MACON — Tyrone Shorter had a plethora of options at running back to start the 2014 season.
As much as any coach enjoys having depth at a vital skill position, Shorter hoped one player would sense the opportunity and emerge as the Tigers’ go-to back.
It took a while, but Shorter said the development of Shunessy Sherrod has allowed the junior to move into that position.
“He is starting to see the game and starting to see the field better,” Shorter said. “As the season went on, he started getting better and better What we started doing is out of ll of the backs we had he was the most productive one, so e started giving him more carries. He is really coming along. He is coming along catching the ball for us. He sees the field and he is running really hard for us.”
Sherrod will be counted on to play a key role at 7 p.m. Friday when Noxubee County (12-2) will play host to Greenwood (11-2) in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A North State title game. The winner will play the winner of the St. Stanislaus-Purvis game at 3 p.m. Dec. 6 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
Sherrod, a 5-foot-9, 182-pounder, has 125 carries for 903 yards (7.2 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns to lead a ground game that is averaging a little more than 200 yards per game. Shorter said Sherrod has worked with the coaches to learn how to run and to see the field better. As a result, his production has nearly tripled from his sophomore season when he had 51 carries for 329 yards and seven touchdowns.
“He had to be a little patient and let things develop,” Shorter said. “When he started doing that, he started to take off. It is unbelievable how he is playing right now. He is having a heck of a year.”
Sherrod felt he played well in Noxubee County’s jamboree game in August, but he admitted he felt he struggled at the start of the season. He said he was still figuring out how to read things in the first part of the season. He said the Tigers’ move to the pistol formation has given him an opportunity to read his keys and to see the field.
“It has taken time for me to develop,” Sherrod said. “I basically just read my keys on the offensive line. When they block, I am either going to go here or there depending on where they block. Wherever I see an opening, that is where I am going to go.”
Sherrod makes it sounds simple, but he laughs and said that is far from the case. He credits his coaches for working with him to show him how to break things down so he could pick the right holes and seams up front. As a result, he said his confidence has grown and enabled him to produce at a level that suits a go-to back like the one he believes he is.
“They look at me as a captain anyway,” Sherrod said. “I was the starting running back at the beginning of the season, but I just had to sty humble and go out there and play to the best of my potential.
“Our coaches tell us to stay humble and there isn’t getting a big head because if you get a big head, you are going to start messing up. Our team is going to stay humble and stick together.”
Sherrod’s maturation has been crucial to a Noxubee County team that likes to rely on its offensive line and its defense to control the tempo. The Tigers’ ability to run the football also has taken pressure off junior quarterback Timorrius Conner to have to do it all himself through the air. Noxubee County’s balanced attack has scored at least 33 points eight times in the team’s nine-game winning streak.
Shorter said Sherrod has watched film and listened to coaches to figure out how to see and to find the holes. He stressed patience has been essential for Sherrod to emerge as such a dependable option.
“We knew he all this talent, and we knew he was going to be a great back,” Shorter said. “It is time. He is a junior, and I talked to him several times and told him, ‘It is time for you to start producing, and as the season has went on he has started to do that.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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