By Jeff Johncox
There’s one word Norman High players and coaches have been saying over and over since practices started Aug. 11: “Close.”
The Tigers are close.
It probably means several things.
NHS is definitely closer as a team, a tighter-knit group with player leadership it struggled to find last season.
The Tigers might also be close to breaking through, finding the key to coach Greg Nation’s system after he was rush-hired at the end of the spring semester in 2008 and had to push the spread offense onto players used to Butch Peters’ old I-formation.
NHS might even be close to returning to the playoffs, or, thinking bigger, maybe reaching the level it was at just a few years ago, when the Tigers ran off nine wins in consecutive seasons.
So, they’re close.
“We’re a closer team. We’re more together,” quarterback Chad Anderson said. “We’re more family-like. We can read each other and what we’re doing. I know what the guys out there are going to do and they know what I’m going to do. We just know each other a lot better.”
The success of the Tigers this season must begin with Anderson. He needs help, of course, but he is the undisputed leader of the team.
He’s Nation’s go-to guy.
“Chad’s improved tremendously,” Nation said. “He’s more accurate, he’s a better thrower, and what you’re going to see from Chad Anderson this year is leadership. He’s really become one of the leaders of this team.”
Helping Anderson carry the offensive load are receivers Jaime Myers, Roger Kelley and Logan Hammons, along with sophomore wunderkind Donovan Roberts, who made a big splash at running back last year as a freshman.
Roberts ran for a team-high 371 yards and three touchdowns on 86 carries and he’s primed to run the ball a lot more this season.
Myers and Kelley also will carry the ball some out of the slot position. The reverses are finally opening up for them, and both had big runs against Lawton in the Tigers’ opening scrimmage.
“We’re adapting,” Myers said. “Last year was a fresh start and we didn’t really know what we were doing. Now, almost our whole offensive line is back. They know how to block and open up the holes on those plays.”
Defensively, the Tigers are led by linebackers Greg Offenburger and Michael Barrett.
But the biggest strides have been made by defensive backs like Hammons, Myers and Kelley.
“That’s where we’re a lot better than we were last year,” Nation said. “We have contain speed now. They have the ability to stick with people. They’re good athletes with speed. That’s something we didn’t have last year, and they’re right there with what we’re doing.”
Everything’s looking up for NHS this season.
After a tough 2-8 finish a year ago, the Tigers are looking to rebound.
A change in attitude might just be what NHS needed.
And, if anything, the Tigers are a lot closer than they were in 2008 … to a lot of things.
Jeff Johncox
366-3535
jjohncox@normantranscript.com
