THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408250155
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: S18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Football Special '94
SOURCE: BY JOHN GORDON SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Windsor lost a head football coach and 13 seniors from a team that went 9-3 last season and there are some obvious holes to fill.
Filling the coach's position is Tommy Austin, who is no stranger to area football fans. A graduate of Suffolk High, he coached at Isle of Wight Academy from 1987 through 1992 and then went to Ravenscroft, a private school in Raleigh, N.C., for a year.
When Joe Jones left Windsor to take the head spot at Franklin, Austin came home. And the biggest adjustment he has had to make is dealing with the large number of candidates.
``The kids are the same,'' Austin said when asked to compare private school players with their public school counterparts. ``But I'm used to having only about 35 kids in both (varsity and junior varsity) programs.
``We played 32 in our first scrimmage at Currituck (N.C.), and we had about 95 show up for the first practice. It's down to about 85 now and most of them will be JVs.''
So the numbers are there, and fortunately a lot of the returnees played a lot as juniors and sophomores. However, it will still be a young outfit when the Dukes take the field.
``We've got eight seniors, and we kept three freshmen,'' Austin said. ``We've got eight sophomores and the rest are juniors.''
One of those juniors is Jerome Ricks, who is shifting from wide receiver to quarterback, and who will play safety on defense. But battling him for the quarterback spot will be junior Cory Liggins and sophomore Robby Tew.
At fullback will be another junior, Wayne Briggs. He goes both ways and will be at outside linebacker along with still another junior, Isaac Ricks, who is also a tight end.
The offensive line is unsettled, according to Austin. But prime prospects include juniors Carlton Wright, Nathan Edwards, Parker Ramsey and Will Jones along with sophomores David Bickley and Carson Forrester.
Jones, Ramsey and Forrester all go well over 200 pounds, and Ramsey is another two-way performer who will anchor one of the defensive tackle spots with Wright at the other. Bickley will be the nose guard.
Junior Reggie Nichols is a key returnee who is moving from defensive tackle to linebacker and may shift from offensive tackle to tight end. He will handle most of the place-kicking, but Austin hasn't picked a punter yet.
The cornerbacks will be sophomore John Ruffin, senior Jason Snipes and Jr. Torrence Saunders. Splitting safety slot chores with Ricks will be senior Gebre Jennings.
After the first scrimmage, it was apparent that the defense was way ahead of the offense, according to Austin. The Dukes allowed only one score and it was on a busted play on fourth and long.
``Our defense played well, and our offense did all right,'' he said. ``We saw some good things, but now we know what we need to work on.
``Our whole defense is a bunch of hitters, but I've changed the offense from a run and shoot to a multiple offense. The terminology is different and it takes time to grasp everything because we've changed the blocking schemes from last year.''
In spite of the large number of players, Austin's main area of concern is injuries.
``If we have injuries at our key positions, we may be depending on freshmen and sophomores,'' he said. ``Therefore, we need to get them in the best shape we can.''
Otherwise the transition has been smooth. The coaches who are left from Jones' reign have been very supportive.
``I knew them from before, so it wasn't like I was coming in from the cold,'' said Austin. ``They've been accepting and there haven't been any negative overtones.
``It's good to be back and I'm looking forward to the season to start.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Jerome Ricks, now a junior, powered his way past defenders as a wide
receiver last season, but this year he is battling to be the Dukes'
starting quarterback.
by CNB