The inevitable winds of change are blowing through Springstead High these days, as the Eagles spend this spring preparing for next football season.
Though they’ll take the field in a spring classic May 21 hosting Anclote at 7 p.m., when the Eagles officially begin the 2015 campaign in the fall they’ll do so with a considerably different core group than the one that delivered the best three-year run in team history.
Among those in line to take on a bigger role is starting free safety T.J. Owens.
“I’m just trying to help my team, get everybody together,” Owens said. “We’re trying to get farther, get the team disciplined.”
Owens noted that he gained valuable experience last season, when as a sophomore he started every game in the secondary, also saw some action at running back and returned kicks.
He had previously played a few games on the varsity level as a freshman. Listed at 5-foot-10, 163 pounds in 2014, he said he has gotten even stronger over the off-season, not to mention smarter from his time on the field.
Add in his natural talents, and Springstead head coach Mike Garofano sees a combination that can lead to great things, especially as Owens becomes even more of a two-way threat.
“His vision, his elusiveness with the ball; he’s very shifty,” Garofano said. “He has great exceleration through the hole and great balance. If he progresses over the next two seasons, he’ll be a Division I athlete.
“He’s very versatile and probably the best athlete we’ve had since I’ve been there.”
Considering Garofano, entering his third year as headman, has been part of the Eagles’ coaching staff for more than a decade, that’s high praise.
Owens has some lofty goals to match. Though he has been lining up in the slot more this spring, he wants to rush for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, and start leaving a memorable impression on college scouts.
“I need to get more dedicated into playing football. Gain a little more weight and be a little smarter on the field,” Owens said. “It’s important for me because a lot of scouts are looking at you junior year.”
Others players figure to look at him, as well. Owens is trying to become a leader by example, “going 100 percent all practice.”
With star running back Daniel Wright plus defensive leaders Conor Ross, Dylan McLeod and Robert Holdway all graduating, it figures to be vital for Owens to step in and help fill those voids.
Thankful to God and feeling blessed, he relishes the opportunity, wanting to erase last year’s disappointing finish, when the Eagles dropped two of their last three games plus a three-way tiebreaker to miss the playoffs.
After two straight district titles, including a run to the regional finals in 2013, that late-season swoon to end up 6-4 seemed to particularly sting.
“We got a bad taste in our mouths,” Owens said. “We want to come back this year and go outrageous.”
