Brentwood Academy won the Division II-AA state title last season.
Brentwood Academy won last year’s Division II-AA state championship in a thrilling 56-55 double-overtime shootout over Montgomery Bell Academy behind a stacked offensive line and some big playmakers.
While a majority of the Eagles’ big play guys will be back for the 2016 season, the defending state champions will look to some fresh faces to step up and protect them.
Of the five players expected to anchor the Eagles offensive line this year, only one is a returning starter.
Brentwood Academy lost two offensive lineman to the Tennessee in Ryan Johnson and Brian Garvey, one to Ole Miss in Bryce Mathews and one more to Georgia Tech in Brandon Adams.
“Luckily we’re in a good place,” Eagles coach Cody White said. “We‘ve got a good senior group. They haven’t played a lot, most of them, but they take a lot of pride in what they do and they’ve got some ability.”
New-look line
That ability may catch some opponents by surprise this year, as opposing teams likely won’t have any film to prepare for the offensive line.
Senior Elijah Teat, the line’s only returning starter, will see fellow seniors Will Norvet, Brett Hart and Isiah Gentry get their first chances to start alongside the line’s lone junior, Jordan McCoy.
Replacing a Division-I level players is never an easy task, but it’s one that this year’s group feels prepared to tackle.
“It’s definitely a different year and it’s a different type of line,” Norvet said. “I think we are all going to be able to hold our own and improve.”
With all but one of this year’s offensive lineman low on experience after waiting their turn to start last season, improvement is just what White expects to see from his new group of big men.
“I think we could be really athletic,” White said. “It’s one of those deals where you can see potential, but potential doesn’t mean a whole lot unless those guys do what they can do. That’s going to be the interesting part to see how they grow.”
Still driven despite success
Despite playing with a target on their backs this year as the defending champs, this group of lineman aren’t feeling the pressure to repeat, but rather the drive to prove doubters wrong.
“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure,” Hart said. “We sort of heard the talk about how are we going to come back with the loss of all the lineman and can we repeat again, so it’s more about proving people wrong to show we can do it.”
“They are big shoes to fill, but they kind of showed us how it’s done and that was beneficial to see how we can improve and how we can continue on,” Norvet added. “It kind of showed us where we’re supposed to be.”
Filling the shoes of the players that came before them may seem like a daunting task, but for some of the lineman like Hart, the opportunity to anchor the offensive line has been something he’s been working toward since he was 10, including a three-year stint as water boy.
“I’ve been waiting a long time,” Hart said.
The long wait for the new set of lineman is almost over, and soon they will have the chance to protect one of the most dangerous offensive attacks in the state.
Deep offense
While Brentwood Academy lost nearly its entire offensive line to graduation, the Eagles are still returning a majority of their big playmakers.
The Tennessean’s Athlete of the Year, senior quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall, will be back to lead the offensive attack, and he will be joined by junior receiver Cam Johnson and junior wide receiver and tight end Gavin Schoenwald.
Oatsvall threw for 1,965 yards, ran for 1,164 more and accounted for 30 total touchdowns last season while Johnson racked up 956 receiving yards and hauled in eight touchdown receptions.
Schoenwald only caught two touchdown passes last season, but threw eight touchdowns last year on just 44 passes as Oatsvall’s backup.
He will again be the second-string quarterback this year, but that’s only because of who is in front of him.
Just like this year’s group of offensive lineman, his turn will come soon.
“We’ve got a guy who probably start at every other school in the state as our backup quarterback right now,” White said. He’s really multifaceted. We’re one play away from using him and I feel like we could win the whole deal with him.”
Reach Sam Brown at 615-259-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.