This interview was recorded at the Athens ISD Hornets Fieldhouse Tuesday, July 27.
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Athens Hornets Head Football Coach Zac Harrell is excited about the upcoming season.
"This is the most excited I've been about a season in a long time," he said.
With practice officially set to start on Monday, I sat down with the coach to discuss the summer program, changes to the staff, and players he's excited to watch.
I. Offseason Practice Schedule (:49)
Because Athens ISD also begins classes on Monday, Aug. 2, the football team will start the year with a regular practice schedule.
"Which is good, because we get into a routine and our kids get used to it," Coach Harrell said. "We don't have to go to two different routines."
AISD starts earlier than other school districts because of its 4-day schedule, which means the Hornets can change things up on Friday.
"On Fridays, we'll practice in the morning the first few weeks and we'll practice that first Saturday," he said, "so we have a couple of days that are different there early."
II. Staff Changes (2:33)
The Hornets kept 10 out of their 12 coaches, but the two newcomers are in important positions.
Brad Yudizky is the new QBs coach and Offensive Coordinator for Athens, while David Haresnape is the new OL coach.
"(Yudizky) brings a lot of knowledge of quarterback play," Coach Harrell said. "He played quarterback at SMU and played at a very high level."
Yudizky has been with the Hornets since March.
"Our quarterbacks have improved drastically since he's been here," Coach Harrell said.
Haresnape also played his position at a high level, playing offensive line at Kansas State.
"He just has that toughness," said Coach Harrell, "we've really got to bring that to our offensive line unit."
Haresnape has also been with the Hornets for a few months and worked with the players through the summer.
"We're excited about adding those two guys to our staff and what they bring to our kids," he said.
There were no changes to the defensive coaching staff.
"I'm really excited about keeping all six of those guys over there," Coach Harrell said.
"Coach (Flint) Bigham is one of the smartest, best defensive coordinators in the state of Texas," he said. "He's done this a long time and he really knows how to coach defense."
III. Summer Program (9:05)
The Athens Hornets summer program was four days a week for six weeks. The players worked on strength and conditioning part of the time and football skills the rest.
Coach Harrell said about 95 percent of the varsity team showed up every day.
"We really feel like our guys are really starting to buy in and commit to what we're trying to preach," he said.
The Hornets also got the chance to compete in some 7-on-7 over the summer, which Coach Harrell said went well.
"We do it more as a practice format and working what we're going to do on Friday nights versus other people," he said, "and so we got a lot of good out of that."
IV. Specific Focus Areas During Summer (12:56)
Coach Harrell said the team really focused on improving in two areas: throwing and catching at a high level, and building the strength of the linemen.
The Hornets spent a lot of time this summer working on their dropback passing concepts.
"We really feel like this fall we're really fixing to turn a page and look different than we've looked in the past," he said.
Coach Harrell said District 9-4A is very physical, particularly in the trenches.
"Most people we played last year in district were physically stronger than we were," he said.
To change that, they focused with the lineman on increasing their core lifts.
"We're really proud of the way our kids have embraced working on those things and improved in those areas," Coach Harrel said.
V. Players (18:05)
The Hornets will be young this year with new players coming up from last year's freshman team and several transfer students.
Coach Harrell talked about players he is excited about as we go into the 2021 season. He ran down a lot of players, too many to write here, so please listen in to the podcast for specific players.
IV. First Up (29:24)
The schedule calls for the Hornet to travel to Kaufman for their first scrimmage on Aug. 13, followed by a home scrimmage against Canton on Aug. 19.
Athens will open the regular season on the road at Brownsboro Friday, Aug. 27.
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Hannigan Media is sponsored by Athens Screen Printing, Tinsley Law & Title, and Gibson Pharmacy, R&R Lawn Specialists.
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