WARDSVILLE, Mo. - As a first-time head football coach, there's been a lot for Terry Walker to absorb as he takes over the reins of the Blair Oaks Falcons.
The good news? He's not alone.
"I think it's been a good learning process for all the coaches and all the players," said Walker, whose Falcons open the season Friday at Moberly. "The summer was critical for us coaches, because we got to learn about the kids, and critical for the players, because they got to learn about the coaches.
"I think we've taken some really good strides, but we still have things we need to improve, just like any other team."
In those early days of the summer, there was some adjusting on the fly.
"I know we had a plan offensively and defensively within a couple weeks after the coaches were all in their positions," Walker said. "Then we figured out some things that we thought we were going to be able to do that we can't do, and we figured out some things we didn't think we could do that we can do."
But a few things have remained constant since the first time Walker, a former assistant coach at Jefferson City, got together with his new team.
"I had certain things in mind that I wanted to try to implement coming in here as the head coach," he said. "The first one was to be physical, because I really think that the teams that have the most success at the end of the season are the ones that physically control the line of scrimmage.
"The second thing was to try to make the kids as mentally tough as could be. You've got to be able to overcome adversity in order to be successful, and it's kind of hard to overcome adversity if you've never faced it. So part of our job as a staff is to try and put them in some adverse situations and help them work through them."
Perhaps the biggest adjustment for Walker is going from the "micro" to the "macro."
"As a defensive assistant coach, I was in-tune with that at the micro level," he said. "As a head coach, I can't afford to be as in-tune at the micro level - I've got to work on the bigger picture.
"As a defensive player, my heart will always be drawn to the defensive aspect of the game. But I learned a lot about playing defense from playing offense."
Walker knows he will have to rely on defensive coordinator Bill Duke and co-offensive coordinators Steve Samson and Kent Padgett.
"I plan to be deeply involved with both sides, but at the same time, being a head coach, you have to have the ability to see the whole game as it unfolds and then be able to recognize adjustments that need to be made," Walker said.
III
THE THEME OF change extends to the defensive side of the ball.
"I would tell you that I came into the position wanting to run a three-man front defensively," Walker said. "We worked on it, we tinkered with it all summer, but then as we often do, when we had time away, we had an opportunity to evaluate what we thought was best.
"After 15 or 18 practices of running a three-man front, we looked at our personnel and said, "You know what? We really have the personnel for a four-man front.' And not just for this year, but for years down the line, which is kind of what drove the decision. As we looked at our freshman and sophomore groups, and we looked at the kids we have now, we thought the four-man front would suit us better, even though personally I may not be a fan of it."
The front four is made up of seniors - Tanner Lueckenhoff and Heath Branch as tackles and Chance Cumpton and Owen Luebbering as ends. Cumpton led the team in sacks last year with eight in 12 games.
"We feel real comfortable with our front, even though we got to it late," Walker said. "We feel like the kids have really taken to it and it fits them best and gives them the best chance to be successful."
It's a group that should continue to grow as the season progresses.
"Owen hasn't played a whole lot of defensive line, but just in the last couple weeks that we've worked with him there, all the coaches have been really impressed with what he's doing," Walker said. "Now we need to just let him grow into the position. He's a senior, so unfortunately we won't get him back next year, but he's certainly going to be in position to make big contributions this year.
"Chance is an outstanding performer, a great kid who is a real positive influence on all the kids around him ... and Tanner is a kid who is fairly focused, pretty intense."
The linebackers are a pair of seniors, Gavin Herst and Cole Stockman. Herst led the team in tackles last year with 103, while Stockman was third with 89.
"We've got Cole and Gavin at linebacker, and they've been playing that for a couple years," Walker said. "It's nice to have the stability with them there, knowing that they've been in a lot of situations and hopefully they'll be able to use that to their advantage."
The cornerbacks will be junior Cody Alexander and senior C.J. Closser.
"Cody is a little inexperienced at corner, but he plays the position really well, and C.J. is a real good kid, smart, who adjusts well and anticipates well," Walker said. "... We're looking for great things out of both Cody and C.J."
Adam Schell, a senior, will be at one safety and junior Jake Van Ronzelen will be at the other.
"They can cover and are physical enough to play the run, and when you're looking for a safety, those are the first two things you look for," Walker said. "I really feel comfortable with the fact that we have four guys in the secondary who can cover fairly well, which gives us some options up front. We haven't worked on a bunch of stunting or blitzing because we wanted the kids to get comfortable with our base defense. But it's about time to start unleashing some of the guys up front and look to cover in the back."
III
A LOT OF those same names get mentioned when it comes to the offense.
"You always want to avoid (two-way players), but at the same time, you want to have your best players on the field in order to give your team the best chance to be successful," Walker said. "... You try and find some spots where you can give a kid a break. Obviously you wish you had two 100-percent kids on both sides of the ball, but in reality, that just doesn't happen.
