Looking forward to new beginnings
Greenbrier wanted to hire a seasoned coach to lead its group of talented athletes after Bill Buckner retired at the end of last season.
It doesn’t get much more seasoned than Randy Tribble.
The longtime Harding University head coach said the transition from the college ranks to high school was “interesting, but it wasn’t a real hard transition. Kids are kids whether they’re 18 and 19 or 15 and 16.”
Tribble’s lack of familiarity with the 5A West may be a blessing, he said.
“I don’t know what to compare anything to, so I can’t really evaluate where we are according to everyone else in the league,” Tribble said. “All we can do is work our tails off and work them hard.
“The only chance we have is to buy into the system and work as hard as we can and go from there.”
Ignorance may be bliss for the new coach, as the 5A West promises to be one of the toughest conferences in the state.
Tribble will implement the Spread offense that was so successful at Harding and will have a big group of seniors to whom he will teach it.
Leading the pack will be quarterback Jordan Duvall, who Tribble said has “really separated himself” during spring and summer practice.
At receiver, Greenbrier will look to get the ball in the hands of Jason Hall as much as possible. Hall will also play some running back and will play safety on defense, Tribble said.
Joining Hall at the numerous receiver positions will be Jeffrey Coffman, Brent Henderson, Justin Head and Cody Raish.
Tribble said he’s liked the leadership he’s seen from offensive tackles Chase Jones and Alex Jackson, and he will look to them to anchor the O-line.
While Tribble acknowledged that the Panthers will be known as a pass-first team, he said he does want to mix in some run plays to keep defenses honest.
Carrying that load and providing extra protection for Duvall will be Nathan Higgs and Hunter Winston. Tribble said Winston, who is only a sophomore, has a chance to develop into a pretty good player.
Defensively, linebackers Troy Proctor and Cody Garlington and safety Zeb Golden will try to punish opposing teams for breaking through the defensive line, which will be held down by Jackson, Jones and Head.
Tribble said there’s no easy road to success, but he’s encouraging his team to take this season one step at a time. A big part of having a successful season will be getting off to a good start. Referring to the first few games of the season, Tribble said, “I think they’re huge — getting off to a good start and building some confidence. I expect us to get better every game.”
This article was published August 24, 2008 at 5:36 a.m.