Tampa, FL – The 2011 Dragons are not the 2010 Dragons. This is the message that the coaches and the veteran players seemed to be trying to get across to the mass number of young players that have either moved up from JV or are new to the team. While I was observing the workouts, I can’t say I felt that the Dragons felt like they were deserving or had a sense of entitlement. But I didn’t feel like they had that “Swag”. The chip on their shoulder didn’t seem to exist at least not at the single workout that I attended. The veteran players who played a lot during the championship run pressed the younger players to work harder and the coaches were trying to get everything they could out of each guy they were counting on. I was really impressed with Adrian Jenkins and Charles Booth. Both showed character, toughness and leadership. What I ultimately took from this practice was that the veteran players and coaches are trying to press upon the guys that they can not march into anyone’s stadium and win the ball game just because they wear the Dragon logo and are the defending state champs.
On another note, replacing Andre Davis and Chris Moore should not be a problem. Adrian Jenkins will give the Dragons the big play ability as Davis did last season. Charles Booth and Aaron Jenkins will combine to allow to Dragons to stretch the field with speed. Chris Moore has a younger brother who I like a lot that will add depth to the WR group. Replacing Quentin Williams will be a tougher task. Coach Earle is working two kids at QB right now, Deandre Porter and Tyler Smalls. Smalls is a transfer from Jesuit and has no playing experience but measures 6-3/195-205 and his teammates seem to like him and his work ethic. Porter is developing will but in my opinion, Smalls will be their guy. I didn’t get a chance to see much of the defense except for a few members of the secondary. Will Watson will be the lock up corner, but Charles Booth will rival his teammate as the lockdown CB in the secondary. Turk and Morris rotated in at safety and both have potential. The entire skill group was not present so I am sure there are guys that I don’t know about. I arrived too late to see any of the big guys. Tyriq McCord had a tough day getting tested in the weight room and push hard during speed/conditioning. I spoke with McCord and he said that he knows his teammates are looking at him to do everything right and he needs to lead by example. I feel like McCord is putting the success of the team on his shoulders. I’m not sure if that is a good thing for a 17 year old kid, but it shows that he really cares for his teammates and coaches.
In short, it was a good day at the Dragon’s Den. I liked how the coaches pushed the kids, tested their “want to” and mental toughness. I expected the young players not to understand the importance of summer training and the vets to see who wanted to be part of the 2011 team. The QB play and the defense will determine the Dragon success, but they show plenty of promise.