The Bulldog Insiders caught up with Barton College Football Head Coach Chip Hester to get an update on how the offseason and spring practices have been going following the program's first year back on campus after an absence of over 71 years. With spring practices winding down and leading up to the Blue-White game (April 13, 2022), Coach Hester gives Bulldog Nation a glimpse behind the curtain at how the offseason has progressed for his hungry Bulldog team.
Tell us how things are going in your view. I was able to attend the second spring practice (March 16, 2022) and able to see how things were going. I will say I thought the team looked pretty good even though it was only the second practice, but give us an update on how things are going this spring.
We've had a good spring, and I think for coaches and players, spring is a great opportunity to work on stuff you need to work on. Work on some of those weaknesses, and try to shore up and just maintain the things you do well and try to get a little better. I think one thing in particular about this spring is it is the first normal offseason we've had and so we've had time to lift, had time to condition, we've had more typical preparation, so I've been pleased. I think we've had good stuff going on, still got a lot to work on, but I'm pleased.
We've seen updates from players and the trainers hitting the weights and it does look good from the sense that it appears things are getting back into a regular routine like you pointed out. This is the first taste for some of these players who have been on campus for a few years of seeing what a "norm" looks like and they're taking advantage of that.
Yeah I think so. We've been blessed, we've got great strength and conditioning folks, Matt Shubert and Servando Duran do a great job and so just all around it has been a good offseason in a lot of ways. And I have told people before and I believe you and I have talked about it as well, it's one of my favorite times of year because as a coach you get to teach. You don't have the immediacy of preparation for a game that's coming up that's right on top of you. You get the chance to take your time and teach the way you want to teach and work on things instead of being all about preparation. It's an enjoyable time of year and you get a ton of guys that don't get a lot of reps some work so it gives you a chance to see what you've got. I think another thing we like to do is stretch our guys a little bit and see what they are good at and what we might stay away from.
And that presents an interesting segue opportunity you give me there, would you say something like moving a quarterback to defensive back? I've been picking on him because of this, and for those who don't know, Tyler Flippen was looking to move over to the defensive backs group and getting some reps in there, and I saw him getting some time in there at practice. But that was going to be one question I did have is how many position changes have you seen? Did you have players coming up and asking to try this out, do you give them that flexibility or is it something where you ask someone to change over? What kind of options do you see there?
There's a combination of things that go on and I think one thing we do as a football staff (that helps) is we have personnel meetings. We talk about guys, where guys stand on the depth chart, what kind of potential they have here or at other positions and things like that so it's a combination of things. One thing I can tell you about Tyler is he is a good football player. He was a very versatile player in high school and obviously last year in that he punted, held for us on extra points, and obviously played some quarterback. But already this spring he's gotten some reps in at defensive back, we've gotten him reps in at wide receiver, and at quarterback as well. What we're trying to do is get good players on the field as much as possible and he's a guy who is big, strong, and fast so we're looking for ways to try to utilize a really good, talented player that is a good leader on our football team as well.
Speaking of changes, we had a few departures (transfers) from the team. Tony Black transferred to Lenoir-Rhyne and Jordan White took his remaining eligibility (graduate) to Ottawa University Arizona College. We in the Barton community of course wish them well, but in regards to recruits I saw a lot of new faces at practice and I have to ask about our recruiting class which I believe is hovering around close to 40 players. Is that correct?
Yes it's getting there, it sure is. We've got a group that we're really excited about coming in and I'm really excited about the guys we've got coming back. My experience is that who you go through spring with, about 90% plus of those are gonna be the guys you really count on the next fall. You know, we've got some great leaders some guys that are talented defensively, offensively. You look at our linebackers with Shane Perry and Matt Smith, you have Kendarius Jenkins. You look on offense you've got Alex Buschow at center, and Jordan Terrell and Jaquan Lynch...man we've got really great guys and they've committed to the program, they've committed themselves, and I think they have become a really tight group. I think they have got a lot to prove. I think what we've done is recruited some guys that want to be a part of what we're building here. I'm excited about the guys that are here and the coaches we have been able to bring on board. I'm excited about coach Mariani (new offensive coordinator Landon Mariani) and coach Cain (new offensive line coach CJ Cain) and I'll tell you this, in Treiston Burnette and Eric Morris, two of the brightest, just outstanding defensive coaches around. Treiston Burnette is just an all-star as a football coach and and as a leader. Man, he's outstanding. So I'm excited. Change is part of the game and part of the game and it's part of college football. We're definitely in a new era with the transfer portal, but we have not been hit nearly hit as badly as some schools and we've been able to take advantage of that as well. So again, I'm excited about where we are and definitely, our mentality is we want the guys that are here and excited about the guys that we've got and can't wait to get started.
