They are beginning to get that old feeling at Daniel High School. Long considered a football power, the school recently suffered what was, for them, a couple of mediocre seasons.
That changed in 2007 when the Lions won the Western AAA Region title and advanced to the third round of the state playoffs, their second consecutive post-season appearance under coach Randy Robinson.
That has meant renewed interest in the program and bigger expectations from its players.
Robinson is pleased with both.
"Our numbers are up,"
said Robinson of the turnout for spring practice. "We almost ran out of helmets, which is a good problem to have. The kids are coming out. The numbers are good. Obviously expectations are real high this time."
"When you win 11 games and you have a lot of guys back, people are thinking bigger and better this year. That is the way I want them thinking. It was real competitive during the spring."
Daniel returns several players who were key to the team's success last season, including seven starters on defensive and six on offense. Robinson has switched one defensive starter on the line to offense to bolster the line on that side of the football, however.
Robinson feels good about the team he will potentially put on the field in the fall.
"Practice was great, real intense,"
said Robinson. "Being able to put the pads on helped a whole lot. Coming out of the spring, the defense seemed to be way ahead again this year. Defensively, we looked pretty good."
"The defense kind of dominated the spring game and really took a lot of things away from us offensively. But we are going to work hard, offensively, to improve our throwing game."
Robinson is confident his team will be ready to diversify its offense with a bigger emphasis on the pass.
"We still have three receivers we feel good about. We feel pretty confident we can throw the football,"
he said.
In preparation, the Lions will participate in several seven-on-seven camps, including ones at Clemson University, the University of Tennessee and Presbyterian College.
