9 Thoughts: Rogers lays out plan to get West Harrison back on track
The immediate reaction from most seemed to be the same -- West Harrison made the right hire.
Coordinator Tracy Rogers was approved by the county school board Monday night as the Hurricanes' next head football coach. It was a step in the right direction for a program that's still searching for its first winning season.
That's not a shot at former coach Sean Harden, who stepped down earlier this year in to give another person a chance at leading the program forward, but facts are facts. Since 2009, the Hurricanes have five-, four- and three-win seasons stuck between four winless campaigns.
And, interestingly enough, Harden actually stumped for Rogers in a roundabout way prior to the 2015 season -- talking him up as a good football mind who the kids respond to.
Now it's Rogers' turn to take the reins.
2. Hard work
Harrison County athletics director Bobby Trosclair spoke of Rogers' tireless work ethic Monday. It's no secret he'll need it in the coming years.
After the approval, Rogers, who was attending his wife's softball game against St. Martin when he got the news, gushed about the possibilities. He laid out an early gameplan for getting West Harrison over the hump that included tweaking the base systems and getting more kids to come out for football. Most importantly, Rogers believes in the kids and he believes in himself.
"We have to leave no stone unturned," he said Monday. "We have to do all the little things the right way. Everything we do we have to do 100 miles an hour."
3. New systems
Rogers plans to shift West Harrison's base scheme to a 3-5 alignment and then install more of a spread offense instead of the run-heavy system the Hurricanes are accustomed to running.
"We're going to try to get some of our guys who have speed in space and get them moving," he said of the offensive plan.
4. Increasing numbers
Harden talked multiple times about the necessity of getting the community to buy into the football program. In Harden's absence this winter, Rogers helped run the offseason program and has already seen an uptick in numbers.
"We have to get them all out there," Rogers said, adding his goal is to gradually increase the football team's roster to nearly 60 athletes.
The Hurricanes played with a roster in the mid-40s last season.
5. Watch out for Vancleave
Vancleave's baseball program is off to a hot start in 2016. The No. 9 Bulldogs have won four of their first five games and third-year coach Daniel Threadgill believes the strong start is due to his players buying in.
"We have to understand what our identity is," he said. "I think they're starting to understand we can't just try to hit bombs every time we go to the plate. We seem to be buying into what it takes in order to manufacture runs and stay within themselves ... We're not a power team by any means. We'll live and die by small ball."
To Threadgill's point, Vancleave has yet to hit a homer this season, but the Bulldogs have swiped 10 bases.
One of the offensive leaders for the team has been Colton Hipp.
The sophomore shortstop is only hitting .250 with a double, triple and nine runs scored, but he's already worked six walks and been plunked three times for a .520 on-base percentage.
"His average isn't there yet but he's leading the team in quality at-bats. He's a tone setter," Threadgill said of his leadoff hitter. "Every time I look up it seems like he's on base. As long as he's doing that, he's doing his job."
6. Watch for Chappell
The Bulldogs boast a 2.90 ERA on the mound and are led by senior Jacob Chappel (1-0, 1.70 ERA).
The right-hander had a memorable weekend when he hurled a five-inning no-hitter.
Chappell struck out nine against one walk and a hit batter in the 10-0 win over Gautier.
"He's got good stuff. He's going to throw low-to-mid 80s on his fastball with a good changeup and breaking ball when he wants to," Threadgill said. "We've done a lot of work on spotting pitches. That work, they're reaping the benefits on game days."
7. What took so long?
Until recently, Chase Rogers' lone offer was Cal.
The Bears' offer meant a lot to the St. Stanislaus tight end but, to be honest, I was surprised some other larger schools didn't recruit him more early on.
The recent Tennessee commit has the size (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) and production (81 receptions, 1,462 yards, 19 touchdowns as a junior) schools want from the new-age tight end. He could also lower his shoulder on a defender -- which he did plenty this past season. The one knock on him may have been his 40-yard-dash time was a tick below where some schools want it. He made up for it with precise route running and soft hands.
Rogers currently holds 12 offers -- with more undoubtedly coming -- but I'd be willing to bet those who slept on Rogers early may end up regretting their tardy interest.
8. Who's next?
As mentioned before, the 2017 recruiting cycle looks to be a busy one on the Coast. In addition to Rogers, SSC WR Corbin Blanchard recently picked up a Cornell offer and Rockachaw QB Myles Brennan was offered by Vanderbilt.
Ocean Springs' Austin Williams landed a Tulane offer and St. Martin QB Wayne Overman III has now been offered by Army and Navy. Elsewhere, SSC TE Darius Pittman, Biloxi WR Tim Jones, Pascagoula RB Reginald Hunter, St. Martin WR Kalem Reddix, Gautier OL Paul Gainer and Harrison Central teammates OL Jacob Shoemaker and QB Tavis Williams all hold offers.
With Rogers as the first to commit, one has to wonder who's next?
9. Crash Davis life lessons
This isn't Coast-related -- although I assume there are plenty of Boston transplants in South Mississippi.
Having already served a 50-game suspension for testing positive for the stimulant Oxilofrine, the right-hander has now fractured his pitching hand after reportedly getting into an altercation with his spring training roommate.
File this under dumb, stupid or other.
Maybe during Kopech's downtime he can Netflix "Bull Durham." After all, he could learn a few life lessons from Crash Davis -- like not punching someone with your pitching hand.
As always, thanks for reading.
Patrick Ochs, a Sun Herald sports reporter, can be reached at pochs@sunherald.com or followed on Twitter at PatrickOchs.
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "9 Thoughts: Rogers lays out plan to get West Harrison back on track ."