7 on 7 season begins May 3rd

Believe it or not, football related activities are about to get going again with the start of the 7 on 7 season on May 3. That is when Cameron will begin play in a league that hey host on May 3, May 7, May 14 and May 21.

Cameron is also entered into state qualifying tournaments on May 12 (Lorena/Robinson), May 19 (Gatesville) and May 26 (Burnet), before jumping into the 5A/6A ast Copperas Cove on June 4, at Belton on June 11, home on June 18 and on the road at Temple on June 25.

Over the next two months, it will be all about getting players in shape and learning the system.

“If you ask our defensive coaches, they don't like it as much,” said Yoe head coach Tommy Brashear. “But, offensively we get to work on timing between quarterbacks and receivers and running routes correctly. I think it's great to keep the kids in shape and learn our offense, terminology and our plays. In May in June they are staying in shape and working on football. Is it real football? No. You don't have that d-line rushing at you and things like that. But, we get to work on a lot of the little things.”

Though it is more of an offensive game, Brashear still believes there are benefits for his defensive unit.

“Defensively, you still get good out of it with the terminology and coverages. In Cameron, we are running what we are going to run in games, and the same goes for the offense. Some teams go out there and run 7 on 7 plays with pick type routes and crossing routes, where you won't have that time in a game for those plays to develop.”

Another plus will be the extra time that new offensive coordinator Gary Zeinert gets with players, while learning the system himself.

“This year it is an added benefit for us, because he is going to be coming in and learning our offense,” said Brashear. “I want him to learn our terminology because we will still be running 95 percent of our offense. We may add five percent here or there of something that he likes. He will be able to learn our kids and he will be coaching wide receivers. He can get a good look at those kids to see what they do well, what they don't do well and what they need to work on.

Perhaps the biggest question for Cameron heading into this new season is will be who is going to be the signal caller? Two-year starter Zack Andress will be graduating in May, but there appears to be a handful of viable options.

“We started our quarterback camp and I have three guys in our varsity period with Braden Brashear, Anthony Layne and Kirk Lara,” said Brashear. “In the freshmen period, I have Esteban Montez and Zach Hafley. All of those guys are going to be competing in 7 on 7. With

our league at home, we will have a varsity and JV every week. We will have freshmen some weeks. We are going to have a quarterback competition, and I think competition only makes people better.”

Don’t be surprised to see multiple quarterback to get reps with the first team units. A similar model was used in the summer of 2014 when Jason Kopriva graduated. Reid Nickerson eventually won that role, but had to compete with two other players. To keep things in perspective, 7 on 7 will provide some insight on who may have an advantage on starting in the fall, but it will not determine who is the set in stone starter for this football team.

“Some guys have better strengths than others, so I think some will do better in 7 on 7 than others,” Brashear said. “But, this is not real football, so 7 on 7 alone is not going to win the quarterback battle. It will be carried on over to two-a-days as well. I've talked to all of those guys and told them you are competing for this job. If you don't win it, find another position on the field where you can help us win one way or another. They all seem to have a great attitude about that. You never know, we may use more than one. I'm not saying we will do that, but it's an option as well.”