I thought was an exceptional running back , so we made sure to pitch him the ball a ton and get him the ball a ton . Our quarterback [ Mason Facteau ] was not that experienced , had a little , but not that much .
“ This year he is coming back , so obviously I will have a lot more trust in him not only to throw it , but in general in how he operates the offense being able to do more complicated things .”
Facteau enters the 2022-23 season after getting 10 games ’ worth of experience last year , when he finished with 900 yards , 10 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 70.5 .
He will be joined by an offensive line of almost all returners , with the exception of center .
Mineral Wells saw 14 players graduate last year , but will benefit from an even bigger returning class .
“ The issue is that every kid that was an impact guy that graduated , more likely , the kid coming in behind him is not better or he would have started in front of him last year , so this next year ’ s seniors , if they didn ’ t start last year there is probably a reason ,” Hobbs said . “ I am not going to play someone just because they are older . I am going to play the best player . As a result there are always holes to fill .”
One of those holes was left by running back Tristan Gray , and will allow Jovan Ramirez and Jose Garcia to compete for that role .
“ They aren ’ t him , they are different , so for us to figure out what that combination looks like , that is just one example ,”
Hobbs said . “ Figuring out what that combination looks like if those guys were better than him last year , they would have started . Some of those guys , you can talk about replacing , but it is really just an addition of a new person , not necessarily replacing the old one .”
The head coach ticked off a list of potential impact players that comprise the depth on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball , noting that the skill spots in places will be inexperienced .
“ I think if we can keep the injury bug from getting in our way , then we have a chance to be a very tough team ,” Hobbs said . “ One of things from last year to this year that I am encouraged about is doing our football-specific stuff outside of strength and conditioning . The kids
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I think if we can keep the injury bug from getting in our way , then we have a chance to be a very tough team .
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