PREP SUMMER DRILLS: Carr rearranging Carver roster with new faces
New Carver coach Bobby Carr has the Wolverines pointed in the right direction. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
New Carver coach Bobby Carr doesn’t shy away from the obvious, pointing out the difficulty of blending in rosters from Carver, Lanier and middle schools with a new coaching staff while admitting he has no shortage of talent on the Wolverines’ roster.
The Wolverines have competed in seven-on-seven workouts at Auburn University three weeks ago, at the University of Alabama two weeks ago and at Alabama State University last week. This week, they will compete in a scrimmage at Trinity against the Wildcats on Thursday morning.
“This is really only the third time we’ve played together,” Carr said during a break at ASU’s 7-on-7 at Huntingdon College, “so we’re trying to build team chemistry. Playing in these, you just want to see your guys compete. It helps your defense more than anything with their drops and their coverage. The quarterback and receivers, finding their niche. But I just want to see them compete.”
It was also a first for Carr. After spending much of his time coaching a pair of Alabama Independent School Association teams, coaching at a Class 7A program requires more management.
“It’s the first time I haven’t called plays in 28 years,” he said. “I just felt like there were things I needed to focus on, outside of that, as a head coach. Working on changing the mindset, the negative body language and the culture.”
Last week, he wanted to see how his players would respond to some early adversity. He’ll be watching this week as well.
“I wanted to see them fail a little, early, just to see how we would respond,” Carr said. “Woody Hayes said it years ago -- you can’t be a champion on the field until you learn to overcome adversity. That’s what we’ve had to do, but we’re getting better each week.”
Different coaches set different goals in 7-on-7 workouts. A lot of times, a 7A program such as Carver is overmatched with a school from a smaller classification. Some times, a program has special plays that are run specifically for 7-on-7s to give them an advantage. Carr isn’t nearly as interested in the score as he is of the character of his players.
“I’ve seen teams in the past with a 7-on-7 playbook and they don’t use that stuff on Friday night, but what we’re doing is what we’ve run on Friday nights,” Carr said. “Maybe some different formations, but we try to run the same stuff, even on defense.
“I see them coming together more and more each time we play, encouraging each other, being positive. I want them to be like the slogan I used at Autauga. ‘So what, now what?’ Good or bad, let’s go to the next play. You make a tackle, you drop a ball, you score a touchdown, you throw an interception, so what, now what, let’s go to the next play. I’ve seen a little of the negative body language, but it’s gotten better and better as we’ve played. We’re headed in the right direction.”
His hiring, along with several high-profile assistant coaches, has generated excitement around the program as Lanier’s athletic program merges with Carver and an influx of middle school talent has generated plenty of competition for starting positions.
“We went through a lot of that in OTAs and spring training,” Carr said. “We had 177 out for spring ball and only had two quit. We’re further along than I thought we would be.”