Page 9 - 2016 Football

El Dorado
New coach to lead El Dorado’s running backs
By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
EL DORADO - The last time El Dorado fans saw Claude Johnson on the football field, they were holding their collec- tive breaths. Their next glance at the former Pine Bluff quar- terback won’t be quite as dra- matic.
Johnson is the Wildcats’ new running backs coach.
A former baseball player at Arkansas State, Johnson gradu- ated from Henderson State. In high school, he led Pine Bluff to the 2009 state championship game, where the Zebras fell to El Dorado.
Ironically, his first coach- ing gig is with those same Wildcats.
“Coach (Scott Reed) and my head coach back in Pine Bluff, Coach Bobby Bolding, they’re really good friends. I guess Coach Reed was look- ing for some guys and Coach Bolding recommended me,” said Johnson, who was anxious to get back into football.
“It was really my first love. I had football scholarships com- ing out of high school but I kind of felt like some things didn’t go my way. I decided to go ahead and play baseball. I’m not sure if I really regret that decision or not. I enjoyed college baseball but some part of me still wanted to play foot- ball.”
Johnson takes over a group of running backs that have talent, although short on experience. Senior Anthony Thomas leads
the group after rushing for 488 yards and three touchdowns last season.
“I think we’re going to be pretty good. I think we’ve got a few guys that will be real- ly successful,” said Johnson. “We’ve got a senior leader with Anthony Thomas. Jarius Curry will help us out a lot, too. We’ve got some other guys that will help. You’ll see a mix of guys but you’ll definitely be seeing our senior running back.”
Thomas enters this season with more confidence, which shows in a much more asser- tive running style.
“He’s been pretty much the guy I expect a lot from. He’s improved a lot over the years, from what I’ve heard. He’s a great kid, works hard every day. I appreciate the way he works,” said Johnson.
“He’s really smart, knows the offense really well. He’s quick. He can catch the ball. He’s pretty versatile. We expect to use him a lot of different ways. I think he’ll step up to the chal- lenge.”
The coach emphasized while Thomas is the guy, he’s not the only guy, who will carry the ball this season. The Wildcats have a small cadre of backs, includ- ing Curry, Richard Kessee and Shun Levingston.
“We’ve got a lot of different guys. We’ve got a collective group that we expect big things from on Fridays,” said Johnson. “A lot of them do have similar tendencies. I would say Jarius is one of those backs who is a
Terrance Armstard/News-Times
Running backs: El Dorado’s running backs include, front from left, Anthony Thomas, Jacobe Singleton, Jarius Curry and Keontae Larry. Back row, Shun Levingston, Jarvis Robinson, Coach Claude Johnson,Richard Kesee and Fred Wright.
Let’s Go Wildcats!
bruiser. We want him getting north and south and getting that shoulder pad level down and running through some guys. Anthony is more versa- tile. He can line up at receiver. We can get him out to the edge. Shun and Richard are kind of similar. Richard is really physi- cal. We like that about him. He might be playing a little bit of fullback.”
That fullback position, tra- ditionally, has been more of a lead blocker for the Wildcats. Jacobe Singleton saw action at that spot last year and returns, along with Kesee.
“Both are physical guys. Both know the offense,” said Johnson. “We expect them to block. First things first, they have to block. Secondly, we think they can get out in the
open field and catch the ball a little bit.”
As far as game-breakers, Thomas, Kesee and Levingston all broke big runs during El Dorado’s Purple-White scrim- mage. All three showed the ability to cut back behind the Wildcats’ big offensive line as well. Johnson hopes that was a sign of things to come this season.
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