The Running Attack of Admiral Farragut Starts Up Front

By Chris Girandola

ST. PETERSBURG – Brendon Staas, Steven Jones, Noah Huntley, Jonathan Jun and AJ Stanford.

The discussion about Admiral Farragut over the past couple of weeks has centered around the running cache of Rayshawn Jenkins, Todd Macon and Napoleon Maxwell, but the guys in the trenches have hardly been mentioned.

“These guys have been integral to our success,” Blue Jackets coach Chris Miller said. “They’ve grown as a unit over the course of the year and they’ve been important in helping us game plan either way in terms of our running attack and passing game.”

Under first-year offensive line coach Justin Parker, the offensive line has helped the Blue Jackets rush for 2,709 yards and 37 touchdowns this season.

“The best thing they’ve done is complete their blocks every play and continue downfield when we break open for a run,” said Jenkins, who has rushed for 1,131 yards and 14 touchdowns. “In the (win over Glades Day), a couple of them were running along with me and made some key blocks to help me score the one touchdown.”

On the play, Jenkins burst through the middle and then used two downfield blocks by Jun and Stoss to easily race for a 48-yard score.

The Miami signee went down with an injury early in the season, but he has nearly 1,000 yards in three games since his return.

During his absence, Macon and Maxwell have guided the ship. “This is the best offensive line I’ve coached,” said Parker, who played with Miller and graduated with him in 2000. “They were raw when I first got here and they needed a lot of technique. They were willing to put in the work and I think we were able to withstand the injuries because of what they put in.”

After Parker spent a couple years at Averett University, where he was recruited to play center on the football team, he returned to the Tampa Bay area and began working with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game day operations. Soon, he was coaching as an assistant coach at St. Petersburg Catholic and Clearwater Central Catholic.

When his good friend called him to assume the duties as OL coach, he couldn’t resist.

And the difference has been glaring.

“He had us learn every position and know everyone’s role so we would be able to work better as a unit and we could step in at other positions just in case someone went down with an injury,” said Stanford, who has played on both sides of the line this season. “There’s been a lot of attention to detail and we’ve gotten a lot better in complex blocking over the season.”

Stanford, who normally plays right tackle, moved over to left tackle midway through the 2011 campaign when Stoss suffered a knee injury that kept him out a few games. Others also were able to step in and help like Dylan Richards, Adam Lichterman, and Adams Sammi.

The growth and depth of the line has allowed Miller and the rest of his offensive staff to use more runs up the middle.

“We just feel comfortable calling those plays as opposed to the beginning of the season when we ran the ball on sweeps or pitches,” said Parker.

Jenkins is already a threat with his athleticism and his ability to run without any reservation has made the 6-foot-3 speedster the talk of the playoffs.

“It just allows me and (Macon and Maxwell) to run without worry,” said Jenkins.