How Hillcrest plans to stay a force in 6A Alabama high school football after senior losses
There's been a heap of consistency at Hillcrest football the past four seasons. After arguably the best senior class in program history graduated, there's a new look this fall but similar expectations.
Hillcrest, coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons, will see its most notable change at quarterback, where junior Bryson Kimbrough will start. Beneficial for him and Hillcrest, Kimbrough got extensive playing time to end 2022.
Former all-state quarterback Ethan Crawford, now a three-star freshman at Southern Miss, tore his ACL in Hillcrest's regular-season finale. Kimbrough finished the game and started Hillcrest's two playoff games.
Kimbrough gave Hillcrest encouragement for the future in those three games. He got the biggest test he could've wished for in the second round against 6A state champions Saraland, which ended Hillcrest's previously undefeated season.
Hillcrest closed the regular season ranked No. 3, with championship hopes. Its 2023 graduates included three-star Mississippi State offensive tackle Jayden Hobson, three-star Kansas State linebacker Colin Dunn and all-state running back Jamarian Johnson.
There's a saying the team is using as it enters a new era.
ALL-AREA SOCCER: Meet the Tuscaloosa News all-area high school girls, boys soccer 2023 teams
HILLCREST FOOTBALL: TJ Banks, 4-star 2024 safety, commits to Ole Miss football over Mississippi State
"We've been telling everybody, with all the pieces we have leaving, tradition doesn't graduate," Kimbrough said. "So we've just got to be smarter players, better at everything that we possibly can and make sure we keep the same mindset — just because these people are gone, the standard doesn't change."
SUPER 9 BASEBALL: Meet the Tuscaloosa News all-area high school baseball 2023 team
SUPER 9 SOFTBALL: Meet the Tuscaloosa News Super 9 all-area high school softball 2023 team
Hillcrest scored 506 points in each of the past two seasons. Time will tell how the offense adjusts, but the identity of the team will be the same. Hillcrest wants to be the toughest team on the field. It helps that four-star Ole Miss safety commit TJ Banks transferred in from Northridge.
"It won't look too much different," senior receiver Jamarcus Prince said. "We have Bryson, who's going to be good. We got all the receiver coming back, so we have basically our whole offensive core back."
Kimbrough is dual-threat, pass-first quarterback with enough athleticism to run the ball. One of his biggest strengths is that he can keep his eyes downfield when plays break down, he said.
During the final three games of the season, Kimbrough gained an understanding of the flow of the varsity game, he said.
Hillcrest has kept the same intensity and accountability from past years in the weight room, Kimbrough said. Its non-region slate is road games at Pike Road and Southaven (Mississippi) and a home date against Gadsden City.
"We just keep it in our head that players leaving doesn't affect how we perform and how we work," Kimbrough said. "We're going to still do our best in everything we do."
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa football plans to stay a force after senior losses
