Oxford Team Preview

RETURN TO JACKSON

ON OXFORD’S MIND IN 2021

By JARED REDDING

Oxford Eagle

Last year’s Chargers proved time and time again that no lead is ever safe and that their 18-point comeback victory in the 6A state title a year prior was not a fluke. It’s just the way head coach Chris Cutcliffe has built his football program going into year six at the helm.

With a combined record of 26-2 and a pair of state championship appearances under their belt the last two seasons, expectations have rarely been higher at Oxford. With that comes a bullseye sought after by one of the toughest schedules in the state of Mississippi.

Regardless, this year’s Chargers have a team filled with depth, battle tested and poised to make it back to Jackson and win a second gold ball.

“We spend a lot of time talking about mental toughness and what that really looks like. One of the ways you can build a team like that is to have a connected team. They don’t shy away from challenges, they tackle them head on…our best players have always been our hardest workers. When you have your most talented players setting the tone with their work ethic, I think it really sets you up for success,” Cutcliffe said.

In a year filled with uncertainty from week to week, senior Michael Harvey and junior Trip Maxwell held the offense together commendably behind center. Both quarterbacks rotated and played situationally last season before Harvey eventually took the reigns entirely late in the season. Despite this, both have earned the right to see the field and help the team win according to Cutcliffe.

“Both of those guys are really talented young men first of all,” Cutcliffe said. “They’re also phenomenal teammates and leaders in the program. They have both earned the respect of their teammates by how they go about their business. All of those things

1 Michael Harvey Sr. QB 6-0 175 2 Trip Maxwell Jr. QB 6-2 180 3 Elijah Wadley Sr. DB 6-0 181 4 Roman Gregory Jr. RB 5-9 180 5 Alex Sanford Jr. DL 6-3 230 6 Lucian Giles So. DB 5-10 165 7 Omar Howell Sr. RB 5-10 220 8 Austin Smith Sr. WR 5-8 150 9 Malaki Pegues Jr. DL 6-4 225 10 Keegan Wilfawn Sr. FB/LB 5-11 220 11 Jamal Giles Sr. DB 6-0 177 12 Ben Goubeaux Sr. MLB/P 6-0 220 13 Cashe Shows Jr. WR/QB 6-1 175 14 Xavier Lewis So. QB 6-1 172 16 Asthen Shorter Jr. WR 6-4 185 17 Jack Harper So. TE 6-3 183 19 Peter Grandjean So. QB 5-11 160 20 Ty Cohran Jr. LB 5-9 215 21 Ryan Kirkwood Jr. CB/S 5-11 165 22 Chris Herring Sr. OLB 6-0 187 23 Tracy Harris Sr. WR/RB 5-10 180 24 Malique Brewer Sr. CB/S 6-1 140 25 Kylan Mathis So. MLB 5-10 173 26 Martavious Blackmon Jr. OLB 6-1 215 27 Jabarri Brassell Jr. CB 5-7 28 Timothy Hervey Jr. FS 5-10 150 29 Davien Henderson Jr. CB/S 5-10 145 30 Demonte Mitchell Sr. MLB/TE 6-0 230 31 Reaghan Hardin Sr. RB 6-0 160 32 Jabari Turner So. MLB 5-9 160 33 Jkylen Jones So. CB 5-4 112 34 Hayden Moore Sr. OLB 5-10 165 35 Jakyren Gillard So. CB 5-8 125 36 Ken Herron So. FS 6-2 165 37 Christion Underwood So. WR 5-9 140 38 Ty Brassell Jr. LB 5-6 175 39 Colin Castle Jr. K 5-9 155 40 Mikylan Johnson So. WR 6-1 164 41 Jaidyn Young Jr. CB/S 5-7 170 42 Bryce Wicker So. OLB 5-7 155 43 Jay Brown So. RB 5-9 140 44 Blake Sanders Jr. OLB 5-9 165 45 London Love So. MLB 6-1 205 46 Desmond Bowen So. SS 5-7 150 47 Mason Nino So. WR 5-3 110 48 Tyree Young Jr. CB/S 6-0 181 49 Javarius McClain So. OLB 5-10 155 51 Kaleb Loflin So. T 5-11 200 52 Jaheim Jones Jr. DL 5-10 215 53 Charles Campbell So. OLB 5-9 140 55 Jabari White So. DE 6-2 215 56 Trezaveon Campbell Jr. DE 6-2 205 57 Tyren Love Jr. MLB 5-7 195 58 Henry Green Jr. OL 6-1 192 59 Charles Cascio Jr. OL 5-10 210 61 Bryce Mullen Sr. OL 5-9 240 62 Stratton Smith Sr. OL 6-3 280 63 Tyler Smith Sr. OL 5-11 282 64 Anthony Robinzine So. DL 5-10 230 65 Reese Sams Sr. OL 5-11 270 66 Crishun Mckinney So. NG 6-2 340 67 Jamichael Lipsey Jr. DE 5-9 205 70 Lane Robertson Jr. G 6-0 225 71 Ty’kez Clayton So. OL 6-2 350 72 Nelson Barr So. C 5-10 215 73 Jordan Smith So. T 6-2 290 75 Hunter Beard Sr. T 6-1 236 76 Malik Bell So. NG 6-0 330 77 Jaden Smith So. OL 6-3 300 78 Drew Saxton So. G 6-3 250 79 Xavier Martin So. DT 5-10 300 80 Calvin McGlown Jr. WR 6-1 160 81 Knox McGown So. OLB 82 Webb Murphey Sr. WR 5-9 150 83 Archer Murphey Sr. WR/LS 6-1 180 84 Rush Harmon Sr. WR 6-3 175 85 Vincent Logan Jr. WR 5-8 140 86 William Wilkinson So. WR/K 5-11 145 87 Cameron Williams So. WR 5-11 172 88 Dane Harmon So. WR 5-8 140 89 Jameal Johnson Jr. TE 6-2 205 90 Josh Neilson Sr. DE 5-10 225 91 Taylor Scott So. WR 5-10 150 92 Kylan Tumblin Sr. NG/DE 5-10 220 93 Jeremiah Morgan Jr. WR 5-9 145 94 Montaine Bonner So. DE 6-1 230 96 Jarrett Coleman So. OLB 5-11 160 97 Ethan Buschlen Sr. TE 6-1 180 98 Jeremiah Weathersbee Sr. TE 5-11 175 99 Brian Perez So. WR 5-8 160

