Paducah Tilghman 2018

[Ram]

What does Paducah Tilghman need to do to improve in 2018? What do they need to keep doing to be successful? Remember, please be constructive.

[TilghmanPride]

Rule number one for the Tornado this year: Stop turning the ball over!

Turnovers made a very good team last year look really average in the end at the alarming rate they gave the ball away.

First year coach, new system, new quarterback, just lots of things that created that monster.

 

Being around this staff and all the players an awful lot, I'll give my take....this is a top 5 3A team this year. They have potential to do something really special.

 

The weight program alone Coach Duncan brought with him has paid amazing dividends. There are some huge changes physically to a bunch of these kids. We haven't had anything near what he has implemented here in a long time.

 

There will be another change at quarterback. Tayshawn Carruthers looked outstanding in the spring game for a guy who hasn't played the position in a while. He made throws I didn't expect he could make and at 6'2 and around 210 with good speed, he's very hard to tackle.

 

 

The Tilghman running game was outstanding last year even with all 11 defenders in the box. The Tornado ran the ball very well even when everyone knew what was coming. Expect a lot more this year. There are four very good running backs who will split carries. Speedster Jayden Freeman and Anthony Hunt who were both hand timed at 4.4 last week in the 40 in combination with the two power guys from last year, Colbe Crim and Kel Askew. The offensive line was very good last year. They are bigger and a lot stronger this year.

 

Playcalling will also see a big difference. We're going from straight smash-mouth football to putting a lot of this speed out in space to make plays, which almost never happened last year. With the running game the way it was, adding in several different elements on offense should help tremendously.

 

The team will be dominated by a Junior and Senior class who since 3rd grade have been 2 of the best classes this town has seen in a long time. After having only 7 Seniors last season, this year will be right at 20. The Junior class has several kids who look to possibly break out in a big way.

 

Defensively, the team was great most of the season. Turnovers really skewed a lot of the numbers against them. They should be even better this year with depth like we haven't had in a number of years. Depth on both sides of the ball hurt last year, this year is the complete opposite.

 

The staff Coach Duncan has put together is more than adequate. These guys know football. That hasn't always been the case here. More than anything though, just the culture change Coach Duncan brought has amazed me. He's exactly what this team needed. He'd fight ten lions for every kid on this team and they know it. The attitude and togetherness of this team is something I can honestly say I am proud of now.

 

All in all, I expect a big season this year. More importantly, this team expects big things. Do crazy things happen? Sure.

In my mind though, given the landscape of the class, I expect this team to make a very deep playoff push.

 

A couple Juniors I think will have breakout seasons:

Tim Watkins #58 Jr DE/OL 6'4 220

Jayden Freeman #6 Jr RB/DB 5'7 155

[Ram]

Great information @TilghmanPride. Thanks for providing it.