With all other sports wrapped up for the school year, offseason football is in full swing as the Taylor Ducks varsity team continues competing in 7-on-7 action, most recently participating in a statequalifying tournament in La Grange.
Taylor Head Coach Earven Flowers spoke about what he has seen from his players this offseason and how 7-on-7 competition helps prepare the Ducks for the upcoming season.
“It helps with some of the concepts in terms of the basic throwing, catching and running your offense,” Flowers said. “Defensively, it helps with working on coverages. It’s hard for defensive coordinators because it’s not real football, but it’s still good work for our kids in terms of competing.”
The Ducks finished 5-6 overall and 5-1 in district play last season with a young roster that featured several underclassmen in starting roles. Flowers believes the extra repetitions in 7-on-7 competition are helping his team take the next step heading into the fall.
“It’s providing the reps that we need,” Flowers said. “For us to be a better team this year, we need to be more consistent, and these reps are really helping with that. We’re a 4A school, which means we don’t have spring football, so this allows us to still get valuable work in during the offseason.”
While most 7-on-7 competitions focus on skill players, the Ducks’ linemen are also getting opportunities to compete through events such as the “Big Man Challenge,” which features activities like tug-of-war and tire flips.
Flowers emphasized the importance of involving every position group during offseason workouts.
“We’re just trying to create an outlet for those guys because it’s a job that doesn’t always get the glory,” Flowers said. “It’s pretty cool to watch them compete, build camaraderie and have fun together.”
One of the biggest benefits of offseason competition is the opportunity to evaluate younger players moving up from the junior varsity level. Flowers said Devin Williams, Jordan Thompson and Tyson Morales are among the players competing for spots on the defensive side of the ball.
At the same time, there is plenty of excitement surrounding returning starters, including sophomore Jeremiah Caldwell and junior quarterback Johnny Guzman. Flowers said the returning players have shown noticeable growth early in the offseason.
“They just look more comfortable,” Flowers said. “It’s been a huge step from year one to year two. This will be the first season where we’ll have a quarterback taking snaps in the opener who actually started games the previous year. That’s exciting because we’re not starting from scratch.”
Taylor continued 7-on-7 this past Tuesday in Elgin as it will be in Rockdale this Saturday for another state qualifying tournament.
