When Covenant’s football team converted to the triple option two years ago, there was clearly a plan for the future in place. John Huemme and Rick Weaver were a part of that plan.
To start the 2016 season though, the Eagles will have to go back to the drawing board a bit.
For the bulk of the year, the Eagles will be without their starting quarterback and running back after Humme and Weaver both suffered knee injuries during the offseason.
Missing that tandem — Humme likely for the year, Weaver has a chance to return somewhere near midseason — obviously changes the equation for Covenant in a big way. Weaver was the Scrimmage Play area newcomer of the year last season while Huemme showed signs of developing into a top-notch option quarterback during his sophomore campaign.
Those injuries mean opportunity for another group of Eagles of course, and the quarterbacks, in particular, tried to make sure that they were ready with Huemme on the shelf.
“We just had a team meeting and said that the quarterback position is open,” said Covenant coach Dave Hart after the Eagles’ first practice Monday. “We had some guys with some quarterback experience in the past and we’ve had quite a few guys step up and show that they’re really committed to trying to win that spot and grow and develop. They’ve come early to practice, they’ve called me, they’ve done all the things they need to do.”
Nicholas Sanker appears to be the early leader to take the helm out of that group of quarterbacks, but freshman Brice Wilson and junior Jacob Smith are also in the mix there.
Replacing Weaver is no easy task either. He was hard-nosed runner out of the fullback spot and led the Eagles in rushing with 1,374 yards and 15 touchdowns. Donovan Jackson is the likely candidate to take over there. Jackson is a sophomore who was the Scrimmage Play newcomer of the year in baseball during the spring for the Eagles. If Jackson can settle in and pick up two, three or four yards on the dive, it’ll help open things up on the edge. His development would be huge too when Weaver is able to get back, giving Covenant a potential two-headed monster at that position.
The Eagles are maximizing those players’ learning time with a heavy dose of half-line drills that allow the coaches to focus on specific parts of the lineup while offsetting the Eagles’ relative lack of bodies to throw into drills.
“Toward the end of last year, we just realized that that’s the way we get the most reps and it helps with the numbers,” Hart said.
While not having Weaver or Huemme in the lineup isn’t ideal, there was a solid energy and excitement in Covenant’s first practice.
“Summer is always a long (wait), you’re always looking forward to getting the whole team together, putting the helmets on and practicing,” Hart said. “We just can’t wait for the season to get rolling.”
