Jordan coach Justin Newman calling on team to buy in

There was noted improvement over the past four seasons for the Jordan football team, ending a 26-game losing streak in 2013 and improving to three wins in both of the past two years.

But the progress had become stagnant, and some new blood was brought in to try and inject even a little more excitement to the program. That was new coach Justin Newman, who had his hands full over the summer coaching the team essentially by himself while he tried to fill out his staff.

Now, as preseason practice has gotten underway, he has a full staff and is beginning to feel confident about the direction the program is taking.

Offense

On offense, the biggest thing to notice is the change at the quarterback position. Two-year starter Romello Kimbrough is no longer with the team, and former safety Darren Lewis will move under center for the Red Jackets.

Newman said he has been impressed with the job, especially the work ethic, Lewis has shown in trying to get up to speed quickly. The biggest advantage he’ll have to work with this season is the wide receiver corps, which Newman said would be the team’s biggest strength.

“I think we have some big weapons on that unit,” he said.

They include seniors DeAndre Snead and Lorzie Meadows and sophomore Emmanuel Mann.

They’ll be joined at tailback by junior Aaron Maxwell.

Defense

Defensively, the team will be extremely senior heavy. Newman said he thought the team would have a strong defensive line with seniors JaKyle Strickland, Reynard Swiney, Raymond Jones and Elijah Mann.

Senior DeKoreon West is back at linebacker, senior Jaden Jordan at safety and junior Kaleb Smith at defensive back.

Newman said it’s been tough for that unit to get up to speed with a new system and a new concept, but that they are beginning to come along as they get closer to the season. Perhaps the biggest addition has been a defensive coordinator in DeAndre Bowman, who spent time on staff with Randy Grace and Alan Griffin at Pacelli.

Overall

Newman has seen progress from Day 1 until now and was impressed with the way the team handled itself in a scrimmage. There were times the team took plays off, missing a coverage here and there, but there were also times the offense moved the ball with ease and the defense produced a couple of takeaways.

Right now, the most important thing left, he said, is for the players to buy in totally to what the coaching staff is trying to do.

“I think it’s just that final buying in piece,” Newman said. “Sometimes kids want to buy in just a little bit and see where it’s at before they fully commit. If they can totally buy in to this, I think we can have a great season.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Jordan coach Justin Newman calling on team to buy in."