Arkansas Class 7A high school football team previews: Inexperienced Jonesboro faces big challenge in the 7A-Central

Jonesboro has been a longtime Class 6A member.

SBLive is previewing the Arkansas high school football teams from the three largest classifications. Today, we feature the Jonesboro Hurricane from the 7A-Central Conference.

By Jeff Halpern 

JONESBORO HURRICANE

HEAD COACH

Randy Coleman, 15th year, 110-53

2021 AT A GLANCE

Overall record: 7-4

Conference record: 6-1, 6A-East

Playoffs: Lost 41-21 to Little Rock Parkview in quarterfinals.

KEY DEPARTURES

FS John Paul Pickens, 77 tackles, 3 interceptions, preferred walk on at Arkansas

WR Kavon Pointer, 1,202 receiving yards, 17 touchdowns, Army signee

QB Ryker Acebo, 3,058 yards passing, 39 touchdowns, preferred walk on at Arkansas

LB Carter Reece-Long, all-state, 66 tackles, 4 for losses

LB Andre Reed, all-state, 79 tackles, 13 for losses

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Senior RB Brock McCoy

The 5-9, 175 senior had 462 yards rushing, 133 yards receiving and scored 5 touchdowns.

Junior RB Markevious Pickett

The 5-9, 200 junior rushed for 329 yards and had 142 yards receiving while scoring 2 touchdowns.

Junior WR Kevion Williams

The 5-8, 155 junior had 81 yards rushing and 29 yards receiving and scored 1 touchdown.

Junior LT Cole Abernathy

One of two returning starters on the offensive line at 6-2, 245.

Junior LG Rasheed Staton

One of two returning starters on the offensive line at 6-3, 265.

Senior DE Fred Giles

The 6-4, 220 senior had 33 tackles, 4 for losses and 7 sacks.

Senior CB Tony McCoy

The 5-10, 170 senior had 17 tackles and 2 pass deflections.

Senior FS Will Thyer

The 6-4, 185 senior had 73 tackles and 4 tackles for losses

OUTLOOK

Jonesboro is moving up from the 6A-East and brings a history of success into the conference. The Hurricane have been to the playoffs 14 consecutive times, advancing to the semifinals five consecutive years (2011-2015) Jonesboro comes off a 7-4 season in which it tied El Dorado for the conference title at 6-1.

Moving up in classification, especially going from 6A to 7A can be challenging on a team’s depth. The Hurricane move up in a year in which they have 3 returning starters on offense and two returning starters on defense.

And the players they lost leave some big shoes to fill. Acebo threw for 3,058 yards and 39 touchdowns. Pointer had 1,202 receiving yards and scored 17 touchdowns. Pickens had 77 tackles and 3 interceptions. Reece-Long had 66 tackles and Reed had 79 tackles and 4 for losses.

McCoy and Pickett figure to give Jonesboro a decent start in the backfield with the left side of the offensive line featuring Abernathy and Staton. The line does average 268 pounds per game with senior center Kathy Green (6-0, 330) as its biggest player.

Thyer and junior Terrance Brown are competing for the quarterback position with Brown having thrown three passes last year.

On defense, Giles is an active defensive end with 33 tackles and 7 sacks. The line does average 253 pounds per man with senior defensive tackle Dawson Foster 5-10, 315) as its biggest player.

Thyer is the team’s leading returning tackler with 73 at free safety, but there is plenty of inexperience in the back seven as the next leading tackler is senior cornerback Tony McKay (17 tackles, 2 pass deflections) and linebacker Darius Dinwiddie (8 tackles, 1 for loss.

COACH SAID

“This is going to be very, very tough.” — Randy Coleman