that it takes to be successful as a quarterback, those guys embody that. I expect them to do the same and be better this year. They have a year of development and training under their belt with a deeper knowledge of understanding what we have to do.”

However, they’ll have to adjust to an inexperienced of wide receivers, overshadowed by a trio of Jalen Webb, D.K. Johnson and Jay Wortham, that made up 97 percent of their passing production a year ago.

Juniors Ashten Shorter, Cashe Shows, Calvin Mcglown and a handful of others are expected to step up after an offseason full of progress.

“One of the things our coaching staff does an excellent job of is coaching all of our players,” Cutcliffe said. “We coach our talent, our starters the same way we’re going to coach a guy who’s coming out for football for the first time. One of the things we’ve really challenged our receivers to do is to make a play. We’re not always going to make the right call or perfect concept. At some point, as a receiver, you have to create separation and try to make a play, a contested catch. We’ve seen that developing with this group and that has really come on.”

Luckily for them, top rushers Omar Howell and Roman Gregory are back in the fold to make the transition a lot smoother with a potential ‘thunder and lightning’ approach. Both combined for 1,417 yards on the ground. They will be aided by an offensive line anchored by veterans Stratton Smith and Bryce Mullen.

“A year ago, we rarely had Omar (Howell) and Roman (Gregory) on the field together at the same time. They were both young players. We had a great rotation and complemented each other really well. You’ll definitely see each other on the field together more often. We’ve got some great experience coming back on the offensive line. There’s no doubt that we’re deeper on the offensive line than any team I’ve been a part of at Oxford,” Cutcliffe said.

At tight end, sophomore Jack Harper is expected to make an immediate impact with his versatile skillset despite thin depth at the position. Because of this, junior Jamael Johnson will make the transition from offensive line to help him out.

Defensively, a unit that changed multiple games last season with timely turnovers, the Chargers return a chunk of its playmakers while welcoming a few newcomers and first year starters.

Leading tackler from a year ago, Alex Sanford, is expected to make a transition to defensive end to open things up for Ben Goubeaux and Martavious Blackmon, transfers from San Jose (Ca.) and Lake Cormorant High School, respectively.

“It’s just best for our team right now, for Alex to play on the defensive line,” Cutcliffe said. "Obviously he can do different things, but he’ll being a lot to the table for us defensively. His motor never stops running. We have some guys at linebacker that we’re really confident in, guys that can make a lot of tackles. We try to rotate a lot defensively, especially in the box. We’re going to continue doing that, expecting them to give maximum effort.”

Keegan Wilfawn returns as a starting linebacker accompanied by players such as Demonte Mitchell, Chris Herring, Ty Cohran and Malaki Pegues in the front seven to ensure depth. In the secondary, Elijah Wadley, Lucian Giles and Ryan Kirkwood are also expected to make an impact right out of the gate to help out senior Jamal Giles.

With the loss of Jack Tannehill on special teams, sophomore William Wilkinson is expected to handle the kicking duties while Ben Goubeaux handles punts and Lucian Giles competes with others to long snap.

The Chargers will have to endure a grueling schedule that not only features 6A Region 2 along with crosstown rival Lafayette, but national powerhouse John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) in the 2021 Battle On The Border High School Football Showcase in Shreveport.

“I don’t know if theres a team out there that has a tougher non region schedule than we do,” Cutcliffe said. “John Curtis, what a challenge that will be. Coach J.T. Curtis has been there for 52 years and won 597 games, second most in the history of high school football. They’re a model program nationally. It’s an honor to play against them. Everyone knows how difficult our region is. There’s no doubt about it, the most difficult one in Mississippi. We’re excited about it because it’s a challenge because it makes you play at a higher level week in and week out.”

Oxford opens up the 2021 season on August 27 hosting Brandon at 7:00 p.m.