Sometimes, even the best needs a helping hand.

Though he won’t toot his own horn, Ron Rushing is one of the best coaches in the area at putting together offensive schemes. Designing plays after studying countless hours of tape is Rushing’s specialty.

Rushing also has a command of meeting new people. Lately, it’s the latter helping him win football games.

Those who know Rushing know that he rarely meets a stranger. So when Jeff Hancock became the Vidalia Vikings head coach in March, Rushing made an instant connection with a coach that shares his enthusiasm for putting points on the board. That connection would later pay off.

The biggest hurdle Rushing has ever faced in his coaching career arose when he received three impact players. Dee Fleming, Quinton Logan and Wyatt Boothe transferred from Trinity to Cathedral a month before the season started, changing the landscape of Rushing’s football team.

Fleming is a natural running back with the speed and strong hands required to affect the game from the slot. Logan is built as a tight end, but because of the burst he presents, he’s forced Rushing to look at him at running back in an already crowded backfield. And Boothe has added an extra element to Rushing’s offense from the quarterback position — mobility. A play caller’s paradise, right?

That’s one way of looking at it. Another way is all of a sudden Cathedral’s already talented team has become too stacked in some areas. As a result, Rushing is presented with the best problem he’s ever had to face — how to put the players in their proper place. The answer is separate packages, and though Rushing already knew that answer, he needed to find a better means of going about the solution.

Enter Hancock.

Like Rushing, Hancock is an offensive guru, but Hancock’s experience is mostly on the collegiate level — having served as either an offensive coordinator or offensive graduate student for the last 18 years. So shuffling in different personnel in chaotic situations is something Hancock has grown accustomed to over the years.

Rushing met with Hancock a week before the season to go over different packages.

Rather than using basic terminology that uses numbers to signal how many running backs and tight ends fit the personnel, Hancock encouraged Rushing to adopt key words that are easy for his players to remember.

Rushing now uses words like “jet” to signal in his quick personnel with multiple wide receivers and Fleming at running back, and calls out “hummer” for power sets with Christian Jenkins at running back.

The best example of what Rushing is implementing is what you see every week from the New Orleans Saints.

Think Sean Payton with the way he interchanges packages with Pierre Thomas, Jimmy Graham and Mark Ingram. Screen and flare packages utilize Thomas, run packages involve Ingram and passing sets line up Graham in the slot as a wide receiver.

Figuring out who goes where is like playing Tetris with your football team, and Rushing paused the game to get another gamer’s view of the problem.

Hancock’s assistance is only the first step in solving Rushing’s dilemma. With that said, the results of Cathedral’s first three games suggest Rushing has a handle on one of the most talented teams in MHSAA Class 1A.

Through three games, the Green Wave have averaged 434 yards per game and 43 points per game.

I think any high school coach in the area would take those numbers. More importantly, I think any coach would gladly enjoy a 3-0 start.

Indeed, it pays to be friendly.

 

JAKE MARTIN is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3633 or jake.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.