TexasFootball.com Interview: Hooks head coach Chris Birdwell

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TexasFootball.com was able to sit down with Hooks head coach Chris Birdwell to discuss the Hornets ahead of the program’s 2021 campaign.

Hooks completed a 6-5 season last fall – one that saw a playoff run end in the second round. The team finished in second place in District 10-3A Division II, winning five of their six district contests.

Birdwell opened the Q&A session by providing an update on where his school is regarding the Covid-19 pandemic:

“We're pretty much back to normal. We're still taking some precautions with the watering systems, and we still have our water fountains cut off and stuff like that – just to kind of keep [the kids] separated as much as possible. But for the most part, everything else is normal for us.”

The 2020 season was a wild one for Hooks, as it lost its first three games of the season before rallying to win five of their last eight. Birdwell reflected on how it happened:

We lost our starting quarterback and played up a division in non-district, which obviously makes it harder. Then – for district play – we got healthy. We had two college football players return, which honestly turns the lightbulb on for the other kids because it makes them feel like they have a better chance of winning, which allows everybody to play at a high level. When we got healthy, we had a good football team.”

The primary challenge for the Hornets as they prepare for the 2021 season is finding a signal-caller to navigate the team’s spread attack. The head coach offered an update on the quarterback race that’s shaping up in Hooks:

“We had a sophomore – Logan Davis – that started those three games that Benji was out. He did a decent job, especially for a young guy, so he would be the main one to focus on. Another guy we have is Jalen Woodside. He moved in this fall from Pleasant Grove and is a good athlete and we're glad to have him. Those guys will be the two in the running for it, and they're sharing reps in 7-on-7 – at the end of the day, may the best man win.”

Of course, if Bridwell’s team wants to make a deep run in the postseason, its defense will have to be sharp – just as it was in the second half of last season. Here are some names to keep an eye on for that side of the ball:

“We had the defensive Newcomer of the Year last year in freshman linebacker Keyshawn Walls – and he's coming back. Really good player. He's our mike linebacker and the center of our defense. Traveon Jones is another inside linebacker that's returning. He’s a really, really good player for us who’ll be a senior this year. He's kind of the leader of our defense and gets everybody in the right spot. Then, we have David Johnson on both sides of the ball. He's a good athlete with some D1 offers. He'll have to play both ways for us. We expect big things from him both ways.”

Finally, Birdwell told us what it’ll take for a successful 2021 Hooks season:

“We try to keep our goals the same – we want to win our first game of the year, have a winning record in non-district play, win a district championship, and get in the playoffs and push for a state championship. We’ve won district three of the last six years and been in the playoffs five of the last six. It's headed in the right direction. I think the kids are starting to see that they do have that opportunity – just kind of pointing out to them how close they were [last season] and how much difference one or two plays can make. I think they're starting to understand that and get this program back to the tradition we had in the 1990s. Success breeds success, and we’ve gotta keep doing that.”

The Hornets will open their upcoming campaign in a non-district matchup with Mount Vernon – a team they suffered a 53-14 defeat to last fall – on Aug. 27.

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