Energy level high for Quinn, Jackets

Aug. 14—North Augusta High School's football players have had to adjust to a lot of new things within their program over the last several months.

Chief among those was the hiring of Matt Quinn, their new head coach, after former coach Jim Bob Bryant resigned after he was placed on administrative leave last season.

Despite the shake-up and all of the changes that brings — new assistant coaches, new schemes, new terminology, among other things — one thing hasn't changed throughout the offseason and preseason, and that's the energy the Yellow Jackets have brought each day.

"I'm really excited about the energy and the effort that our guys have," said Quinn, last year's Region 4-AAAA Coach of the Year in his final season at Westwood High School. "They're excited to be here. They want to be great. They don't have to be motivated by incentives or any crazy schemes that you can put out there. They just come out here and work. They put their pads on and they go to work, and that's what's most exciting about this group."

Of course, there are some of the finer points that will need to be ironed out over time, but that's what the coaches are there to do. What they can't do is teach energy and effort.

North Augusta returns a lot of key components from a team that struggled at times last year on its way to a 6-6 overall record and a second-place finish in Region 5-AAAA.

That includes dynamic talents at the skill positions like running back DJ Curry, quarterback Colson Brown, tight end Evan Waldhauer and wide receivers Taylon Washington, Braelin Jackson and Connor Brown.

They'll be guided by a group of linemen who had to take a lot of lumps last season as youngsters but enter this season with plenty of experience despite their youth. They'll help clear space for an offense Quinn hopes will be explosive and fast-paced.

"Our offensive line is young, but they're a group that I'm most impressed with so far through preseason," Quinn said. "They've competed in our scrimmages, and they have fought hard and pushed through everything. We're really excited about our offense. I think that our running back group in really strong, and our run game is really strong. Our receivers, if we can find ways to get the ball to them in space, they're going to be able to wiggle free."

Nose guard Jaydon Eason, who Quinn said is the strongest player on the team, will look to clog the middle to set the tone for the defense. Linebackers Jacquez Ryans and Colyn Moore will fill in behind him, and behind them will be a secondary led by safety Amir Young. Young, who was one of the area's most productive defensive backs last season, needed just two scrimmages this summer to intercept three passes, and newcomer Kamari Ware will bring speed to the outside at cornerback.

There's an ongoing three-player battle to fill in at kicker for Drew Stevens, a freshman at the University of Iowa. Quinn is looking for consistency, and the job will go to whoever can routinely place kickoffs where they need to go and convert on extra-point opportunities.

Then there's the schedule — one so tough it prompted North Augusta principal John Murphy to ask Quinn if he still wanted the job after seeing it. The non-region portion of the slate includes Class AAAAA powerhouses Dutch Fork and Dorman, historic Class AAAA power Greenwood, big Georgia schools Evans and Lakeside, plus traditional rival Strom Thurmond.

All that, and then the task of trying to take Region 4-AAAA back from South Aiken while also contending with rapidly-improving programs Aiken, Airport and Midland Valley.

"For me, if we play the best — if we want to be the best, then we're going to have to beat the best," Quinn explained. "We're going to go ahead and play the best early and get prepared. If we want to get to the state championship level, we might as well add state championship caliber teams to our schedule and compete against those guys."