ROGERS -- Shawn Flannigan throws out his best sales pitch to the incoming Rogers High sophomore class after every football season.
Those players have just completed their freshman season and Flannigan wants to make sure they are not in awe of beginning offseason workouts with the returning varsity players.
Profile
Tanner Campbell
School: Rogers High
Position: Defensive Line
Height: 5-9
Weight: 211
Class: Senior
Notable: Earned starting job at nose guard last season and is one of five defensive starters back for the Mounties. … Had 14 tackles last season and will also play some defensive tackle in the Rogers 3-4 defense.
"Sometimes you have to be a good salesman to be a good football coach," he said. "I always tell our guys that football is a game of maturation. In some other sports, you can be competitive in varsity sports as a freshman. It's not quite the same in football. It is a game of grown men. At times, they don't see three years down the road, but we tell them to give it time."
Rogers senior defensive lineman Tanner Campbell has done just that.
Flannigan said the Mounties' nose guard was a little undersized coming in as a sophomore, but the 5-foot-9, 211-pound senior will be one of the anchors on the defensive line when Rogers opens the season Friday at home against Siloam Springs.
"Tanner, even though he was undersized coming into the program, you could see that his work ethic was very good," Flannigan said. "So, you knew that he was going to grow into a very good football player. He was a good football player as a ninth grader, but he was just small. Tanner has progressively got better. He has been in the offseason program the whole time and you can tell by his size and strength now."
Campbell played some as a sophomore and then broke into the starting rotation on the defensive line last year as a 5-9, 200-pound nose guard. Campbell had 14 tackles last season.
Campbell said he has used the last two off seasons to get bigger, quicker and stronger
"I was playing both offensive and defensive line as a sophomore and I got in a few games on defense and it allowed to show the coaches what I could do," Campbell said. "I have just tried to hit the weights, do some running and watch my body to get better. I will do anything to help because I want to play so bad. We have all come to work every day to grind and that has paid off for all of us."
Defensive line coach Mike Bush will have a five-player rotation in the Mounties three-man front and he said Campbell is a natural at nose guard. Senior Ben Madden (6-1, 210) and junior Daniel Salvador (6-1, 225) are expected to be the other two starters against the Panthers Friday night.
"Tanner is a tough, hard-nosed kid that gives maximum effort," Bush said. "Tanner is not really big physically, but he is very strong and quick and that makes him a good nose guard. Tanner is very knowledgeable and he understands the schemes and what we are trying to do. He will play both some nose and tackle.
"The thing I like about Tanner is that fast and physical nose guards are difficult to block."
The nose guard is often double-teamed but Campbell said he enjoys the challenge.
"You can't let offensive linemen push you back, and it is a challenge every play," Campbell said. "There are some strong guys up there, but you just have to deal with them."
Sports on 09/04/2014