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Receivers "Senior Jackson Sorters (5-3, 170) is our split end. He does everything right," Abshier said. "He catches well. He's not that tall, but he's a possession receiver, who may end up doing some wingback." Semrad and tight end Redfern pres- ent a pair of potential deep threats. Junior Davis Stephens (5-11, 135) and Landyn Washausen (6-0, 132) are in the mix. "I like Stephens at split end. I like his routes. I like his leadership," Abshier said. Offensive Line "The line is not as deep as it could be. We lost a few players we were kind of counting on," Abshier said. Three returning starters headline an experienced offensive line: senior Gunnar Caudle (6-3, 230) at center; senior Alex Kirik (5-11, 180) at left guard; and senior Carter Scates (5-8, 180) at right guard. Sophomore Ryder Orr (6-1, 260) may work his way into the starting lineup at left tackle or slide over to give the Tigers a bigger guard. Senior Jordan Byassee (6-0, 200) also plays left tackle with senior Seth Vaughn (5-6, 220) at right tackle. Senior Levi Bradley (6-0, 240) also plays tackle. "Any of the other sophomore line- men, they're a notch away," Abshier said. DEFENSE Last season the Tigers allowed 30.1 points-per-game while playing a 3-man front, but this year Abshier said they will be based out of a 4-man front, occasionally shifting into a 5-man vari- ation looking to keep opponents out of the end zone. "It's a personnel thing. It depends on how many skill guys, defensive end kinds, we have versus big, heavy defen- sive tackle types," Abshier said. "The most Spartan person on the field would be a defensive end. They can run, hit, do some heavy stuff, chase you down and tackle." Defensive line Redfern shifts from safety to defen- sive end. Valesco can play defensive end, but may move to defensive tackle as one of the Tigers' bigger guys. Orr competes for a spot at defensive tackle while Caudle played defensive end last year. Abshier also likes Dalton Frazier at defensive end. Byassee and Kirik, projected start- ers on offense, could be factors on the defensive line. Linebackers Hall, Knox Laird, and Caves play inside linebacker although Abshier said the defense shifted personnel around a little bit and Caves may play on the defensive line. "Hall is one of our better hitters," Abshier said. After playing defensive lineman since seventh grade, Hall made the switch last season to standing up instead of playing a down lineman. Hall plays very hard-nosed and will- ing to crash into a wall for the sake of his teammates, rated by coaches as an extremely hard worker and very sound tackler. Hall topped the team in 91 tackles (31 solos and 60 assists), plus forced two fumbles and knocked down one pass. Sophomores Marrell and Miller look good at inside linebacker. Scates, who carries around a 4.0 GPA, returns at outside linebacker. "He has a motor. He wants to go," Abshier said. Juniors John King (5-7, 150) and Kobe Frazier are very athletic. Sorters plays outside linebacker and can ring an opponent's bell while King returned an interception for a touchdown last year. Secondary Semrad comes into play at corner- back because he can play 1-on-1. Grant switches from cornerback to safety as a returning starter. Grant ranked fifth on the team in total tackles last season with 42 from a combination of 18 solos and 24 assists. Grant supports the run well and picked off a team-high four passes. He also knocked down two passes and forced a pair of fumbles. Beason, Stephens, Semrad, Washau- sen help defensively. Layman is one of the fastest players and best tacklers on the team. He can play either rover or outside linebacker. Higgins gives the Tigers another athlete at safety. 12C Enterprise-Leader Wednesday, August 26, 2020 F o o t b a l l P r e v i e w Zing Broadband • Online Security • Entertainment Call us @ 846-7200 PGTelco donates $30 per touchdown! Go ahead players rack up those points! BUILT ON COMMUNITY FOCUSED ON PROGRESS .com Watch Hwy 62 Football on www.pgtelco.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11C TIGERS: Defense Will Be Based Out Of 4-Man Front With Occasional 5-Man Variation