CLASS 6A REGION 3
OXFORD YELLOW JACKETS
Age 40 to 80?
After back-to-back playoff
appearances, Ryan Herring’s third season
as head coach at Oxford promises to be
a year of major transition. The Yellow
Jackets return only eight starters on the
entire team, two on offense and six on
defense. And, unlike the first two years
of the Ryan Herring era, there will be no
star player on the team.
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There will definitely be a lot of new
faces in new places for the Yellow
Jackets, but the new makeup of the team
is actually something that Coach Herring
is looking forward to this fall. “Don’t get
me wrong, I’d love to have a Tre Gamble
or a Roc Thomas on the team this year,
but I actually think we will be much
more balanced on offense,” Herring said.
“We are young, but we have tremendous
potential at every position. We just need
some of our new young guys to step up.”
And in order to be productive on offense
this fall, the Yellow Jackets will have to
spread the ball around a lot more than
they have the last two years.
The Yellow Jackets will be breaking
in a new QB this fall, and right now it
is a two-horse race between sophomore
Brody Syer and freshman Abe Peoples. If
neither is able to separate himself from
the other, Herring says he has no problem
playing two quarterbacks this fall.
Senior Tre Franks, who was moved
from running back to defensive back last
year as a junior, is back on offense for
his senior year and will get the bulk of
the carries to start the season. But also
look out for sophomore DjQuae Calhoun
and freshman Tyetus Lindsey to play a
role in the running game as the season
unfolds. At wide receiver, replacing the
production of Pigskin Roundup All-Star
Tre Gamble will be a tall order, and it will
be done by committee. There are at least
five players in line to handle the receiving
duties, including a couple of 6’3 juniors in
Jakolbe McClendon and Querrion Mason,
who are both playing varsity football for
the first time. Up front, Junior Brett
Houston is the only returning starter on
the offensive line, but there are six other
players who are battling it out for the
other four starting spots, led by seniors
Andrew Muncher and Madison Mintz.
But, look out for freshman Clay Webb,
who is already up to 6’3, 290 pounds.
It is on defense where the Yellow
Jackets have the most experience
returning, and it may be necessary for
this unit to carry the team early while
the totally revamped offense gains its
footing. According to Herring, junior
linebacker Kenny Britt is the undisputed
leader of the team, and at 6’1, 218
pounds, may be the next big recruit to
come out of Oxford. Britt, who was
the team’s leading tackler last year as
a sophomore, has already earned offers
from schools such as South Alabama
and JSU, and that offer list is expected
to grow dramatically over the next
year. The Yellow Jackets also return
COACH RYAN HERRING...
“We are young, but we
have tremendous potential
at every position.
78 | 2015 Pigskin Roundup the Magazine
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KENNY BRITT
Linebacker
John Clark
429 Quintard Ave.
Anniston, AL 36201
Office: (256) 237-1635
Cell: (256) 239-1535
[email protected]
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three starters on the defensive line in
seniors Lott Cates, Jermaine Taylor,
and Tarvies Lawhorn. And two
starters return in the secondary in
senior cornerback Ronny Isaac and
junior safety Jacob Sears.
And the Yellow Jackets appear in
great shape with the kicking game,
as Junior Keaton Borrelli returns to
handle kickoffs, field goals and extra
points.
As usual, Oxford’s schedule will
have its fair share of challenges. The
Yellow Jackets open the season with
back-to-back home games against a
couple of Etowah County teams in
Southside (8-20) and Gadsden City
(8-28). The Yellow Jackets travel to
defending Region 3 champion Opelika
in week five, and then play host to this
season’s Region 3 favorite in Benjamin
Russell in week seven.
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