STARKVILLE – There’s a lot of new for Starkville Academy this football season.
There’s new assistant coaches, some new faces in key positions, and new district to play in – but it’s all still being managed by veteran coach Chase Nicholson, who enters his 11th year in charge of the Volunteers.
That means the team has been working to get better in the offseason so it can rebound from last year’s 4-7 finish, Nicholson’s first losing season of his tenure. The sting of losing seven games didn’t disappear within the weeks after the season’s conclusion. It instead provided fuel to the fire that powered SA’s will to make sure last season was just a blip on the radar.
“The guys battled and continued to compete but sometimes the funny shaped ball doesn’t bounce your way,” Nicholson said of last year. “But I think that these guys look past last year and have learned from the mistakes and learned from the successes we earned from years before.
“There’s so much that comes into one season,” Nicholson said. “Yes, last year was my first losing season, but it’s over and done with. We moved past that as a team and our guys look at it as, ‘Let’s learn from it. Let’s learn from two years ago to know what it’s like to go 9-3 and be in the semifinals. Let’s not think about what we did in the 4-6 regular season, let’s think about what we did in the four wins and the two we could have won.’ … We can’t worry about last year because we are not the same team.”
Part of the plan of getting SA back on track was making changes to the team’s coaching staff as part of a “big offseason.” Nicholson has stepped away from offensive playcalling duties and hired a new, yet familiar, face in Wayde Barksdale as the team’s offensive coordinator. Barksdale worked at SA for two years before taking a coaching job in Texas. Now he’s back in Starkville to help take some responsibilities off of Nicholson’s shoulders and is tasked with helping the Volunteers increase their average from 19.5 points per contest last season.
“He’s back and he’s calling plays but not a whole lot has changed because we share a similar philosophy and mentality,” he said. “It’s just a different person making those calls and making those decisions. … So excited about that and excited about him and his knowledge and his talents of the game.”
Jonathan Worrell is the new defensive coordinator. He’s a veteran coach that joins the Vols from East Rankin Academy.
“He’s been doing it a long time and had a lot of success as a head coach. … He brings a youthful energy. He’s a little bit younger than I am, but he’s really excited,” Nicholson said. “We share a lot of similar philosophies on running practices and how we want to play defense and stuff like that, so it was an easy fit and smooth transition for him to come in.”
It was important to Nicholson that he and his new coaches be on the same wavelength when it comes to style of play. It makes for a more cohesive brand of ball and makes it easier for their players to adjust to the changes.
“The new coaches have been working well with kids teaching them the new stuff,” Nicholson told The Dispatch. “It’s not that the schemes are different, it’s just the terminologies, it’s mentalities of how you play certain schemes or certain things. So, the kids have been able to easily segue into the ‘new’ defense, the ‘new’ offense with ease.”
Cutting down on the newness Nicholson believes bodes well for the 48 Volunteers who signed up to play ball this season, the most he’s ever had as coach. Most notably, that group includes a large class of 17 seniors. Eight of those seniors are returning starters on defense and five are returning on offense
“There is a lot of talent in that 48,” he said. “It’s allowed us to go good on good (in practice). It’s provided us the ability to have a scout team that is still good. … Because of that depth, people are able to go harder in the reps that they get. There’s so much good going on right now because of the numbers and the amount of coaches I get to work with every day.”
With so many returners with years of experience, most positions are already solidified. Senior Miller Shy is back taking handoffs at running back and is one of the team’s few players who will play both ways. Shy will also see action in the secondary as a defensive back. Brody Burkley returns to his post at middle linebacker, and seniors Barret Peaster, who will also play some snaps at tight end, and Draper Williams return to the defensive line. Bristo Santucci is a senior starter in the secondary, and seniors John Scott Leslie, who started on the offensive line for three years, joins Jude Gray up front to help round out an offensive line that brings back tons of experience in every position. Sophomore Leo Pieralisi is the lone returning offensive lineman that didn’t start last year.
“They are doing a good job,” Nicholson said.
With so many returners on defense, Nicholson said he wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the squad that proves to be the strongest unit.
“When you have eight guys coming back and you have really talented guys around them who are stepping into a starting role instead of a backup role and have a lot of experience in that backup role, you feel like your defense is going to be your strength coming out.”
One position that is undecided though, is quarterback. Fighting for the spot under center are junior Sam Wall and sophomore Jack Northcutt. Both are “similar in the way they operate” but bring different strengths.
“I think Northcutt throws a really good ball,” Nicholson said. “I think Sam knows where to throw the ball. They both get there the same way, though one may be prettier. I think Sam is a hard runner. I think Northcutt is an athletic runner, so they both can accomplish the same stuff.”
Nicholson said he’s in no rush to decide a winner before the season gets underway Friday at Chambers Academy in Alabama.
“At the end of the day, if one of them wins it, great. If on Friday we roll in there and both of them are ready to go, great,” he said. “We’ve run two quarterback systems around here before. It takes two guys who are unselfish to do that, so I’m excited to see how it all shakes out in the end because they both bring strengths to the table that the other doesn’t have and compliment each other. They are both really good dudes and work really hard.”
Stylistically, the Vols’ offense isn’t changing much. Besides some new winkles, SA will adapt over time to their eventual strengths.
“If it winds up being (passing) then we are going to throw the ball more,” he explained. “If it winds up being that we run the ball more, then we will. If it winds up being that the quarterback runs the ball more, then we will.”
As part of MAIS’ reclassification, SA was moved into the new District 2-4A that features old rival Heritage Academy, East Rankin Academy, Lamar School and the reigning back-to-back 6A state champion Hartfield Academy.
But Nicholson isn’t worried.
The remnants of SA’s previous district still remain on their schedule as nonconference contests. The Vols’s fourth game of the year is against Bayou Academy and its fifth and sixth games are against Pillow Academy and Magnolia Heights. The newcomers also are familiar opponents, too. SA played Hartfield the last two seasons, both losses, and Lamar has been a foe on the Vols’ schedule every year since 2013. Last year’s 27-7 loss to Lamar snapped SA’s four-game winning streak over the Raiders.
“We’ve played those guys before, so we know what it takes. … Our non-conference schedule is still (Magnolia) Heights, Bayou and Pillow, which has been our district. So, every game is important,” he said. “Yeah, district – whatever – every game is important. Yes, the goal is to win a district championship, but the goal is to get to the playoffs and win the state championship. I’m not worried about who the opponents are in the district because we’ve played them before. I’m not going to say it’s any harder or easier because every game is hard. Every game matters.”
Nicholson said his team isn’t worried, either. The season’s beginning is nearly here, and they are fired up to hit the field.
“I mean, this is high school football,” he said. “They are teenage boys, and if they’re not excited about this they are doing something wrong.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
