Hawks see potential at H-Back position

Head Coach Mike Turk on Day 7 of preseason camp: "I was happy with the attitude today. The effort level seemed to be where it needed to be and we were able to get some things done. We threw some really different things at them today and worked on some things on both sides of the ball.

"We threw some difficult things at them for the sole purpose of trying to get it on film and learn from it. Some of it may be things we need to do down the road on defense or that we need to work against offensively. It wasn't all pretty, but we'll watch the film and learn from it."

Position Spotlight – H-Back

Projected Starter: Colton Chinn (So.)

Others to Watch: Haylan Bailey (Fr.), Sawyer Kendrick (So.)

A Closer Look: There is not a lot of experience returning at the H-Back position, but the Hawks believe three young players have the potential to help the position be an integral part of the offense.

Although none of the three played on the varsity last season, sophomore Colton Chinn, freshman Haylan Bailey and sophomore Sawyer Kendrick have impressed the coaching staff during preseason camp.

Turk on the competition at H-Back: "We have three guys who are doing a good job and battling for playing time. All three of them look like they have something to them. Chinn has done some good things and is probably the leader of the group right now. Bailey was coming on last year, but got hurt in training camp and missed the rest of the year. He has come in and done well in camp. Kendrick has really come on in the last few days and looks like he wants to play. It's becoming a good situation with three guys competing hard to fill a role that we really need."

Turk on the importance of the position to the Hawks' offense: "We really didn't have a person with a lot of experience suited for that position last year. We had some guys play roles, but we weren't as diverse with the position as we would like to be. Most of the season, we ran our offense without the H-Back. We want to have an H-Back in the game. It makes us more multiple and it allows us to do more with our offense. That's what we want."

Next Practice: The Hawks will practice at 9 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday, Huntingdon will split the morning session into a practice, followed by a short scrimmage. Practices are open to the public.