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Slimmer Bruins eye big goals

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Dean Haynes

TUNNEL HILL, Ga. — The Northwest Whitfield Bruins are taking a cue from the business world as they prepare for the 2008 football season.

They’re downsizing, and while it’s not the process they prefer, they hope to make the most out of it. The Bruins in years past have been large, even by college standards, with offensive and defensive lines that averaged 270 to 280 pounds — intimidating athletes who won most trench wars.

How the slimmer lines perform this year will go a long way in determining the Bruins’ fate in expanded Region 7-AAAA.

“The difference up front is that we’ve gotten use to having all those big kids,” seventh-year head coach Mike Falleur said. “But the kids who are going to play are good. They’re just not as big. My biggest concern is how many kids we’re going to play really for the first time. How are they going to react?”

Two linemen return on the offensive side: 5-foot-11, 150-pound Spencer Suddeth and 6-foot, 220-pound Derek Brown. Also returning is junior tight end Nermin Delic, who at 6-5 and 252 is the largest Bruin. Three first-time starting seniors — tackle John Ridley (6-2, 255), guard Justin Adams (5-11, 240) and center Aaron Henley (5-11, 200) — likely will round out the offensive line.

Adams, Delic, Chris Quarles (6-2, 190), Devin Miller (6-1, 190) and Adam Wilkins (5-10, 240) will play on the defensive front. All except Delic are seniors.

“On the surface, we’ve got a bunch of seniors, and that’s always good, but they are a bunch of inexperienced seniors,” Falleur said. “We have some questions, unlike this time last year, but I feel good about this bunch.”

The other key to the Northwest hopes is at quarterback, where senior Dean Haynes takes over the team’s spread attack. The Bruins’ offense is patterned after Appalachian State’s, which features the read option out of the shotgun. It’s an offense suited for Haynes, a track star who has 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash.

“My strength, I think, is I can run the option real good,” said Haynes, who played a lot of snaps at quarterback late last season. “This is only my second year playing quarterback, so my arm’s still developing. We’re a run offense first, and I think that will be our strength.”

Haynes admits the development of the offensive line is crucial if the Bruins are to repeat last year’s nine-win season, which included a first-round Georgia playoff win.

“The linemen we have aren’t near as big as what we had last year, but they’re stronger than last year’s group,” Haynes said. “I think we’ll be all right. It’s going to be the key position for us. We can be as good as we want to be, but it will depend on who steps it up this year and who decides to play.”

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