Spring football: Navarre looking to be 'faster and stronger' while gearing up for fall
Right from the get-go of practice, Navarre football head coach Garrett Bagley preaches intensity.
Whether it’s the loud yelling to get his players amped up, or the constant movement from drill to drill, or the emphasis on physicality when it comes to tackling – a player or a padded blocker – the intensity is heightened.
And it all starts with a drill. At least in this specific drill’s scenario, players gathered around a tight circle. Two players were designated as blockers, protecting a ballcarrier inside that circle no more than six feet wide.
The attacker – perhaps a linebacker-type player – has to do everything he can to get to the ballcarrier, around those two blockers, inside that tight arena. Chanting. Screaming. Players’ pads colliding.
“That’s just pumping up the blood a little bit,” said Bagley, who’s in his first season as the Raiders’ head coach. “It’s competition. It’s physicality. It’s a good way to get practice started.”
“It creates this atmosphere that everyone wants to compete and has that grit to do whatever it takes to get to that ball,” said Connor Mathews, who will be a senior in the fall. “Every single high school athlete loves competition. To start with competition, it gets us rolling.”
In his inaugural season as head coach, Bagley – who’s taking over for longtime head coach Jay Walls, who left in March to return to Georgia after leading the Raiders since 2012 – is trying to promote physicality.
There’s not much he wants to change about what Walls instilled during his tenure at Navarre.
“It’s hard to say you’re going to do something better than Coach Walls,” Bagley said of his predecessor, who accomplished 200-plus wins in Navarre. “But I’m damn sure going to try. … The biggest thing I’m trying to focus on is energy and enthusiasm. We’re always disciplined and work hard – or at least we try to be, right? The main focus for me, where I think we can improve, is the intensity, the energy and the passion.”
“Physicality is going to win games, and help beat the other team down,” said Vinny Villanova, who will also be a senior in the fall. “I love being physical, and I want to help the team stay physical.”
Villanova previously had Bagley as a linebackers coach for the last three years – so Bagley’s personality is nothing new to Villanova.
“With him being the head coach now, it helps the team be more intense,” Villanova said. “During football games, you’ve got to be physical. It’s got to be the whole team.”
Preparing for a stronger, faster defense
The Raiders’ physicality – a theme throughout the entire discussion with both players and Bagley – will benefit a defense that’s bringing back a lot of returners, including Villanova. He led the Raiders with 105 tackles (65 solo, 40 assisted) and two sacks, plus a couple caused fumbles.
Not far behind were Andre Spence (78 tackles, 2 interceptions), Marquez White (64 tackles), and Joshua Wilson (42 tackles, 4 sacks) all bring another year of experience.
In a season where Navarre went 7-4 with a handful of games that could be considered “shootouts” – like the Week 1 overtime loss to Pensacola Catholic (34-27), the narrow victory over Tate (45-42), the tight overtime win against Gulf Breeze (49-48) plus even the high-scoring playoff loss against Bartram Trail (67-55) – the focus turns to a more staunch defense.
The Raiders’ scoring differential was a mere 23 points, with 432 points for and 409 against.
“Every team needs a leader – it doesn’t have to be anyone specific,” Villanova said. “Last year, we got a lot of points scored against us. It’s going to be different this year.”
“I’ve seen guys like Vinny get faster. Faster and stronger, that’s a winning combination,” Bagley said.
But now the Raiders also have to fill the shoes of some key offensive players that led to a prolific offense. That includes quarterback Hunter Pfiester, who threw for 1,917 yards and 17 touchdowns, and also ran for 602 yards. Receivers Terence Marshall (925 yards, 9 touchdowns), Nate Hanson (345 yards, 5 touchdowns), Braydon Brown (240 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Rylan Reynolds (151 yards) all graduated as well – making up the team’s four top receivers who accounted for 16 of Pfiester’s 17 throwing touchdowns.
But, the run game should be a bright spot for Navarre, as Mathews makes a return after a breakout junior season. He trucked through defenses nearly every night, rushing for 1,500 yards in 2023 with 24 touchdowns.
Mathews is also coming off a state championship in boys weightlifting.
“The weight room in the offseason is big. That’s always big for us. Those guys have all gotten stronger. We’ve also worked on keeping our flexibility while also getting stronger. I haven’t seen any slowdown on the field,” Bagley said. “Connor’s a load. When you’re strong and fast, that’s tough to bring down.”
“It’s what I do,” Mathews said of breaking tackles for larger gains on the ground. “I’m not the fastest guy. But with breaking tackles, I feel like that’s a special attribute about me. I want to use that to my advantage to help the team.”
With a good number of soon-to-be juniors and seniors coming this fall, Bagley is also focused on player development with the younger Raiders.
“We’ve got to do a good job of coaching our younger players, and investing in the youth – not just from a coaching standpoint. The coaches have to do that. But our players have to do that, too. They can’t be seen as sophomores and freshmen,” Bagley said. “We’re trying to preach that they’re the future of the program. … The better they are, the more sustainable our future is going to be.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Navarre football gets ready for 2024 season with spring practices
