Progress at Work

They were the big man on campus while in high school. They were the players that lit up the scoreboard on Friday night or busted the nose of the opposing runner with a bruising hit.
But now they are the green frosh at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg. Tyler Ayers (Williamsburg), Matt Jones (Williamsburg), Will Hill (Williamsburg), Brad Lawson (Corbin), Ronnie Bowling (Corbin) and Josh Frosch (Whitley County) have joined area players like Jordan Brown, Richard Reece, Chaz Stradley, Stephen Cook and Justin Moore to play for Chuck King and the Patriots.
No one said it was easy…that first week of camp. “It gets better after that first week,” said King.
Don’t tell the rest of the freshmen but most of the area players said it has been fun. “Surprisingly, it has been a blast,” said Bowling. “It’s all day and its all football. You’ve got to love the game to come out here all day and just play the sport all day. The best thing, it’s real intense.”
“The coaching staff is great, everybody is real encouraging,” said Bowling. “The older guys are all encouraging. The seniors are like an extension of the coach, they are always helping with technique and stuff like that.”
“It’s just a dream come true, college football is a blast,” said Bowling.
Asked about goals, Bowling said. “I just wanted to show up in shape and prove that I could play a little bit. Hopefully I have but I think I have a ways to go. I need to learn the whole position, I am playing a whole new defense and it’s just a lot of adjustments.”
Bowling is playing defensive end for the Patriots, a position he hasn’t played in some time.
Jones said the size of the school is a big move forward for him. “Coming from a 1A school to a big college there is a lot more people and the tempo is a lot faster.”
Jones, who played wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets undefeated season last year, remained at that spot this year. “It’s going good, but it has been hard the first couple of days learning all the new stuff.”
“Right now I just want to get better and earn a position in the future,” said Jones.
Tyler Ayers, another member of the WHS Jackets said. “Everything has been going real good since the start of camp.”
“The first day was a little rough, we had to run a lot but I was used to it and expected it,” said Ayers. “They expect us to condition over the summer and be ready for practice. A lot of people don’t but I did. I ran and lifted this summer.”
One of the biggest adjustments for Ayers is the competition. “At Williamsburg there were two or three receivers and now I am probably 10 or 12 back,” said Ayers. “There are a lot more people at the positions.”
“I just want to come out here and play and make it through the camp,” said Ayers. “I wanted to be on the team at this point and I still am.”
Ayers said he is concentrating on being a wide out for the Patriots and he likes the fact that he is playing only one position. “It’s easier because you don’t have to worry about the offense, defense and all the special teams. You just worry about one position.”
“You don’t get tired as much, but when you get in there you have to give 110 percent,” said Ayers.
Brad Lawson said of his first week. “I’ve struggled a little bit, I was a little out of shape the conditioning hasn’t been the same.”
“I didn’t have to go through the weight lifting and conditioning that high school goes through,” said Lawson. “But I managed to get myself in good enough shape to survive.”
Lawson is one of the local players who should see some playing time on the varsity. He is currently working with the special teams.
Whitley County’s Josh Frosch said his biggest adjustment is gaining weight. “I’m playing offensive line and 200 pounds is not very much for an offensive lineman,” said Frosch. “I need to pack on about 30 or 40 pounds. I want to get stronger in the weight room.”
“I expected it to be a lot harder,” said Frosch. “Coming out here and expecting it to be so hard, it seems that it isn’t.”
King said. “Coming into a new program or an existing program, you have freshmen that have been pretty big at the school they came from. They are fighting that hero stuff where everybody knows who they are and what they did on Friday night and they get a chance to start all over again is one of the toughest moves a man has to make.”
“I always tell these freshmen about every four years you are going to start all over,” said King. “Your going to get married four years after college, you going to be the low man again and then you are going to have youngings. It’s one of those deals where you have to be patient and give yourself a chance to learn the system and play will start to pick up and all of a sudden you will start to have fun again.”
“The local guys that are here have done a great job adjusting and trying to fit in,” said King. “They are having a pretty good camp. The biggest adjustment they are not sleeping in their own bed and not eating momma’s cooking and missing girlfriends. Just being away from home for the first time and realizing they are going to be here to about Christmas is pretty tough on them.”
“If they just give me one week, after that the turnover rate is not very much,” said King. They start to have a good time and people start showing up on campus that they might know and it gets a lot better.”
Like Bowling said, “This isn’t hard, it’s football.”