Mustang receivers catch optimism for 2019

Try to find a happier group of football players than the Lakewood Ranch High wide receivers. 

I’ll wait. It's going to take some time.

For these players, the 2018 season was a slog. The Mustangs offense put its entire effort into the running game. Wide receivers spent the vast majority of their time blocking in coach Christopher Culton’s triple option .

While this is a requirement of every position at some point, no wide receiver wants that to be their primary role. Wide receivers are spies, infiltrating an opponent’s defense and finding an open spot. They tend not to be brute blockers. It doesn’t fit their skill set. 

When senior slot receiver Brandon Herten, who is 5-foot-8, and junior outside receiver Zane Spiekerman, who is 6-foot-3, learned new coach Rashad West would be bringing a wide-open offense with him to Lakewood Ranch, they were excited, although skeptical. After all, they said, last year’s offseason was filled with promise, too. 

Spiekerman said after the first week of spring practice everyone started to believe. The receivers saw the potential.

“There is a lot more freedom,” Spiekerman said. “We are running more routes on the (route) tree. There are opportunities to make big plays. It is a lot more fun to play.”

Herten said the slot receivers in 2018 would run a vertical or crossing route during passing plays. Outside receivers would run short ins or crosses. It got monotonous, Herten said. This year, the receivers said, there will be considerably more variety in the play calling. It was on display in the 35-30 spring game win against Lecanto High. The team had passing touchdowns on a wheel route, a curl route and a vert. It kept the defense guessing. 

Receivers, like everyone else, are still battling for starting spots. This has created internal competition, a good thing on any team but especially one where the receivers' spirits are boosted after a frustrating 2018. The fire is back in the Mustangs' locker room. Spiekerman believes his school's fans will be back, supporting the team in its home preseason game Aug. 16 against Osceola High. 

It’s a preseason game, sure, but a catch is a catch. Burning a cornerback is burning a cornerback. A touchdown is a touchdown, and oh, how sweet a real, live touchdown will feel to this group. They can’t wait, not because they want to boast, but because they want to feel like an integral part of the team. They want to feel like they have an impact. 

“It feels better to be here now,” Herten said. “We’re not just going through the same motions every day. It’s going to be a redemption year.

“We want to show people we are not the bad team they think we are anymore.” 

The more I talk with members of the team, the more I believe Herten could be correct. I’m not saying the team is going to go undefeated, or even make the playoffs, but I feel confident in saying the Mustangs will not go winless again. A handful of victories would be a base on which the program can build a foundation. 

The first taste of “the new Ranch,” as Spiekerman said, is just days away.