Page 7 - Football.2017

El Dorado
By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
There are several new faces and a few old faces moved over from dif- ferent places manning El Dorado’s cornerback positions this season. But, the key to the unit’s success this year could be a familiar face, occu- pying a very familiar space.
Kameron Buie was rock solid at the position until a knee injury ended his junior season early. How the senior bounces back from a torn ACL will be one of the keys to El Dorado’s success defensively.
“Right now, we have around seven corners with our older guys,” said cornerbacks coach Luke Lansdell. “We have Kameron Buie. Antwione Hughes moved from receiver during the summer. Donnell Thompson and Jalen Reynolds are all seniors. We got Jalen back out of the gym. He played basketball this past year, took a year off from football. We got him back out. And, when we do get him, we’ll have Taliq Ellis, who also plays receiver. We’ll use him when we get him. He’s very good, a very talented kid.”
Sophomores Reed Stone and L.J. Yarbrough could also be thrown into the mix at corner.
Ellis, a talented senior move-in from Lincoln, Nebraska, played cor- ner at his former school but will alternate at receiver for the Wildcats.
When he plays defense, Ellis will have a huge role.
“If we get him on defense, he’s going to take their best guy,” Lansdell said. “I mean, that’s where I want to put him. I’ll tell (coach) Wylie, ‘I want him on their best guy,’ whether he’s in the slot or you can put him on one side and not have to worry about helping. That’s the type of player he is at corner.”
Ellis’ arrival should give the Wildcats a pair of stoppers on the corners. That brings up the ques- tion: Is Buie back to full strength?
“He’s getting there,” said Lansdell. “He’s as close to 100 percent as he’s going to get. He’s made some strides
these last few weeks of summer. In July, in some 7-on-7s, he showed us some glimpses of what he could be before his injury.
“I think he’s right there where he was before the injury. There are still some times where it hurts him a little bit. Through the season, he’ll progress and get to where he needs to be.”
A healthy Buie gives the Wildcats a leg-up defensively. El Dorado’s coaches were busy building depth in the secondary, though, just in case. Reynolds and Hughes are both athletic additions. Reynolds played basketball last year and Hughes was moved to corner from receiver.
“Reynolds is a real good kid, pret- ty good athlete, he didn’t play last year. He was in basketball. We talk- ed him into coming out and play- ing,” Lansdell said. “He came during spring ball and worked his way into the rotation. He’s a good athlete, got long arms. He knew his weak- ness this spring and summer was his strength. He focused really hard on getting stronger in the weight room and he’s taken it seriously. He’s been a steady progression all summer. I’m happy where he’s at and where he’s going to be. He’s starting to pick up everything we’re trying to do.
“We moved (Hughes) over from offense. He wasn’t getting a lot of reps there so we moved him to cor- ner and he’s doing a good job. He’s picking up on what we’re trying to do and he’s progressed.”
Thompson is another senior in the rotation.
“He’s a hard working kid, takes the weight room serious, takes every- thing serious,” said Lansdell. “He probably knows our whole back half better than any other corner. He understands the whole concept of things. He’s been doing good this summer.”
Besides health, Lansdell indicated attitude will be a crucial element for the Wildcats. He said the cor- nerbacks have to hold up their end of the deal.
Terrance Armstard/News-Times
Cornerbacks: El Dorado’s cornerbacks include, from left, coach Luke Lansdell, Antwione Hughes, L.J. Yarbrough, Taliq Ellis, Reed Stone, Jalen Reynolds, Wil- liam Artis, Kameron Buie and Donnell Thompson.
El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Wednesday, August 30, 2017 – 7
ARKANSAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 7
Wishes all area fall sports teams a safe and successful season.
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