"We know we're going to have kids play both ways, and the kids here at Blair Oaks have been playing both ways for a while. They're used to that and that's the expectation, but hopefully we can continue to develop kids who can either earn a spot or earn an opportunity to spell the other kids when necessary."
The line will be made up of Stockman and Herst at the guards; Branch, Cumpton and Lueckenhoff in the mix at tackle; and junior Kaleb Cox at center.
Daniel Mudd, a junior, will also see some time at center or offensive guard, while sophomore Kaden Carlton could see time at offensive tackle.
Back for his final year at quarterback for the Falcons will be Jordan Hair. After limited appearances as a freshman and steady work as a sophomore and junior, he has amassed 4,556 passing yards in his career. That puts him just 187 yards away from breaking the record of 4,742 put up by Daniel Castillo from 2011-12.
Hair has completed 293-of-516 passes (57 percent), putting him close to breaking Castillo's marks for career completions (303) and attempts (533). He broke the mark for career touchdown passes - 52 by Travis Henke from 2003-06 - last season and currently is sitting at 54.
"Jordan has been great," Walker said. "He's very mobile, very agile, very accurate. He's one of those kids we want to try to get into space with an opportunity to either run or throw the ball."
The Falcons' running backs are relatively untested, managing a total of just 42 carries last year between three juniors - Alexander, Van Ronzelen and Brenden Brown.
"Jake and Cody have been doing great work at both backfield positions ... and Brenden may not be as fast as those two, but for his size, he's very physical," Walker said.
Luebbering will start at tight end.
"He definitely fits the mold and has the right frame," Walker said. "He has good speed and great hands, and a good ability to go up and get the football."
Justin Cobb, a sophomore, will also get some snaps at tight end.
Schell and Closser will return at wide receiver, as Closser was second in receptions last year (24 for 348 yards and two touchdowns) and Schell was third (22 for 267 yards and three scores).
"They've been pretty much as advertised," Walker said. "They're both athletic, they can both run and both have a good feel for the football."
Walker said he would like to see a 60-40 ratio of run-to-pass plays, although that could change as the season unfolds.
"I like our offense because I think we have the ability to attack every quadrant of the field," Walker said. "... I think we have some really athletic kids. We don't have off-the-charts speed, that is we don't have a 4.3 guy, but we've got some guys that can run pretty well. ... You'll see us in a variety of sets to try and gain angular advantage where we can use our speed to stretch the defense or put pressure on them."
III
WHEN IT COMES to special teams, just count on Schell to handle most of it.
The senior had three return touchdowns last year and was the leading punter with an average of 39.3 yards per attempt, including a long of 83. He'll add extra points and field goals to his repertoire this time around.
"Adam will be doing pretty much all of our kicking, whether it be punting, kickoffs, extra points or field goals," Walker said. "Adam is a real good-looking kicker and we've spent a bunch of time (on kicking) because it's a third of the game. There's one real quick way to lose a football game and that's to not have your special teams in order."
Luebbering has the early edge at long snapper, although Brown, Mudd and Logan Moore have also gotten in their fair share of work.
"We've changed the depth of our snaps on punts from last year, so we've been working on that pretty hard and the kids have adapted to it fairly well," Walker said.
III
AS HAS BEEN the case the past few years, the regular season begins against the Moberly Spartans. This year, the Falcons will make the trip up Hwy. 63 for the 7 p.m. start.
In last Friday's Jamboree at the Falcon Athletic Complex, the Spartans were at the opposite end of the field from the Falcons.
"I thought they looked real good in the Jamboree," Walker said. "We've got film on them against both opponents, and it looks like they played really well against California and fairly well against Owensville.
"They're a team that's going to have some size and they have some kids that can run. They've got two or three kids that we've really been looking at.
"We think we have a feel for what they do offensively and defensively, but you never really know because they're doing the same thing we are - assessing and evaluating and trying to figure out where the parts fit in order to give you a chance to be successful."
Making the task a little more difficult is Moberly enters its first season under head coach Cody McDowell, as Jason Ambroson moved on to Smithville.
"We'll gameplan with what we've got, with the understanding that we're probably going to have to make some adjustments along the way," Walker said. "When you actually get into the game, adjustments are the biggest aspect of it."
_
Blair Oaks at Moberly - Updates on Twitter: @tony_hawley. Listen live online: KWIX (Moberly)
_
Blair Oaks Schedule
Here is the schedule for the Blair Oaks football team. All games start at 7 p.m., unless noted. TBA - To Be Announced.
Aug. 21 at Moberly
Aug. 28 Owensville
Sept. 4 Eldon
Sept. 11 at Hallsville
Sept. 18 Southern Boone
Sept. 25 at School of the Osage
Oct. 2 California
Oct. 9 at Warsaw
Oct. 16 at Versailles
Oct. 23 District opener*
Oct. 30 District semifinal*
Nov. 6 District championship*
Nov. 14 Quarterfinals, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 21 Semifinals, 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 State championship, at Edward Jones Dome, TBA
*Site TBA