**Our podcast interview with Coach Hoff will be released on Tuesday, August 7th. Stay Tuned as Coach Hoff takes a deeper dive into the Eagles upcoming season.**
The Skinny
Coach Troy Hoff begins his 4thseason as the head coach of the Eastside Eagles. Coach Hoff has led the Eagles to the post season in consecutive seasons. However, to get back to the post season in 2018, the Eagles will need to address some of their biggest challenges. Coach Hoff explained what one of those challenges was.
“This year, developing competition & depth on the offensive and defensive line,” he said.
While the Eagles will be working to shore up both lines, we asked coach Hoff who could be primed for a breakout season.
“Taylor Carter (Senior RB/DB), He’s been a high level player for us on both sides of the ball. He’s also been extremely productive – won’t be a surprise, but he’s done a great job of leading us this off-season,” he said.
Joining Carter in the offensive backfield will be sophomore Quincy Cullins. Last season, the two combined for 1,084 yards and 12 TDs. The Eagles also return two of their top receivers from last season, Jamari Brown and Jerry Mays. Both Brown and Mays were All Region Honorable Mention selections in 2017.
As mentioned before, the Eagles will be looking to add depth along the offensive line, but they do welcome back Second Team All-Region lineman Dustin Morgan.
Defensively, linebackers Jamari Brundage and Dalton Whitney give the Eagles some valuable experience. Brundage was second on the team in tackles last season and an All-Region Honorable Mention selection. Two-way stars, Jamari Brown and Taylor Carter return to the secondary. Brown led the team in interceptions in 2017 with 5. Coach Hoff has already explained how valuable Carter is to the team.
We asked Coach Hoff if there were any games that were more important than others.
Hoff said, “All of them! Obviously region play is most critical – Woodward Academy is the defending region champion so they are the team that everyone measures themselves against.”
Regarding success this season, Coach Hoff said, “Showing constant improvement to play to our capabilities – (we) want to be in a position to win the game in the 4th quarter.”
