ROGERS — Spring football is over for Rogers High, and most of the depth chart is still blank.
Many of the returning starters for the Mounties missed all or part of spring football because of participation in spring sports. That doesn’t mean the team didn’t accomplish anything after three weeks of practice.
After a 2012 season that saw as much as 80 percent of the offense sidelined with injuries, Rogers coach Shawn Flannigan said finding depth was a big priority this spring.
“We were minus a lot of guys in baseball, track and soccer, but the good thing is we had a lot of kids that got a lot of good valuable reps,” Flannigan said. “I hope we get to a point where we are injury-free and those kids don’t have to play, but the last two years we have had a lot of injuries. So, those kids got valuable reps at their positions.
“It will be this summer and fall where we start that magic puzzle game of fitting in our guys out there.”
Senior Max Harrell was the only possible starter at quarterback in camp, and he got almost all of the spring reps. Seniors Ty Galyean (track) and Brett D’Amico (baseball) and junior Cole Evans (track) are also expected to battle for the starting job under center in August.
Galyean, however, is one of the Mounties top running backs and may be too valuable to move.
“Regardless of what happens with that position, both Harrell and Galyean will be on the field somewhere,” Flannigan said. “They are both great talents, and we will find a way to get them on the field.”
Fullback Preston Young missed most of last season with knee and ankle injuries, but was at full strength for workouts.
“Preston gets hit in practice, and I think he is just crumpled,” Flannigan said. “But he just pops right up. Preston relishes the role of getting popped two or three times and then breaking one for 20.”
The Mounties defense was hit hard by graduation, but defensive linemen Zane Bush and Alex McClung and linebacker Zack Wary return. Flannigan said Auburn and Arkansas were planing to come see Wary work out, while Missouri State, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe and Memphis have expressed interest in the 6-foot-1, 180-pound rising senior.
Bush is also getting college looks from Northwestern State, Southeast Missouri State, Northwest Missouri State, Fort Hays State, Missouri Southern and Arkansas Tech.
Wary could play either inside or outside linebacker. Austin Pinkerton, who played some fullback last season, showed promise at inside linebacker.
Rogers defensive coordinator Charles Hesse said a major emphasis on defense will be creating turnovers.
“The defense had a good spring, and we had a lot of kids that got a chance to compete,” Hesse said. “We worked hard on getting to the football, making the tackle and getting turnovers. We are looking for people that can run and hit. That part of defense never changes.”