Well that leads into another topic that wasn't as widely published, and we didn't dive into a lot of it in the offseason, but (former) offensive coach Will Orbin left Barton to become the tight ends coach at Elon College and we wish him well and he was someone the players really looked up to and respected. But at the same time like you mentioned, you're still retaining coach Burnette, coach Morris, and coach Kim Brown you know with defensive staff...
Kim? Absolutely.
Yeah we can't forget Kim, he's pretty hardcore. If you looked up the definition of "bulldog" there's definitely a picture of Kim right there.
(Laughs) Absolutely. And you bring up those guys, we also have special teams coach Charlie Mauzé and we've got some great young coaches in some student assistants as well. Man, we're blessed. But yeah you're right, coach Orbin...what a great football coach and he was a huge part of what we were building and helped to build a great foundation and so we'll always appreciate those guys. But my focus is now on the guys that are here and getting ready for an exciting season. The first one in SAC conference play, so I can't wait to see who might get a preseason all-conference selection and to see where the coaches pick us in the league so we've got some exciting things up on the horizon.
And you pointed out an interesting thing that Barton is a destination program because what people see what you have taken in and molded into the program that it is now. You have the experience, and a few players had reached out to me when coach Orbin left, and I was quick to tell them that you have to have the mindset that this could be an opportunity for "addition by subtraction" in this situation. "Don't forget forget how long coach Hester has been in this state in coaching. If you don't think he's not going to bring in someone that's awesome, you're crazy. You can't second guess coach Hester's abilities."
I was able to speak with coach Mariani and coach Cain after the practice. I know you're excited about Mariani, and coach Cain is the classic looking guy for an offensive line coach as he looks like he's been in the trenches himself for a few years. You know, maybe we need to get some one-on-ones between Cain and Morris or something for fun?
(Laughs)
But back to recruiting with the class of players that have committed, one thing I have to point out is there now appears to be a pipeline to Barton coming from Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, NC with four commits having signed to join the Bulldogs. Can you tell us about that connection?
You know, coaches will always recruit, but I tell you who the best and biggest recruiters are for your program are current players and Trent Jones who, you go back and talk about leaders on the football team, he's one of our best leaders along with Hunter Sauls and that crew up there (on the offensive line), but Trent is obviously from Jacksonville and he's our best recruiter (laughs). He's convincing guys and selling what we're trying to build and they want to be a part of it.
Absolutely. I was researching the incoming class and one position that stands out is you have some standouts at linebacker coming in. Your linebacker room is going to be amazing with the players you already have and the new recruits coming in. Those guys are going to be really good talent wise. I know coach Burnette was excited about some of those guys on the defense, and I know you have some athletes coming in on offense. But I wanted to ask were any of those commits enrolled early and on campus already or is that an option?
No it wasn't. We've got a couple of guys that have transferred in and are currently on the roster, and one that folks from around Wilson will recall, is Raekwon Bass who played at Beddingfield High School. He plays running back, fullback, and few other things. There's also Justin Matthews who we recruited out of high school, but went to Western Carolina University and he's coming in. Then there's Ben Swinson who played high school ball at Little Washington (NC lingo for Washington, NC) who originally went to East Carolina University to be a student but decided to come and play for us. So we do have a few new guys on the roster but we do not have any high school commits on the current roster.
One thing I have been texting with you about recently is once spring practices wrap up there will be a spring game and that will be on April 13th at 7:00 pm. Will that be open to the public?
Yes that's correct and hopefully we'll get some stuff out soon to talk about what we're planning. We're also looking to maybe help out a few local charities so we're talking through those things. But we're excited to get out there and play a game. We'll try to split up the team the best we can and you know, in my mind, the spring game is while you get some good practice in, it's really for the players. They get to have fun and compete, turn the scoreboard on so they'll be some bragging rights on campus. It's usually pretty fun for everyone.
Any last thoughts on where we're at program wise?
It's an exciting time and I think the biggest thing going forward is to be in a conference and it's a big deal for us and so I can't wait to compete with those guys and have something on the line. We've got a chance going into it and we know this is a premier D2 league and we saw that first hand. It's a tough schedule coming up but I think that's what our guys have signed up for. They want it. That's why you practice for, these opportunities and this is a great one ahead of us.
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