Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Quite a bit has changed since the 2021 football season ended with Gatesville’s bi-district playoff loss to Carthage last November.
Gone is head coach Luke Howard, who rebuilt the Hornets out of the ashes of 2019 and turned them into a playoff team in 2020 and 2021.
Gone is a senior class that featured all-state safety Hayden Mooney, who broke a 21 year-old school record with 209 tackles in his senior season, and quarterback Wesley Brown, who scored seven touchdowns in a playoff-clinching win over Jarrell last a season.
Despite the departures, there remains a remarkable stability in the football field house. Defensive coordinator Aaron Hunter was hired to replace Howard in January, and Jacob Hunter is beginning his third season as offensive coordinator. And there are still Mooneys manning the middle for the Gatesville defense, which is now helmed by former Georgetown Co-defensive Coordinator Jose Aguirre.
The Messenger sat down with the Hunters and Aguirre for a Q&A with two weeks of fall camp in the books.
Coach Aaron Hunter
Your impressions of your team two weeks into fall camp?
Our energy and enthusiasm is really high. We put a lot of work in in the summer and our energy and effort has been great. We’ve had our lulls but all in all guys are buying into the family dynamic we are trying to build here. I want to develop our culture … I want us to practice like we should … that’s the stuff I am honed-in on right now.
Let’s go back to last spring. What kind of progress has there been both in individuals and in the program since you took over?
Coach (Luke) Howard went through the grind with that 0-10 season (in 2019) and I was obviously a part of it with him the last two years of getting it facing the right direction and turned the right way.
Last year’s seniors set the standard of making football important. That group was tight knit — they were that family we talk about — and we have something to build on thanks to them.
I just took it a step further and we’re saying that where we are at is not OK. That is not going to be the standard here. Our goal is winning gold footballs and it’s hard. It’s always hard.
We are trying to flip the mindset of showing up and playing and hoping you win. It’s not OK for us to say we tried hard, we lost. That’s not OK anymore. We are trying to change confidence and believe that we can beat anybody.
But our rallying cry is “On The Anvil” and that’s where we are at. You take something that isn’t what it needs to be and you beat on it a little bit until it’s the shape that you want it. We are asking our kids to allow us to help them grow not just as a player but as a person.
I think that’s the biggest thing that we have brought … that we are in this thing together. It’s either going to go good or bad but we’re going to do this together.
You hired Jose Aguirre from Georgetown to fill your spot as the defensive coordinator. Tell me a little bit about coach Aguirre.
We have the best coaching staff in the state — I really believe that. The biggest thing about him is that he is a family guy, he’s a really hard worker and he’s bought into the community and the vision of the program. He’s not out looking for the next job. He’s here to help us build this thing.
Its only 26 days from the first day of camp to the season opener. Tell me about the process of balancing all that is required — evaluating players, determining depth charts, film, installs, etc. It is a process.
To get to where you’re going, you have to know where you are at. After that, scheme comes in, personnel comes in, and things like that. You have to do something that fits your players. But then you also have to put things in there that help them grow together. It’s a grind for everyone so you have to find ways to make it fun and find ways for guys to connect.
This first scrimmage is going to be a good gauge for us. Academy is a top 10 team in the state and Caldwell will line up and run around your throat. The biggest thing about Saturday is how hard we play and then also how much energy we have on the sideline when we are playing good or playing bad.
Coordinators will tell you they are looking at the question marks. You’d much rather find those in the scrimmage because you don’t want to put question marks on the field on opening night against Taylor.
Coordinators are looking for holes to fill and mistakes to correct. I’m looking at energy and effort as head coach. I’m looking at it from a “program perspective.”
You have talked before about growing the program not only in culture but in actual number of players. Have you seen the growth in participation you hoped for since you took over?
The numbers are better … we are sitting about 115-120, which is a good increase from a couple of years ago. We had 85 kids from freshman to seniors. We are going to have some depth and multiple kids that can play multiple positions.
When kids know that they have a chance to compete for a spot each week then they are going to practice hard. Saturday is your chance to say “Watch me. Play me.”
Having more players means more depth and a healthy, deep team is obviously a better team. Last season you were very good when healthy (27-7 win over Llano, 40-6 win at Hillsboro). On the flip side, I thought depth caught up with you guys in the loss to Glen Rose and the loss to Lampasas.
Depth plays a huge part. Having more numbers saves your legs because your body can only do so much. Now, if you can have some guys who can play scout team or special teams then it helps keep guys fresh. We’re going to suit up more on varsity than we have in the past. We’re going to be better than we have been.
Speaking of Taylor, what do you know about the Ducks? It’s hard to gauge much from their 3-7 record last season because they played a pretty brutal schedule similar to Gatesville’s.
It’s the game you know the least about your opponent. We know what they are bringing back and we will be able to see some film after these scrimmages but that first game there are a lot of question marks.
Coach Jacob Hunter
Your impressions of the offense two weeks into fall camp?
The atmosphere has been phenomenal. The kids are excited about where our offense and defense are going.
Just like Coach Aguirre on the defensive side, the offensive side of the ball has some talent and experience to replace. Typically, the first question the OC or head coach gets is about the quarterback but, since you’re a former offensive lineman we will start there. How is the rebuilding/continued building of the O-line going?
