Arrow defense has experience, offense will be young
By Danny C. Davis
Last year, the Arrow offense had one of the most productive years in history, gaining a lot of yards and scoring a lot of points. But, on the flip side, the defense gave up a lot of points, and the team missed the playoffs with a 4-6 record and 1-3 record in Region 2-7A.
This year, things are reversed, with only three starters back on offense and ten starters back on defense.
Clinton has new coordinators this season. Ben Shelton is the offensive coordinator, and Brett Rowland is the new defensive coordinator. Both came to Clinton from the Madison Central football coaching staff.
Shelton coached offense at CHS from 2013-15. Those were three productive years behind now-NFL running back Cam Akers and Southern Miss running back Darius Mayberry, which led to the Arrows’ first state championship.
Shelton knows his young offense is going to take some time to gel.
“We will be very young this year, with only three players returning with experience, and they are all offensive lineman,” said Shelton. “But we have a very talented sophomore class, and they are going to be good when they get some playing experience, hopefully later in this season.”
“We had a good spring and good summer workouts,” said Shelton. “Now, we are getting really good practice film, and they are starting to stop making mistakes, and things are starting to click on our offense. The young kids that are starting to start to touch the football for the first time are getting good reps.”
“Having three starters back on the line really is going to help us out, and that is good when you have young running backs and receivers touching the ball,” Shelton continued. “That should help us balance out the first few games, until we can get our wheels rolling.”
This year, Shelton said the offense will have a different look than last year, when CHS had one back set with three receivers, or no back set with four wide receivers with a fast up-tempo system.
“We are going to mostly use two backs in the backfield, with one inside and one outside receiver,” said Shelton. “It will be a power spread formation. I like to spread it out formation-wise, and get a lot of good clean looks for the quarterback, with good throwing lanes to make it easy on him. We will match that up with a power running game. We like to spread it out to get good gaps for our running backs.”
“With all the young players we have, this will be a more time-controlling offense. So, we will be a multiple offense, and, when we need to go up tempo, we still can; and, when we need to be ball control offense, we still can. We want to be balanced and do what we need to do to move the football. We will be in the pistol formation sometimes that allows play action plays.”
A very bright spot for the offense is expected to be sophomore quarterback Jaiden Jones, who, at 6’ 3 ½” and 205 pounds, is the largest QB the Arrows have had in a long time. Jones transferred last season to CHS and saw a little playing time on the varsity as a freshman. He started one game, against Terry, and threw a couple of TD passes.
“He is still learning, but he is going to be really good,” said Shelton. “He has grown by leaps and bounds since the spring with his footwork and learning our offensive system. With his height and arm strength, the sky is the limit for Jaiden,” said Shelton.
“I am very excited to be at Clinton,” said Jones. “Our receivers are all young, but I played with them last year as ninth graders, and the 7 on 7 games this summer, and we already have good chemistry with each other. Our offensive line is much better this year and more athletic, and I think that will make a big difference. I can’t wait to play QB at home for the first time in our season opener against Warren Central.”
Junior Gage Temple will back up Jones at quarterback.
On the offensive line, returning starters include tackles Tyboris Loftin and Graham Williams, both juniors, and senior center Jacob Jones. Also on the offensive line will be guards, senior Davonte Burkett and sophomore Caden Johnson. The tight end will be junior Jeron Benson.
Returning tackles on the line, Williams, 6’ 3” and 300 pounds, and Loftin, 6’ 2” and 285 pounds, are encouraged about the upcoming season.
“Our offensive line is a lot bigger this year, and we feel we have something to prove,” said Williams. “Our offense is going to be like old fashioned football, with good running backs running the football, and we can throw when we need to.”
“Jaiden is the guy that is going to make our offense go and make big plays,” said Loftin. “Coach Shelton has done a good job getting us ready to get to the ball and run our offense in a hurry, and our line is looking forward to blocking for all the young running backs that will be very good when they get experience.”
In the backfield, the Arrows have more depth than in a long time, with six running backs. The leaders are senior Davieon Ferrell; junior Bosky Evans, a transfer from Madison Central; sophomore Cayden Albert and junior Christian Smith. Also in the mix will be sophomores Jackson Jenkins and Braylen Brister.
“Early in the season, we will be playing a lot of these guys to see who works out the best to be our top two running backs,” said Shelton.
