O'Gorman football returns plenty of skill players, but need strong O-line to emerge in 2023
O’Gorman football coach Jayson Poppinga was crouched over, giving instructions to his offensive line during practice Wednesday.
His hat blocked the sun’s glare from his face. This scene may become commonplace at McEneaney Field this season as the Knights return only one offensive lineman from the team that went 9-2 and made it to the state semifinals a year ago.
Senior offensive tackle Lathan Wilcox is the only returning player on the line from 2022.
“(We) definitely aren't there yet, and we don't expect those guys to be polished up front right away,” Poppinga said before practice Wednesday. “We have linemen that are going to play their very first varsity football game this year on the offensive line. So, it's going to be a work in progress for us.”
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Size up front is an issue O’Gorman has to address most years. Their enrollment numbers are a fraction of that of their opponents, Poppinga said, and most nights their starters will be smaller than who they compete against.
To address that lack of size, O’Gorman will have to do some mixing and matching with players in new positions. Dylan Majeres, who is 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, will play at the line of scrimmage for the first time in his high school career after playing linebacker in his previous three seasons.
Although they return skill players on offense at key positions, like senior running back Maverick Jones and fullback Ryland Satter, Poppinga said it’ll be difficult to take full advantage of their talented backs if the offensive line doesn’t get up to speed.
The Knights will have senior Hayden Groos, who started at safety last season, start at quarterback after record-breaking quarterback Bennett Dannenbring graduated in the spring. Poppinga expressed confidence in Groos, but he knows it won't be easy.
“Playing quarterback, obviously, is a really important part of any football team and how he progresses over the course of the first few weeks is going to (have) a big impact on if we're able to win games,” Poppinga said candidly.
The Knights return five starters defensively, including plenty of experience in the secondary. They’ll have Groos play some safety and have senior cornerbacks Sam Marsh and Henry Theobald on the outside.
“I love the experience,” Theobald said of the secondary. “I feel like that's a big part … that second year, third year you've been playing is when you get your base needs because you've been there. You know what you're doing, the game’s slower than it was before.”
Satter and several others are expected to play on both sides of the ball, and he said he believes the offense is further along at this point of the year.
“We've returned most of our skill players so we really still have the offense,” Satter said. “(That) helps a lot when in our first game we bring back most of our wide receivers and running backs.”
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Poppinga said the coaching staff will spend the next week and a half identifying players’ strengths and putting them in position to be successful heading into their season opener.
The Knights will take on Brandon Valley to kickoff their 2023 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 26 in the Dakota Bowl.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: O'Gorman football returns skill players, but need offensive line to develop
