have that eight to nine guys at those positions who can come in and contribute and play,” Patton said. “Then we’ll have some sophomores, Tyson Morris, Garland Allison and Bruce Armstrong, who can really give us some depth there.” Despite a new quarterback in Mitch Marshall and many new faces in the receiving corps, Patton expects the passing game to stay in line with what his team has done in the past.
“I think it’s going to be real similar to last year,” Patton said. “We didn’t have that real home run threat last year and we had to kind of nickel-and-dime and matriculate the ball down the field with our short passing game. I think this year will be more of same.
“Hopefully Ramsey with his speed will give us some of that deep threat, and we have great height with our receivers. So the matchup is not necessarily the speed, the matchup for us will be the height. We’ve got 6-foot-3, 6-4 receivers and the job will be to put the ball up and let them go get it.”