At wide receiver, there is a lot of depth and talent, but not much experience. Eight players are vying for a start, with only junior Jaden Johnson having experience. He will rotate at inside and outside wide receiver. Sophomore Dayson Scott has emerged as the top inside receiver with very good hands. Junior Tyler Dabney has made the switch from running back to inside wide receiver and has speed and can get deep in a hurry. Also in the mix at outside wide receiver will be junior Devin Harris and sophomores Dylan Bell and Jamari Smith. Junior John Jackson and sophomore Jeremiah Barnett also could be in the mix at outside wide receiver.
“We will probably run a lot of two back sets without a tight end and three wide receivers,” said Shelton.
For the Arrows, the defensive side of the team is a senior-laden group, with ten of the eleven positions with senior starters returning.
That is good news for experienced new Arrow defensive coordinator Brett Rowell, who comes to CHS after nine years at Petal, seven years as the defensive coordinator at Northwest Rankin, and three years on the defensive staff at Madison Central.
“I have been so impressed since I came here in the spring with the quality of these kids at Clinton,” said Rowell. “They are very coachable, and they are going to work very hard. I like the kids that are here and am excited about coaching here.”
Rowell will be coaching the safeties with help from former Arrow defensive back Bryce Turner, who is volunteering and played college football.
“We will use multiple alignments on defense, depending on how the offense is lined up,” said Rowell.
The strength of the defense is considered to be the linebackers, who return senior starters at every position.
“Robsen Neblett is a senior, two-year starter at linebacker, and brings a lot of compassion and experience to our defense and really plays hard,” said Rowland. “The same can be said for Jaiden Jefferson and Donvan Shaifer. They are also experienced and play hard.”
“Then, last spring, we moved defensive back Jaiden King up to play linebacker, and that has been a good move for us. He is very athletic, and he has good size at 6’ 2” and 190 pounds.”
“King and Shafier, 6’ 1” and 210 pounds, will be outside linebackers, and we feel with their size they can handle stopping the big running backs from going outside. King has that defensive back experience and is almost like a nickelback, and Shafier with his size can move up front if needed, and be a defensive lineman if we need to go with a 4-man front.”
Newcomer sophomore transfer Reese Lot has looked good in preseason and could work into the mix at linebacker.
“We feel like our defense is going to be a lot better this year,” said Jefferson, a two-year starter at inside linebacker. “We have all played a long time together. Robsen and I have been inside linebackers since the ninth grade. We know our team are underdogs going into the season, and we plan to go out and earn our place to prove people were wrong about us.”
Up front, on the defensive line, the Arrows have everybody returning, with two seniors and a junior. Rowell feels good about the front three on the defensive line.
“Davon Merchant is a vocal senior and a real leader up front, and we have two big guys, junior Dallas Johnson, at 6’ 1” and 250 pounds, and senior Christian Cavett at 6‘ and 260 pounds on our front defensive line.”
On the back side of the defense, all the defensive backs are also seniors with a lot of playing experience.
Returning seniors at the safety positons are Cam Cornelius at free safety and Trevis Colby at strong safety. Both corners are returning seniors, also. At corner back will be Miles Bass, who once played basketball at CHS, who is 6’ 1” and 170 pounds, and Ashton Nichols, a two-year starter, at the other corner, who may also see some action on the offensive side at wide receiver.
“We are very solid on the back side,” said Rowland. “We also have a couple young guys who will eventually work in the mix in the defensive backfield that are really going to be good. Sophomore Sean Riddley, at 6’ 1” and 180 pounds, and junior Trevion Casnel, at 6’ and 175 pounds “
“We have really worked hard in the off-season, and our number one priority has been to learn to stop the run; and I feel we can do that this season,” said Cornelius. “We are a seasoned defense, and we are looking forward to the first game to show that we are a much better team this season.”
Rowell, like offensive coordinator Ben Shelton, has coached against all the teams on the Arrows’ tough schedule this year while at Madison Central, which is a big advantage for CHS going into this season.
On special teams this year, senior Braylon Spann returns for a second year as the place kicker and punter.
“Braylon has worked hard and improved so much over the last year,” said Arrow head coach Hamer Morgan. “He already has a scholarship offer to kick at Hinds.”
Returning as the deep snapper for kicks will be junior Gage Temple, younger brother of Garrett Temple, who held the same position for the Arrows 2018-20.
Junior John Jackson will be the holder for kicks, and sophomore Brayden Gough will be the backup kicker.
