Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. First off, again, like everybody's saying, and I
say every year, it's great to be here. I want
to thank iHeartRadio and Fox Sports, the Game and the
Orthopeedic Clinton, everybody who has a part in putting this on.
This is an unbelievable event that we enjoy coming to
every year and it kind of gets the itch going
(00:21):
to kick off the season too, So you know when
we're here today, that is getting closer and times getting
near and we're looking forward to it. Just kind of
addressing where we're at as a program. Coming off a
great season last year, the guys have been motivated. That's
been great for culture, which is huge for us. Guys
(00:41):
have really worked hard. We've got a lot of shoes
to fill. We lost a lot of great not just
talent off of last year's team and a lot of
leadership as well. But we've got a lot of guys
stepping up. Our off season program has been great. You
know that starts in January for us and it can
be grew linit times, but uh, these guys have embraced
(01:03):
that and that's that's just kind of part of of
our m O and who we are. That's our identity.
Is is it starts in January for us because the
type of football we play, we want to be fast,
we want to be physical, uh and and play as
a team. Uh, and these guys have really done a
great job of embracing that. U. This summer, we've we've
participated in a couple of OTA's and some seven on
(01:25):
sevens just to kind of get our feet wet and
kind of measure and assess where we're at as far
as filling those key spots off of last year's team.
So uh, you know, we're having replaced four out of
five offensive linemen. Uh. All of our linebackers graduated as well,
So a lot of new faces. Uh, not necessarily lack
of experience, but but lack of experience starting and playing
(01:48):
a lot of quality reps. But but we've had some
guys step up, a lot of surprises, a lot of
young faces or or stepping up and doing a great
job for us. So I'm exciting. It's exciting to see,
uh what they're going to do. We're right in the
middle of our iron Man competition that I like to
mention every year, which is also something that is very
testing for these guys. It's not easy, so they're probably
(02:13):
a little lack of days ago this morning after the
heat yesterday and competing in that event as well, so
we look forward to it. We play an extremely tough schedule.
We're in a sevent team region, but it's a tough
region top to bottom. Our non region games we play
up in classification and all of those, starting out of
(02:33):
the gate with t R Miller, a long trip down
to Bruton and then turn around around and play Trinity.
Both of those teams are bigger than us. Of course,
Trinity we do get at home this year. That'll be
a Thursday night game in the second week, and then
we've got Davil which is kind of a rivalry game,
also a classification bigger, and then finish the year with
(02:55):
Lee Scott. That's our non region games, and of course
within our region, you know that's tough each and every week,
and we start that off with with Horseshoe Ben and
then Ramburn and then Loachapoka, and then we finish off Lanette,
Lafette and Central Cusa as far as reagion games, and
our open week is right there in between the latter
(03:16):
half of the season. So with me today, I've got
Casey and Kelly, he's our starting center on the end.
In the middle. Elijah Woods, he's kind of our do
it all guy. He's an athlete on the field. He'll
play in the backfield, some receiver some and he plays
in the back end of our defense. And then right
here closest to me is JaMarcus Smith. He's our starting quarterback.
(03:39):
He is also returning. All three of these guys are
returning starters. All three have the intangibles to be leaders
on this team, and they've done a good job of
embracing that and filling those shoes as well. So at
this time, I'll open up for questions.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
All right, coach, we'll get you up here in the front.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Hey, Matt, just starting with t R. Miller again.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Uh, you know, you guys lost that one, but it
ended up working out in the long run.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So I just what did you learn from that game
last year? And how do.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
You know want to make the most of it again
this year?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Right?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Uh? You know, Coach Saban used to say a lot,
you know, turn failures into success and and and that's
a tough thing to do nowadays with with the social
media and all that type stuff. When you know, everybody's
a coach and whatnot. But but that game, that was
a tough game, tough environment, big stage four US. That
was at Crampton Bowl last year, on the road. We
(04:37):
had some hiccups on the way to the game. Our
buses broke down, So there was just anything you could
ask for as far as adversity we got in that game, turnovers,
but t R. Miller was a great team. We came
up short in that game, did not play our best,
but they had a lot to do with that. But
but in the long run, that's that's exactly what we needed.
