As the 2022 high-school football season gets going, Morgan County enters its second year under the direction of head coach Clint Jenkins.
The Morgan Bulldogs went through a rough patch last season and experienced some growing pains. However, they ended up making it to the GHSA Class AAA playoffs as a No. 4-seed before losing to No. 1-seed Peach County in the first round.
Jenkins said he feels like he’s seen the program grow since that loss to the Trojans last November. His players have bought into what he’s trying to do and everyone has a “good feel” and “better understanding” of the system entering his second season.
“Conceptionally, I think we understand the schemes a little better,” Jenkins said. “This game is about execution and playing fast. The more comfortable guys can get with our scheme and concepts, the better we are going to play. So, from that aspect, I feel like we are better than when we started last year.”
Finding a flow
After losing starting quarterback Talan Fuller to a season-ending injury in the opener against Putnam County, Morgan struggled last season on the offensive side of the ball.
They next looked to then-senior Ashton Cooper to take snaps under center.
Cooper helped the Bulldogs win four games, but the offense struggled somewhat throughout the season at finding a flow and lacked consistency.
Now, as MCHS enters year two under Jenkins and offensive coordinator Loren Purvis, they are looking to find a rhythm. The Bulldogs return a lot of offensive weapons, despite losing contributors such as Cooper, Rogers Clark, Robert Armstrong and Key Malone.
According to Jenkins, the key to the Bulldogs’ success on offense starts with Fuller and running back Jacere Cooper.
“Talan’s done a good job (over the summer). We’re trying to get him more comfortable with what we’re doing. He’s definitely getting better every day,” Jenkins said.
“Jacere (Cooper) has also done a great job. He’s now two years into the system. He’s starting to understand (our schemes) a lot more. We’ve also moved him around a bit. Jacere played in the slot (position) during the spring and summer.”
Jenkins will look to those two veteran players to lead a young offensive core. He also pointed out that others like running back Jay Dorsey, wide receiver TJ Thompson and athlete D.J. Smith will help the offense move the ball and score points.
“Jay Dorsey’s just going to be an eleventh-grader, but he’s another player that’s looked good at running back. He’s done a great job and has shown some twitch at times,” Jenkins said. "TJ (Thompson) is a guy that’s obviously coming to us from basketball. TJ has done a good job at receiver. He’s given us a vertical threat out there that we didn’t have. We’re also deeper at the quarterback position with Smith. He’s going to be able to help us there and on defense, but also a running back. He’s been a really great addition to what we’re trying to do.”
Cooper led the Bulldogs with 606 yards on the ground last season. He scored four touchdowns while averaging 67.3 yards per contest. Dorsey reached paydirt only once but piled up 234 yards on 69 attempts. These two will be the feature backs for the Bulldogs in 2022.
Regardless, the success of Morgan County’s run game, which will set up the passing game, relies solely on the performance of its offensive line. The Bulldogs lost starting tackles Dominic Frazzitta and Chance Reid to graduation in the offseason.
But Jenkins highlighted that center Griffin Britt returning is huge for the offensive line.
“He’s done a great job of trying to get (more) consistent,” he said. “He had a hard time with snaps last year and turnovers; stuff like that, really fundamental things. Our emphasis is that we’ve got to be better and be more physical up front. We want to be able to run that ball and play good defense. I think that sets up everything else when you’re able to do that. It all starts when the ball is snapped.”
Jenkins also spoke highly of Johnathan Butler and Gaines Mercer, among others, who are both returning up front.
“On offense, it’s like we have a lot of different groups. They’re like tribes within a tribe, and that OL group is definitely its own tribe,” Jenkins said. “That’s what we’re trying to build.”
Winning on third down
As much as he likes offense, Jenkins’ specialty is defense.
In fact, he was a defensive coordinator for 12 years before becoming a head coach. Even at the helm, he likes to be involved and work with defensive coordinator Bret Bell.
In 2021, the Bulldogs’ defense was the strength of the team, and they return a lot on that side of the ball; however, Jenkins feels like this unit can still vastly improve. One of the main things that Morgan County can fix this season is limiting its opponents’ time of possession, which can help the team overall during the season.
According to Jenkins, opposing offenses averaged 60 plays per contest last year against the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, their own offense ran 50 plays per game in 2021.
“If you’re averaging that many plays per game on defense, it means they’re getting more shots at us,” Jenkins reasoned. “That also means we’re not winning on third down on either side of the ball. That’s been a huge point of emphasis for us (in the offseason).”
Morgan County’s defense allowed 24.3 points per game, which to Jenkins, is “way too many.”
“We averaged 15 points per game on offense (last season),” Jenkins said. “Again, I give our kids credit for being able to get into the playoffs last year, because if you start looking at the stats and start breaking down every play, we very easily could have been 1-9 or 2-8.”
The second-year coach did point out the Bulldogs were minus five in turnover ratio last season, but he still wants to see the defense creating more opportunities in 2022 for takeaways.
“When you break down everything, it comes down to what it comes down to,” Jenkins said. “We have an emphasis on winning third-down and not turning the dang ball over. We’ve also got to get more turnovers. That takes effort, which is what we’ve been getting.
“So, those are some things we came up shy on last season, but they’ve been points of emphasis going into the fall. Overall, defensively, we showed improvements at padded camps. You can tell we are a year better; we’re playing better (in all three phases) of the defense.”
The Bulldogs return a lot of production on its defensive line, including sacks and tackles for loss leader Antavious Elder. They also bring back Butler, who is a workhorse. That pair will anchor the defensive line with Trevon Franklin and Jaturi Brown, among others.
Morgan’s linebacker core will be spearheaded by Smith, Cooper, Danyne Dickerson and Nymh Carrera. Landen Vickers, Mason Nunn, Draco Frazzitta and Ashton Brannon are also expected to have productive seasons for the Bulldogs in the middle.
The secondary improved with the addition of Thompson, but contributors including Zach Moore, Trevon Rhodes and Reggie Ross return. Dorsey, Darius Jackson and Jaylen Elder are also expected to make a difference for the Bulldogs’ secondary.
Jenkins is just excited about the depth of Morgan County’s defense.
“We’re at the point that we can roll some other guys in. We were kind of sidelined in terms of depth last season, but I think it has it improved a lot,” he said. “If we can stay healthy and avoid injuries, I feel like we will be fine (on defense).”
Morgan County will open its season on Aug. 19, at Social Circle.