Nashville coach Mark Volarvich, fresh off his first season that ended with a 15-0 record and a Class 4A state championship, he has simply one goal in mind going forward.
"I know it is kind of a cliché, but we have got to take it one week at a time," Volarvich said. "So while we won 15 games last year, we are just looking at winning the 16th in a row."
That's easier to do when you have a leader on your football team like Arkansas commit Kirby Adcock, regarded as the state's best offensive line prospect in the 2017 class.
Not only is he a great football prospect, but Adcock also is poised to be the class valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average.
"I don't think Kirby has ever made a B before," Volarvich said. "He is a straight-A student, number one in his class. You can ask anybody at the school and everybody loves him around here.
"He is a hard worker, obviously a very good football player and kind of one of those that makes it easier to coach. He never misses a day, is always on time and has developed and has developed as a leader and kind of taken on that senior role. Kirby is one of those that is not only book smart, but he is football smart as well. He understands what we are trying to do whether it is schematically or just during the course of the game.
"He gets it and kind of gets the other guys on board as well."
Adcock had offers from Indiana, Iowa State, Arkansas State, Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech before Arkansas offered on April 2.
He committed to the Razorbacks five days later.
"I think it is big," Volarvich said. "He always said he was wide open and talked to some people and went on some visits, but I think in his heart that he always wanted to be a Razorback and just didn't know if that opportunity would present itself.
"Obviously that is big-time football, especially for linemen at Arkansas with the style of football they play and the emphasis they put on their offensive line. For any lineman in this state, it is probably a dream come true. To be honest, his recruiting probably started out a little bit slower than most SEC players. He is just starting to grow. A year ago he was not the size of an SEC lineman and didn't fit that mold, but now he is."
Adcock's dad Max died at age 61 on Dec. 17, 2014, a tragedy that happened just a few months after the elder Adcock retired as a high school head football coach.
"Obviously that is hard on anybody, especially a kid that is 15 or 16 years old," Volarvich said. "He is an amazing young man and I know that his dad had a lot to do with that."
Nashville, which has won 10 conference titles in the past 16 years, five state titles overall and has been undefeated in the regular season five times in the past 12 seasons, plays in the 4A-7 Conference -- as tough of a conference as there is in Arkansas regardless of classification.
The conference also includes Ashdown, Arkadelphia, Bauxite, Fountain Lake, Malvern, Mena and new member Pulaski Robinson. Nashville opens the season at Hope on Sept. 2.
"I think it is going to be even a little bit tougher," Volarvich said. "We added Joe T. Robinson in place of Waldron and they have several Division I guys on their team. So week in and week out, it is tough."
Sports on 07/28/2016