Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth tried to tell everyone who would listen last August &045; his Vikings were not facing a rebuilding project.

A year later, he’s more honest.

This fall may very well be an overhaul.

The Vikings are completing spring drills today before Thursday’s scrimmage at Buckeye to end the spring and break for the summer. And already the veteran coach has started tinkering with who can play where the best on a team that had nine senior starters a year ago on a team that won a third straight district championship.

&uot;Two years ago I lost an outstanding group of kids,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;We lost about 10 starters on both sides of the ball. Last year everybody thought we were young, but we weren’t. We were inexperienced. We lost nine seniors on both sides of the ball from last year. So we’re rebuilding this year.&uot;

Finding successors at certain positions is the emphasis this spring, and then they’ve got to learn how to play the position. The Vikings have new people in several of the skill positions on offense, some spots up front and at linebacker on defense.

Yet there’s talent there, and it’s a matter of getting everyone in the right spots and everyone pulling together. The Vikings have won three straight district championships, and you can imagine no one wants to stop that streak.

&uot;I’ve got some good ones, and they’re going to be fine,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;This is really a young ball club, and they’ll test my patience. I’ll see if I have enough patience after 38 years. But they’re good. They’ve worked hard on the weights, and they’re a lot stronger. That’s what I can say about this bunch &045; they’re hard workers.&uot;

Questions remain on the offensive line and on defense, but one of the bigger changes on offense is Brandon Hawkins stepping in at quarterback. The Vikings had two senior quarterbacks last year in Brett Hinson and Graham Roberts with freshman Hawkins third on the depth chart.

Hawkins, younger brother of two-year starter Tony Hawkins, will get the call at the position this fall. And he may be a just a little taller than his older brother.

&uot;He’s going to be fine,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;He did real well last year in JV, and that got him ready. We don’t expect him to be a Tony, but he’ll be a better-than-average quarterback. At this point he’s ahead of where Tony was as a sophomore, but Tony came on like gangbusters.&uot;

Hawkins will get the nod in an offense that traditionally hasn’t been afraid to throw it, but the backfield behind him will have some new starters following the departure of Leroy Butler and Ken Johnson. DeMack Bates, Cortland Johnson and Tony Godbold could fall in line with the productive running backs the Vikings have had in the past if everything falls into place.

All three had limited action carrying the ball last season.

&uot;Tony will play a lot of tailback, too,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;He was our backup fullback last year. I’ve got some eighth-graders who will see a lot of playing time. Leroy ran tough and would give you the hard yards and keep running. DeMack is a lot like that. We’ll have to see. We’ll have to see how tough we are.&uot;

The Vikings will have Lance Moore at tight end and Trey Keith at split end, and both have the potential to produce in the system. The biggest concern right now on offense is the line with Justin Fortenberry and Josh Upchurch as the only holdovers from last season.

The Vikings will have size in 300-pound junior J.D. Ames at right tackle. Jacob Jordan will play guard.

&uot;We’ll see Thursday,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;We’re looking for somebody to get after somebody out there. They’ve looked pretty good this spring. They’re just getting after it. We’ll come back in the fall and go through our techniques. I’m impressed with them. You can tell after a year (the returners) are way ahead of where they were last year.&uot;

On defense the Vikings moved the 6-5, 230-pound sophomore-to-be Upchurch to defensive end after he played on the inside last year as a freshman. There’s also size in 6-5, 235-pound senior-to-be Stephen Bryant on the interior with Moore playing the other end and Goldbold at nose.

&uot;(Upchurch) likes to play up,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;So we’re going to try him at defensive end. We’re looking for him to toughen up. Josh started for me at tackle, but I’ve always wanted a big ol’ defensive end like everybody else has. It looks good in the team picture.&uot;