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Five questions heading into Pinellas spring football

 
St. Petersburg High School QB Austyn Causey (8) calls a pass against the Tarpon Springs High School defense during Saturday's (5/9/15) Spring Football scrimmage at Clearwater High School.
St. Petersburg High School QB Austyn Causey (8) calls a pass against the Tarpon Springs High School defense during Saturday's (5/9/15) Spring Football scrimmage at Clearwater High School.
Published April 22, 2016

Spring football practices start Monday for high schools around the state, and the annual evaluation of talent and position battles begin as teams retake the field. Here are a few pressing questions that look ahead to what's on the gridiron.

Is there a two-headed quarterback at St. Petersburg?

Quarterback Austyn Causey is back at St. Petersburg after spending his junior year at Admiral Farragut. Causey was the Green Devils' starter as a sophomore, throwing for 1,184 yards in 11 games. He then led the Blue Jackets to the playoffs last season after throwing for 1,834 yards in eight games.

But just because Causey is back doesn't mean he's automatically the starter. Rising senior Ola Thomas, who started last season, is also in the hunt. That means all spring those two will compete to earn the trust of head coach Joe Fabrizio.

"It's going to be a fun competition," Fabrizio said. "Every day is going to be a battle. They are two different players. Austyn is a little more serious. He's such a savvy player. When he's in the huddle you can see the guys are intense and kind of business-like. Ola leads more by excitement. When he's in the huddle the guys are jumping up and down a little more."

Thomas didn't throw it much in 2015. He only threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns. But to be fair, St. Petersburg stuck to a heavy run offense. Jacquel Waller and Darius Miller each rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Overall, the Green Devils rushed for 34 touchdowns.

But Waller and Miller graduated. Finding running backs becomes another spring priority. In fact, finding starters, period, is a priority. Nine of 11 starters on offense and eight of 11 on defense have graduated.

Even with two competent quarterbacks, don't expect the Green Devils to air it out.

"If we're going to throw it you have to have receivers to catch it and linemen to block it," Fabrizio said. "That's another thing we'll look at this spring."

How does Gibbs replace quarterback D.J. Johnson?

Johnson did just about everything for the Gladiators' offense in 2015. He threw for 2,466 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also rushed for 898 yards and 13 touchdowns. Of the 48 offensive touchdowns scored by Gibbs, Johnson either threw or ran for 40 of them.

Clearly, that is a huge hole to fill. Gibbs is not completely void of experience at quarterback, however. Mar'quan Harris, a rising senior, did get some reps at quarterback. A receiver when he wasn't playing quarterback, Harris attempted 58 passes and threw for 471 yards and four touchdowns.

"Mar'quan is going to get a lot of looks (at quarterback)," coach Jon Thompson said. "But he isn't the only one."

Another player who will try to impress at quarterback this spring is transfer Torrein Archer. Archer, a rising junior, transferred from Vero Beach. Due to transfer rules, he will not be eligible to play in the Gladiators' spring game, which is May 26 at Jesuit.

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Thompson said quarterback won't be the only position up for grabs in the spring. With Johnson and Reggie Hinton graduating, Gibbs does not return a running back who rushed for more than 100 yards total in 2015.

"We'll be looking at finding running backs as well as stopping the run," Thompson said.

Unlike most schools, Gibbs will not start practices next week. The Gladiators' spring game is a week later than most schools so they will begin their 20 allotted practices May 2.

How does Admiral Farragut replace key players?

Last spring, the Blue Jackets benefitted from some key transfers. This spring, not so much. Quarterback Causey is back at St. Petersburg. Wide receiver Matt Landers is back at Lakewood. And defensive back Craig Watts graduated and will attend USF. But coach Ryan Hearn said there are players to fill those holes.

Keondrae Miller, a rising junior, will get most of the snaps at quarterback this spring. Miller stepped in for Causey when he was injured and led AFA to a win over Lakeland Victory Christian. Zion Roland, a rising junior, will try to replace Landers. Roland caught 20 passes for 419 yards last season.

And then there is rising senior defensive end Jeremiah Zio. At 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, Zio is getting looks from several Division I-A schools, including Kentucky, Cincinnati and UCF.

With only 18 players expected to dress this spring, Hearn doesn't have many players to look at. But that's usual for AFA in the spring. It had only 15 players for last year's spring game.

Hearn said the goal in the spring is to find an identity for the 2016 team.

"Obviously we need to find some new leadership because we lost some key guys," Hearn said. "We want to see who our leaders are. We're going to work hard in the spring. It will mostly be individual work because of our numbers, but that's the way it is around here. But we think we have the guys to fill in at the key positions."

How different will Clearwater Central Catholic look under new coach Chris Harvey?

Chris Harvey sounds bemused when asked what changes he has made in his three-plus months as Clearwater Central Catholic's coach.

"To be honest, not much," Harvey said.

When a program has gone a combined 45-8 and made state semifinal appearances each of the past four seasons, you don't want to wash socks much less tweak the practice schedule.

Harvey, who succeeded the retired John Davis as coach, has the talent already in place to keep the Marauders' wagon on a state title track. Seven returning players have offers from Division I-A schools with more to follow. Most of those are skill players, including receivers CJ Cotman and Amari Burney.

The coaching staff remains intact. The only change will be who is calling the plays. Davis was in charge of the offense during his coaching tenure. Now those duties belong to assistant Bart Roberson, who worked with Davis for nearly a decade at Countryside and CCC.

The biggest difference on offense will be a quicker tempo to wear down opposing defenses.

So is there pressure taking over such a high-profile program?

"People might say there's pressure but I certainly don't feel it," Harvey said. "There's going to be high expectations but that's to be expected. I'm used to that. We just can't settle for what we've done in the past. This is a new team. We have to keep moving forward."

Is Clearwater Academy International going to 11-man football?

After winning 52 straight games as an eight-man football powerhouse, Clearwater Academy coach Jesse Chinchar decided the program needed another challenge.

This season, Clearwater Academy is transitioning to 11-man football. Chinchar said the team will play as an independent in the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association and will not be a part of the Florida High School Athletic Association.

"Part way through last season we made the decision to make the jump," Chinchar said.

The program already has been bolstered with former Dunedin receiver Janiero Crankfield and former Tarpon Springs receiver DeAndre Hopkins transferring this offseason.

"We're pumped to have those guys around and excited about the switch this season," Chinchar said.