Arrow defense will be young in 2026
By Danny C. Davis
A year ago, the Clinton Arrow defense was the team’s most experienced unit, with nine starters returning; and the offensive unit was almost entirely inexperienced, with just a few starters returning.
This year, things have flipped around, with only two starters returning on the defense side after nine starters graduated.
The only returning starters are defensive tackle Dallas Johnson, a three starter, and Trevion Casnel, the leading defensive player in the secondary.
But second year defensive coordinator Britt Rowell is optimistic about his young unit.
“Yes, we are very young and lost nine starters, but we have a lot of seniors that will start on our side of the ball that have been on the team two years, and now is their time,” said Rowell, who joined the Clinton staff a year ago from Madison Central. “And some of these guys did get a lot playing time last year.”
Clinton defense carried the team last year and helped CHS to get some big early wins against Top 20 teams.
Rowell said it may take a little while to get the young players experienced, but he thinks they can be a very good unit.
Anchoring the defensive line will be two-year starter Dallas Johnson, who had a lot of tackles a year ago.
A player that has looked really good in the off season and summer workouts on the front defensive line, according to Rowell, is senior Jaden Robinson, who actually played a lot at defensive end last year while filling in.
“Jaden is a smart player that know the techniques and how to get in the right position to make a play,” said Rowell.
“We have a lot of young guys coming up that have a good work ethic and are stepping up to the plate when needed,” he said of the new young players on defense.
Rowell has seen a lot of progress out of senior twins Ontairio Braden and Montario Braden, who are both in the mix to start at linebacker this season. Rowell said that other projected starters at linebacker and in the mix will be sophomore Bo Jones at inside linebacker, who has really looked good, and Devin Harris, a senior who made the move to the defensive side after playing tight end a year ago.
Malik Jackson, a junior, played a whole game last year at outside linebacker and is vying for a start, along with junior Amod Green at linebacker.
Across the front defensive line are Johnson, Robinson, and senior Zack Harvey at defensive end, who had a good spring. Senior Jacolby Freeman has good speed and is expected to also start on the defensive line. Newcomer sophomore Tyler Jones is also in the mix on the defensive line.
Casnel is the only returning starter in the defensive secondary and will be at safety, but a lot of guys are vying for a start and had playing time last year. One of those leaders will be JaMarrion Jackson, a senior cornerback who just transferred back to Clinton and looked good the spring. Another expected leader on defense is senior Ayden Jelks, who had playing time a year ago behind three-year starter Ashton Nichols. Also at the corners will be junior Tyler Graham and senior Anthony Blake. At the other safety will be junior Sean Riddley and junior Daniel Dickinson, who will play in the single package.
“We had a very good spring and summer and have made a lot of progress,” said Rowell. “We’ve got some really talented guys that just need to get game experience early on.”
“I want our defense to be scrappy, and that is what we are working on. “We have a sophomore class coming up that is very strong, and they are going to be very good when they learn how to line up and get into the right position and learn our techniques and our slants.
Third-year starter Casnel is optimistic about the year.
“We have a lot of young guys on our defensive side, and we are working with them to try to build team chemistry on our side of the ball, so they can learn to not get down if we make a mistake, but go on to the next play. I think we are going to show people that we have an elite team this year.”
