When high school football players think of playing under the Friday night lights, they might think of the student section singing with the band and the cheerleaders leading the crowd. They might picture themselves and their teammates jumping up and down when their team scores a touchdown.
But one thing that might not be at the top of their thoughts is how the classroom interacts with the sport. That’s one thing Anderson head coach Jarrod Pennycuff wants his players to learn this season.
“The main thing is for these young men to understand that football is a privilege,” he said. “The main goal is to get in the classroom, do your job and then that way it gives you the opportunity play on the field.”
But it’s not just Pennycuff who uses that message to shape his team. The players believe this is something that will help them during and after their football days are over.
“Education is important to us because without it, we wouldn’t be playing this game of football at all,” senior Xavier Terrell said. “Having education builds us up on who we are going to be after high school once we go into the real world.”
When it comes to competing on the gridiron, the second-year head coach isn’t changing his coaching style.
“(Myself and the other) coaches have sat down and met and talked about the same thing that we did still last year with academics, the community and leadership,” Pennycuff said. “That’s what our focus is. … If we take care of those things, that’ll transfer over to the football field.”
The Indians finished last season 3-7, which is something Terrell believes the team can build upon.
The win total matched Anderson’s best output since 2013.
“Last year’s team was locked in and ready to go,” he said. “This year, we’re a little off of that, but it will get back to last year’s level, and (our energy) will be better when the season starts.”
But there is one difference with this year’s team. Most of the stat leaders for the Indians graduated.
Even with that, Pennycuff believes the team is already showing signs of improvement in the way it’s practicing and preparing for the season.
“They’re asking questions,” he said. “… With a young team and a new coach, learning how to practice at an up-pace tempo (can be difficult). I think that’s one of the things this summer that we’ve been really successful with.”
With the new players come new decisions. The Indians’ coaching staff has worked on a new defensive scheme for the year.
“We went from an odd front to a force,” Pennycuff said. “An uneven front here to a four-three defense, which I thought the kids adapted well. But it’s just another year of experience with the system that we have in place.”
One of the returners from last season, senior Steven Kline, thinks the Indians started to look like a football team during the summer practices.
“We’re doing better with playing together and picking each other up instead of putting our heads down,” he said.
Kline was second on the team with five touchdown passes and led the Indians with a quarterback rating of 63.6 but will slide over to tight end this year in addition to his middle linebacker duties.
At the end of the day, it is an apparent belief among the players the Indians are ready for the season. To Terrell, this will be a new look for Anderson football.
“(I’m most excited about) the way we’re becoming a unit and playing together as a whole,” he said. “This team is special, and this is the year where we’re going to shock everyone and put Anderson back on the map.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.