[EKUAlum05]

The good news for Belfry:
- They took their licks against a tough schedule and a lot of Freshman and Sophomore talent got a ton of experience and growing pains out of the way.
- The old saying is "Belfry starts with their FB" and Belfry should have two strong players capable of playing FB. Dre Young has been solid and Isaiah Stanley was supposed to be a key part of that backfield until he got injured and had to play the year only on defense with a cast when he did return.

- There are some nice pieces... QB with arm talent in Chase Varney, Receiver with hands, Woolum was solid at HB, Caudill showed flashes of brilliance, Cayden Varney flashed big time potential at DB.

- On that note, secondary could really turn into something solid.. not sure how often that has been the case at Belfry. Woolum, Varney, and Burke is a really solid trio.

- The McCoy kid at kicker is pretty reliable and did a fine enough job for his part of things including a game winning FG and being very good at XP's.


The Bad News...

- Belfry's Front 7 was pretty rough at times. When teams wanted to move the ball on the ground they could. Once they moved the ball on the ground the pass defense opened up. Belfry didn't lose a ton of Seniors, but the ones they lost were their top leading tacklers. Pass rush was a non-factor and tackling was pretty sketchy.

- The Belfry OLine was pretty mediocre last season, with youth and injuries being a big part of that. They nearly got their QB murdered against Johnson Central and didn't create much of a surge at all. With the skill back on offense success starts with the Line.

- Belfry can't depend on the calendar to improve and get back to a Championship level. Yes.. they return a lot of experience and yes these kids have been successful... but the product taking the field at the end of 2022 was nowhere remotely close to being able to compete at a level worthy of a State Champion. 3A was nothing to write home about an every Semi-Finals team probably would have running clocked Belfry. This group can mature and grow but it starts in the off-season and starts with a hunger. Physically they are a long way from looking like a Title team.. weight room, speed program, and athletic training have to be a focus.