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The newness has yet to rub off for the Jefferson City Jays football team.
New coaches, new offense, new defense and also new positions.
Having a number of juniors and seniors on the field usually means it's an experienced group. That may not always be the case for the Jays this season. A few players are still getting accustomed to their position.
"Athletically we've got guys in the right spots, but it takes time to grow into those spots and you need experience," said Jays coach Terry Walker, who is in his first season as head coach at Jefferson City. "They still give us the best chance to be successful."
On offense, seniors Ryan Brooks and Corey Suttle are still learning receiver and tight end, respectively. Senior Jordan Bruner, who'll play opposite Suttle on the defensive line, is also getting time at fullback in practice.
Senior quarterback Devin Roberson could also rotate in on the defensive line.
"If you look experience-wise, the strength of our defense is our front," Walker said. "With that said, we've got guys that physically are very capable of playing those positions but are inexperienced because they've never played them before.
"Devin Roberson is going to be great defensive end but this is going to be game one for him at defensive end, so there's going to be some growing pains there. Ian Cote is going to be a really nice two or three technique, but this is his first game on defense."
Cote is in line to also play tight end like he did last season as a junior.
The back end of the Jays defense will have some new faces. Levi Jobe, who returns as a receiver, will play defensive back for the first time as a senior. Sophomores Darrell Jones and Devin White will join Jobe in the secondary, along with Brooks.Seniors Khalil Foster and Connor Hankins, and sophomore Orientheus Pitts could also see time at defensive back.
"When they develop and they have an opportunity to see some varsity action, they are going to be good defensive backs, but they are going to take some lumps along the way," Walker said.
At linebacker, the Jays return senior Quinten Strobel. Junior Bryant Gipe, who played at Blair Oaks for Walker last season, is expected to compete for a starting spot. Alex Burkhead, a junior, is also in the mix at linebacker.
Brandon Backues returns to the defensive line after getting playing time as a sophomore. Seniors Chris Stegeman and Isaac Cordero are battling for playing time.
Backues also plays right guard. Sophomore Brady Connell is at the other guard spot with senior Cole Campbell returning at center. Juniors Sam Jacob and Harrison Mobley bring size to the tackle spots, both being listed at 6-foot-5 or taller and are at least 275 pounds.
Senior Skylar Bohannon and juniors Wyatt Moore and Blake Moore are part of the offensive line competition.
"We have competitions every day for several positions," Walker said. "On offense we generally work 18 or 19 guys for the 11 spots and on defense we're doing the same. We have healthy competition. It'd be nice at this time of the season that some of those guys would say, 'You know what, I want that job so I'm just going to take it' instead of counter-balancing back and forth."
The Jays have 25 seniors and nine of them are in line to start.
"We've got a big senior class and some of those kids are staring to assert themselves," Walker said. "You would want all the kids on the field to be leaders. The leadership we have right now is more by example."
Two of the seniors will lead the offensive backfield: Roberson and running back Maleek Jackson.
"(Roberson) is improving. Coach (Bill) Duke has done a great job with him," Walker said. "He makes strides every day and each week. He's getting a better understanding of the offense and we feel comfortable with where he's at."
Roberson is working a lot on getting the ball out quickly.
"That's typically what we do because our offensive line is still not used to doing the pass protection the way we want it done," Walker said. "We have breakdowns every now and again so we try to get the ball out as quickly as we can."
Kicking the PAT's and field goals for the Jays again is junior Ben Folz. He'll also be the team's primary punter with Roberson also punting in certain situations.
"On a good day he can push 50," Walker said of Folz's field goal range. "I'd say he's pretty consistent with 38 to 45."
The season kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight against Kirkwood at Adkins Stadium.
The Jays certainly remember how they did against the Pioneers last season, posting a sign on the locker room door with the final score of 35-7 on it.
Kirkwood will test the Jays' inexperienced secondary right away with Division I recruits Maurice Massey and Jay Maclin at receiver.
Maclin has six Division I offers and Massey has committed to Missouri.
"We're certainly not going to fear it and we'll try to play great team defense," Walker said. "You've got to have great pursuit, you've got make sure you're not giving them easy scores and they may make some plays, you've just got to make sure it's not a big play that's a scoring play at the same time."
Dual-threat quarterback Cooper Wise is expected to start as a senior. Martez Jones is the top returning running back for the Pioneers.
"Kirkwood does a lot of things you've got to account for with their speed, so we've got to be able to defend every quadrant of the field," Walker said. "They like to get the ball to the perimeter to their skill guys with their passing game. They have a really nice short passing game. They have an explosive kid at quarterback that can run and throw. They've got a good kid at running back that's a tough runner."
Leading the Kirkwood defense is defensive end Arvell Ferguson, who has several Division I offers. The Pioneers allowed fewer than 17 points per game last season.
"Defensively they just get after people," Walker said. "They've got great team speed on defense. They do a lot of moving on the defensive line and then they have a lot of great skill kids that can defend on the perimeter. We're going to have to do a great job at sustaining blocks on the front so we can sustain some drives.
"You've got to understand a 3- or 4-yard gain is a positive play because they thrive on negative plays. They'll give up some yards every now and again, but then they do a great job creating negative plays. We can't get greedy. We've got to stay within ourselves and methodically control the football."