Corner welcomes Center Point, Montevallo for OTAs

DORA—The sound of quads and snare drums spilled out of Corner Stadium and settled softly onto the practice field on Wednesday morning. Only 30 days from kickoff, the sights and sounds of Alabama’s favorite sport were present at Corner High School.

The Yellow Jacket football team, breaking in rookie head coach Jon Clements, welcomed three teams in for OTAs over the course of two days. They started on Tuesday with three hours on the field with St. Clair County, and came back on Wednesday with three more hours opposite Center Point and Montevallo.

One thing Center Point head coach George Bates pointed to was a rare opportunity for his players to share the weight room with opponents. “One of the creative things that [Clements] set up was… we went in the weight room together. That was different,” said Bates, who also enters his first season at a new school. “That was the part that I enjoyed the most, because the other things were just football.”

The day also consisted of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions, accompanied by several position drills run by each coaching staff.

“It was good for our players and a great day of work. We got a lot of reps in,” said Bates.

Montevallo head coach Brandon Wilcox believes, despite the absence of blocking and tackling, these type of OTA workouts can indicate what a team’s potential is.

“This is not 100 percent football, but at the same time, I think it’s a good indicator of what your team is going to look like when you put all 11 guys on the field,” said Wilcox.

As for Corner, it was a great opportunity for Clements, his players and his staff to mesh on the field. Despite the move up top, Corner’s coaching staff remains heavily intact. Offensive coordinator Jeff Smith and defensive coordinator Rusty Rouse both return to their respective positions in 2018.

“[Rouse] is very vocal, which is good, I like my defensive coordinator to be a vocal guy. He keeps them in check over there,” said Clements. “Jeff Smith is our offensive coordinator and he does a fantastic job. The offensive coaches really respect Jeff and I feel like we’re very organized on that side of the ball with so many moving parts, because he’s having to learn my offense just like the kids are.”

Smith is expected to handle play-calling duties this season.

“I did not get to hire any of my [assistant coaches], so I’ve kind of had to lean on the guys that were here and they’ve done a fantastic job of buying into what I want to do,” said Clements, who takes the field as a head coach for the first time on Aug. 24 in Corner Stadium against Northside.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.