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Whitt now has one to grow on

By: Kelley Smiddie
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Jay Fullam

Rick Whitt doesn’t claim to be confident in his role in charge of McCallie football. He just claims to be more confident than he was.

Whitt is about to enter his 32nd fall as a football coach. He’s entering his second as a head coach.

The Blue Tornado went 5-5 in Whitt’s first season. Two three-point losses foiled any TSSAA playoff realization.

“It certainly was a learning experience, but it was a good experience,” Whitt said. “We lost a couple of close ones, but all in all it was a pretty good year.”

Senior offensive lineman Marco Italia was around when former coach Ralph Potter was there. Italia said Whitt’s ways are a little different.

“He’s really kind of laid back, but he also really likes to get things done,” Italia said.

Whitt hopes a better year is in store this time around. A few things will have to come together for that to materialize.

On the upside, McCallie returns one of the area’s best defensive backs in 6-foot-1, 190-pound free safety Jay Fullam. Coaching the secondary is also Whitt’s field of expertise.

“My sophomore year he was my defensive backs coach,” Fullam said. “I’ve spent a little more time with him than everybody else. I’ve really enjoyed all my time under him. The way he coaches is kind of different. He doesn’t really yell, but you can tell when he’s upset. He teaches you instead of critcizing you. He’s made me a better football player.”

Fullam, who has verbally committed to a football scholarship offer from Vanderbilt University, and classmate John Brock are expected to be key contributors at running back in the triple-option-based system under new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bob Ateca. Ateca held the same positions at Austin Peay State University the last three years.

Keenon Rush and Jarrod Coleman are in competition again to see who will call the signals. Rush played quarterback most of last year as a sophomore. Coleman, younger brother of University of Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman, got some varsity snaps as a ninth-grader.

Perhaps the biggest area of concern is linebacker. Adding to the problem, senior Jim Makepeace suffered a broken leg recently and likely won’t return until late in the season.

“If we can fill his position, I think our defense will be a strength,” Fullam said. “Offensively, it’s hard to tell. I think that’s mostly because we’re adjusting to a new coach, a new offense and having to learn it.”

Then there’s the matter of a quirky yet rugged schedule that includes two teams from Charlotte, N.C. McCallie opens with three road games — the closest being an estimated 134-mile trip to Brentwood Academy, according to mapquest.com. It also closes with three away games, including trips to Knoxville and Nashville.

The last of the Blue Tornado’s four consecutive home games is against Baylor at Finley Stadium on Oct. 3. Therefore, if Senior Day is held at Spears Stadium, it will have to be in September.

“I think we’ve got a chance to be pretty good,” Whitt said. “I don’t know what that means as far as wins and losses, but I think we can compete. We’ve just got to line up and think about the first one.”

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