And that's why we we schedule like we do, That's
why we play those games is you know, we want
(05:00):
to be the best that we can be and peak
at the right time in that game definitely enabled us
to do that.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Matt, you talked about that senior class leads and a
lot of guys, but you know that sophomore class from
last year is obviously really big with JaMarcus and Elijah
and Trelan. Just talk about that experience of going all
the way and winning State is gonna have effective? Is
that or beneficial? Is that going to be this upcoming
season for those guys?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Like I mentioned it, it's just kind of a culture thing. It's, uh,
you know, the expectations there. We're at the place where
that expectation is high, which is what you want, and
that just builds a culture. And like you said, our
sophomore class, we had a lot of young guys contribute
to our success last year, especially in that game alone.
A lot of shoes to fill. But uh, you know,
(05:45):
we've got some some seniors this year. It's gonna fill
some of those roles. The sophomore class from last year,
juniors this year. A lot of key players in that class.
I can't even can't even name them all because there's
there's a lot of really good athletes. And two of
them are on the stage with me here. Our running back,
Trailing Roberts Rush Rover fifteen hundred yards last year. He
was at sophomore class. He'll be coming back. Our full
(06:08):
backs back, all of our backfield is back, as far
as most of our receivers, our skill guys. A lot
of experience in that aspect.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Coach, just talk about kind of what it's like, you know,
your coaching your alma mater. I always think that's neat
and winning the state championship for your homeschool like that,
and just what the season was just in general last year.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Right, it's you know, it's great being back home. I
say that all the time. Real Town's a special place
to me personally, and it's it's it's special to the community.
It's a football is a big deal around where we are,
and and just to be able to get over that hunt.
You know, we've been there twice before since I've been
there and got close in twenty three and came up
(06:53):
a little bit short, and then last year to really
seal the deal and put a stamp on that was
huge for our community, our program. Uh, and it was
special for me as well.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Is there something that really stands out to you the
past several years has been the key for the success
at Real Town?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I think, uh, the biggest thing is the buy into
the off season. Uh. That was something that that uh
uh we changed and made unique. Uh And and you
know people use the word grind all the time and
stuff like that, but it's just embracing that process of
understanding that that the day that you're in is what
matters the most and and and don't look too far ahead.
(07:28):
So uh, I think that's been huge for us. Is
not just the coaches talk of winning the day and
being all in, but actually doing it. And uh, I
think that's been, you know, the pinnacle of our success there.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
All right, coach, we're gonna get some of your players
up real quick, guys, each of one of y'all will
get up and take the stage. Talk a little bit
about last season, the experience it was, winning the state championship,
and and your goals for this year and how do
you how do you expect to get back there?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Uh here repeat that? Sorry?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You just talking about last season and winning the state championship,
the experience it was, and goals for this year and
keys for getting back there.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Playing in state, you know, it's always a crazy experience,
especially as a sophomoint like being on the sideline my
first time ever going to State. That's cool and all,
but playing in it, the experience you get with it
and the feeling that's all excited. So carrying that into
this season, you know a lot of our players that
(08:29):
we played, that played in the state championship are going
to be crazy confident. You know, it's not going to
be it's not going to be like we just started
off because the state championship. That's all you need really
to play in to have a lot of confidence.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
My name is Casey Kelly.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
I played OH line D line last year. Was a
great experience, but at the same time you got to
move past that move on this year.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
We ain't did nothing this year yet.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
We just kinda keep working and do what we do.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
My name, uh Jamark Smith on the quarterback.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
I wanna thank my team, my old line.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
For for the hard work and all the stuff well accomplished.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
And I wanna take that until they see
Good morning. First off, again, like everybody's saying, and I
say every year, it's great to be here. I want
to thank iHeartRadio and Fox Sports, the Game and the
Orthopeedic Clinton, everybody who has a part in putting this on.
