By Kyle Roberts

Ruston High School head coach Jerrod Baugh was open and honest when asked to recap how the last week of practice went for the returning state champions.

“It’s been erratic and inconsistent,” Baugh said in response. “You know, we keep seeing good moments. And it’s not even practice after practice: It’s parts of practice that are really good either offensively or defensively, and then you move on to the next section and it’s a turnaround. We’re just not as consistent as we should be.”

Baugh was quick to point out that it was the team’s first week in full gear and that his expectations might be too high, but he did echo what he’s been saying all summer about staying focused and consistent.

“We’re probably lacking focus right now,” Baugh added. “We do a lot of things in the summer before our training, and I know it’s hard – but I think we need to make sure we’re focused on what we need to take care of on a daily basis. We can’t be satisfied with just having one good stretch of training. We just need to learn to be more consistent.”

“This senior group has been to the state championship both seasons, so it’s a human thing to get used to. But none of this is guaranteed. So we just have to keep working the way we’ve done to get here.”

Baugh then talked about some highlights from the last week of training.

“I’m really happy with our talented guys on offense,” Baugh said. “I think (senior quarterback) Josh Brantley has had a very good training camp so far. The receiver group is making progress and the running backs with Dylone Brooks, Jordan Hayes and Lander Smith are really solid. And that’s what we need.”

“On defense, seniors (cornerback) Aidan Anding and (linebacker) Zheric Hill have been solid. And that’s to be expected. But I’m really happy with the safety group we put in there. They’re brand new and have shown promise. They go out and work every day. It hasn’t always been perfect, but they’re getting better and better.”

Next week, Ruston High will finally face another team: CE Byrd in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the annual summer scrimmage game between the Yellowjackets and the Bearcats.

“Almost everything we do in the summer is an us-against-us game,” Baugh concluded. “When our guys come to practice, they see the same one or two guys all the time, so that probably gets boring. So I think playing a new team next week will be a breath of fresh air when we have the opportunity to play Byrd.”

The practice game will be held on Friday, August 23rd on the Byrd campus. Freshmen begin at 6pm and the varsity team begins at 7pm.

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