EDWARDSVILLE -- Rodney Coe, improved depth and a more experienced defense are reasons coach Mark Bliss is optimistic about his Edwardsville Tigers.
Edwardsville was 5-4 and missed the playoffs last season --Bliss' first since replacing Tim Dougherty. The Tigers allowed 179 points in their losses, including 59 to Collinsville and 51 to East St. Louis.
Seven starters return on defense. Bliss is counting on them to keep Edwardsville in games until the offense, led by running backs Coe and Reggie Box and quarterback Chase Westra, can develop into an efficient unit.
"We've got seven starters back on defense, but nine kids that played a lot," Bliss said. "They've got to hold down the fort until we can catch up with them offensively. They seem to know more, and they had a pretty good seven-on-seven this summer. Definitely, I feel very comfortable with where we are."
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Coe, a junior, is being recruited as a linebacker by Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Kansas State, Colorado State, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Louisiana State, North Carolina, Illinois State, Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Northern Illinois.
"He is a lot better in terms of speed," Bliss said. "I've had rivals.com and (talent scout) Tom Lemming say they're going to rate him as the No. 1 underclassmen in the state of Illinois."
Coe has been timed at 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and his speed and power will make him a force at linebacker for the Tigers. But he'll bring those same qualities to Edwardsville's offense as a running back.
Last year, Coe rushed for 912 yards and 11 touchdowns.
"There's certain days in practice he looks invincible," Bliss said. "Then there are days it doesn't take too many to take him down.
"We're excited to have him. He's one kid we can build a lot of things around. We're going to showcase him on both sides of the ball. He's a big kid who can move and do some things in the open field."
The 5-11, 178-pound Westra, a junior, started three games at quarterback last season when Ish Roundtree was injured, and the Tigers won all three. He'll play a more prominent role this season, as will the talented Box, a 6-0, 188-pound junior who already is drawing interest from Midwest Athletic Conference teams.
Box will play running back and cornerback. Last season, he gained 128 yards, scored three TDs and had 44 tackles.
"They're both good kids," Bliss said of Westra and Box. "Chase made smart decisions (last year) and put us in position to be successful. The Box kid is a great athlete. We look forward to him contributing, especially on the defensive side of the ball."
Another player to watch is tight end Blair Henry (6-1, 276).
"We're putting Blair in different formations," Bliss said. "He's a 4.8 (-seconds) kid in the 40, so he's as fast as most tight ends who are 235, 240 pounds. In the weight room, he's our strongest kid pound-for-pound. He's one of those kids we're going to rely on to get things done."
Junior Andre Cleark (6-1, 190) and senior Gabe Carpenter (5-10, 168) return at receiver. Senior tackle Andrew Ellington (6-1, 285) and senior center Ricky Sherrard (5-10, 215) are returning starters on the offensive line and will be joined by junior tackle Ethan Buford (6-2, 265).
"We're going to be inexperienced on the offensive line," said Bliss, who will use three first-year starters. "And while we're not going to be huge compared to East St. Louis and the Bellevilles, we are going to be bigger than we were last year."
Senior Bryan Reller will join Coe at linebacker. Reller (6-3, 188) ranked second on the team in tackles last year with 74. Senior Ryan Knight (6-1, 191) also returns at linebacker, where junior Max Andresen (5-5, 166) also will be used.
On the line, Henry and senior Brandon Bradford (5-11, 306) are tackles. Junior Christian Kellerman (6-1, 205) will play end. Bliss said sophomore tackle Vincent Valentine is a rising star.
"He's 6-4, 300 (pounds) and he's got a shot to be pretty decent for us," Bliss said. "We've got to get some production out of him, but he's young and we're going to try to bring him along slowly."
Box, Cleark, Carpenter and junior Mason McBride (5-8, 160) will be in the secondary.
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