This is an unbelievable event that we enjoy coming to
every year and it kind of gets the itch going
(00:21):
to kick off the season too, So you know when
we're here today, that is getting closer and times getting
near and we're looking forward to it. Just kind of
addressing where we're at as a program. Coming off a
great season last year, the guys have been motivated. That's
been great for culture, which is huge for us. Guys
(00:41):
have really worked hard. We've got a lot of shoes
to fill. We lost a lot of great not just
talent off of last year's team and a lot of
leadership as well. But we've got a lot of guys
stepping up. Our off season program has been great. You
know that starts in January for us and it can
be grew linit times, but uh, these guys have embraced
(01:03):
that and that's that's just kind of part of of
our m O and who we are. That's our identity.
Is is it starts in January for us because the
type of football we play, we want to be fast,
we want to be physical, uh and and play as
a team. Uh, and these guys have really done a
great job of embracing that. U. This summer, we've we've
participated in a couple of OTA's and some seven on
(01:25):
sevens just to kind of get our feet wet and
kind of measure and assess where we're at as far
as filling those key spots off of last year's team.
So uh, you know, we're having replaced four out of
five offensive linemen. Uh. All of our linebackers graduated as well,
So a lot of new faces. Uh, not necessarily lack
of experience, but but lack of experience starting and playing
(01:48):
a lot of quality reps. But but we've had some
guys step up, a lot of surprises, a lot of
young faces or or stepping up and doing a great
job for us. So I'm exciting. It's exciting to see,
uh what they're going to do. We're right in the
middle of our iron Man competition that I like to
mention every year, which is also something that is very
testing for these guys. It's not easy, so they're probably
(02:13):
a little lack of days ago this morning after the
heat yesterday and competing in that event as well, so
we look forward to it. We play an extremely tough schedule.
We're in a sevent team region, but it's a tough
region top to bottom. Our non region games we play
up in classification and all of those, starting out of
(02:33):
the gate with t R Miller, a long trip down
to Bruton and then turn around around and play Trinity.
Both of those teams are bigger than us. Of course,
Trinity we do get at home this year. That'll be
a Thursday night game in the second week, and then
we've got Davil which is kind of a rivalry game,
also a classification bigger, and then finish the year with
(02:55):
Lee Scott. That's our non region games, and of course
within our region, you know that's tough each and every week,
and we start that off with with Horseshoe Ben and
then Ramburn and then Loachapoka, and then we finish off Lanette,
Lafette and Central Cusa as far as reagion games, and
our open week is right there in between the latter
(03:16):
half of the season. So with me today, I've got
Casey and Kelly, he's our starting center on the end.
In the middle. Elijah Woods, he's kind of our do
it all guy. He's an athlete on the field. He'll
play in the backfield, some receiver some and he plays
in the back end of our defense. And then right
here closest to me is JaMarcus Smith. He's our starting quarterback.
(03:39):
He is also returning. All three of these guys are
returning starters. All three have the intangibles to be leaders
on this team, and they've done a good job of
embracing that and filling those shoes as well. So at
this time, I'll open up for questions.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
All right, coach, we'll get you up here in the front.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Hey, Matt, just starting with t R. Miller again.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Uh, you know, you guys lost that one, but it
ended up working out in the long run.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So I just what did you learn from that game
last year? And how do.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
You know want to make the most of it again
this year?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Right?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Uh? You know, Coach Saban used to say a lot,
you know, turn failures into success and and and that's
a tough thing to do nowadays with with the social
media and all that type stuff. When you know, everybody's
a coach and whatnot. But but that game, that was
a tough game, tough environment, big stage four US. That
was at Crampton Bowl last year, on the road. We
(04:37):
had some hiccups on the way to the game. Our
buses broke down, So there was just anything you could
ask for as far as adversity we got in that game, turnovers,
but t R. Miller was a great team. We came
up short in that game, did not play our best,
but they had a lot to do with that. But
but in the long run, that's that's exactly what we needed.