We lost a player to injury and graduated Evan Hanson and Jaiden Gomez. It’s hard to rebuild those two because they were so smart. Right now we are young. So this year is a complete rebuild and they are getting baptized by fire. It’s tough to be young and be in the trenches. But, up front we are bigger. It’s going to be the biggest line we have had.
The bulk of your catches (Logan Edwards, Parker Allman, Carson Brizendine) from last season has graduated. That being said, I think your skill-position guys are underrated even though they don’t have a ton of varsity experience. What can you tell me about your backs and receivers?
Kyle Shafer, who came from outside receiver, gained about 15 pounds so we are moving him to the A-back (tight end) position that Logan played. Nolan Smith is a three-year letterman and is our “Z” out wide and you have Kason Herbelin, Sean Aguilar, Ayden Necessary and Adrian Smith as well.
It's really about who is having the more productive night and asking, “Who do I need to get the ball to in this game.” We have to be smart about it, but we have to put our best athletes on the field and put the ball in their hands.
Let’s talk systems and schemes. Since this is year three for you as offensive coordinator, is development for your offense about being more fluent in the offense or is it about expanding and adding to the offense.
You look at your best players and go from there. Our offense is looking more explosive and moving at a faster tempo, which is phenomenal.
Last year it was heavy run from Wesley and Hayden but this year you have running backs who just run the ball so it’s going to be more downhill run and more of a run-and-shoot offense. It’s constantly seeing how we can give our athletes the best chance to get down field.
Last year we couldn’t give it to Hayden 30 times a game because he was our starting safety. Now we have running backs who are strictly running backs. We have Rashon (Smith) and Jimmy Hall who are a potent duo. They’re a 1-2 punch who complement each other.
With Rashon, you forget that he is a sophomore. He will have a mental moment and then you remember that he was playing freshman football last year. But, if it’s third and three you aren’t tackling him within three yards.
Your last two quarterbacks (Luke Mullins in 2020, Wesley Brown in 2021) were first team all-district players and Wesley essentially had three years of experience under center. How are your quarterbacks progressing? Baby steps? Leaps and bounds? Or somewhere in between?
Replacing Luke Mullins is really tough. He knew the game inside and out. Then you go to Wesley who was a leader on and off the field. Now who fills those shoes?
It’s hard to replace and your offense is geared around the players you have. So our offense has changed in the last few months in that we are spread out a little bit more than it was with a run-heavy quarterback like Wesley.
Jacob Newkirk has won the job so far in camp and he and Mason Mooney, who’s also getting QB reps, have grown leaps and bounds. They matured all around. They have matured in the hallways, they have matured in their communication.
Newkirk has matured so much since his freshmen year and Mason is just a leader in every way.
Coach Jose Aguirre
Going back to last spring, how has the move to Gatesville gone for you and your family?
It’s been such a great move. We moved from Georgetown and it’s an awesome community. But for us it was about getting to a smaller community. I wanted to walk my kids to school or have them walk over from school to practice.
What are your impressions of your defense two weeks into fall camp?
It really starts with our coaches. I have been extremely impressed with our coaching staff. They all wanted to know how to get it in and get the most out of it.
Second, our kids work hard. These are hard days and they are long days. But there was no complaining from our kids. There is a sentiment in our program that we want to be known and respected and we want to go earn that.
There must be a lot that goes into assuming the role of defensive coordinator position in a new program. When did the process start for you and what all have the last few months entailed to get you ready for fall camp?
I’m really big on building relationships with kids. You have to earn the right to be hard on kids so early in the spring it was about getting to know kids. At some point, there is going to be a hard conversation and you have to have earned the right to have those when the time comes.
We had four days in the spring dedicated to our defense and it was, “OK, here is our verbiage, here are our expectations, here is where you need to go.” And then not losing your mind when kids make a mistake. It’s all new to them. Sometimes kids are scared to make a mistake so they play timid. We tell our kids it’s OK to make a mistake. Just learn.
The whole defense was installed after the second day of fall practice. The whole thing. That doesn’t mean it was executed perfectly but our kids are ready to go. I’ve been impressed with our kids and the carryover we saw from spring. I would say by the third day of camp, everything was pretty smooth.
You still have a pair of Mooneys who will haunt backs and receivers this season along with a slew of other returners including Thiele Alvarado, Ashtyn Culley, Lucas Garcia. All of those guys are quite eager for contact. What do you expect from that crew this season?
The work ethic will set the tone. The way you watch film will set the tone. They set the tone for everything. Be a model student. Be a model citizen. That is the expectation. We depend on those guys a ton.
From a system and scheme perspective, how will Gatesville look different defensively, if at all?
It’s going to look a little bit different. A lot was put on Hayden Mooney’s shoulders and this year the burden is kind of split up. We expect our guys to be fast and physical.
You look at Thiele Alvarado, who is a phenomenal young man, his ability to retain is astronomical. Lawson is a football-savvy kid, Sean Aguilar is going to play his tail off.
By the second summer practice, we stressed to our starters that everyone knows their job. Mason Mooney knows all of his coverages. Now does his back-up know what he is supposed to do? Kids have embraced the job of getting the backups ready, getting freshman ready and taking care of their family members.