And that's why we we schedule like we do, That's
why we play those games is you know, we want
(05:00):
to be the best that we can be and peak
at the right time in that game definitely enabled us
to do that.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Matt, you talked about that senior class leads and a
lot of guys, but you know that sophomore class from
last year is obviously really big with JaMarcus and Elijah
and Trelan. Just talk about that experience of going all
the way and winning State is gonna have effective? Is
that or beneficial? Is that going to be this upcoming
season for those guys?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Like I mentioned it, it's just kind of a culture thing. It's, uh,
you know, the expectations there. We're at the place where
that expectation is high, which is what you want, and
that just builds a culture. And like you said, our
sophomore class, we had a lot of young guys contribute
to our success last year, especially in that game alone.
A lot of shoes to fill. But uh, you know,
(05:45):
we've got some some seniors this year. It's gonna fill
some of those roles. The sophomore class from last year,
juniors this year. A lot of key players in that class.
I can't even can't even name them all because there's
there's a lot of really good athletes. And two of
them are on the stage with me here. Our running back,
Trailing Roberts Rush Rover fifteen hundred yards last year. He
was at sophomore class. He'll be coming back. Our full
(06:08):
backs back, all of our backfield is back, as far
as most of our receivers, our skill guys. A lot
of experience in that aspect.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Coach, just talk about kind of what it's like, you know,
your coaching your alma mater. I always think that's neat
and winning the state championship for your homeschool like that,
and just what the season was just in general last year.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Right, it's you know, it's great being back home. I
say that all the time. Real Town's a special place
to me personally, and it's it's it's special to the community.
It's a football is a big deal around where we are,
and and just to be able to get over that hunt.
You know, we've been there twice before since I've been
there and got close in twenty three and came up
(06:53):
a little bit short, and then last year to really
seal the deal and put a stamp on that was
huge for our community, our program. Uh, and it was
special for me as well.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Is there something that really stands out to you the
past several years has been the key for the success
at Real Town?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I think, uh, the biggest thing is the buy into
the off season. Uh. That was something that that uh
uh we changed and made unique. Uh And and you
know people use the word grind all the time and
stuff like that, but it's just embracing that process of
understanding that that the day that you're in is what
matters the most and and and don't look too far ahead.
(07:28):
So uh, I think that's been huge for us. Is
not just the coaches talk of winning the day and
being all in, but actually doing it. And uh, I
think that's been, you know, the pinnacle of our success there.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
All right, coach, we're gonna get some of your players
up real quick, guys, each of one of y'all will
get up and take the stage. Talk a little bit
about last season, the experience it was, winning the state championship,
and and your goals for this year and how do
you how do you expect to get back there?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Uh here repeat that? Sorry?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
You just talking about last season and winning the state championship,
the experience it was, and goals for this year and
keys for getting back there.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Playing in state, you know, it's always a crazy experience,
especially as a sophomoint like being on the sideline my
first time ever going to State. That's cool and all,
but playing in it, the experience you get with it
and the feeling that's all excited. So carrying that into
this season, you know a lot of our players that
(08:29):
we played, that played in the state championship are going
to be crazy confident. You know, it's not going to
be it's not going to be like we just started
off because the state championship. That's all you need really
to play in to have a lot of confidence.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
My name is Casey Kelly.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
I played OH line D line last year. Was a
great experience, but at the same time you got to
move past that move on this year.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
We ain't did nothing this year yet.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
We just kinda keep working and do what we do.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
My name, uh Jamark Smith on the quarterback.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
I wanna thank my team, my old line.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
For for the hard work and all the stuff well accomplished.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
And I wanna take that until they see
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