Oscar Smith will be tested right from the get-go this season, as it has No. 13 Byrnes to begin the season. The Tigers are fighting to show that Virginia deserves a share of the national spotlight.
Photo by Dan Trevino
Last season,
Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) lost its season opener (a 51-27 shootout against Gilman) before rattling off 14 consecutive victories.
One of the most successful programs in Virginia over the last several years, Oscar Smith will look to avenge its loss against Gilman by winning an even more highly anticipated out-of-state game this season: a showdown with No. 13 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.).
While Smith is typically well-stocked with skill players, it is the line play that could separate this year’s team from the pack.
MaxPreps Preseason Top 25 High School Football Early ContendersThree offensive linemen (
Shedrick Oliver,
Troye Harris and
Jaleel Shelton) give Oscar Smith a great foundation up front. The unit will help open holes for a running back group that features talented sophomore
Deshawn McClease and trusted senior
Marcus Smith.
Zack Jones, committed to Virginia, is a dynamic threat for the team at receiver, while junior
Jaylen Bradshaw should provide another option.
Melvin Vaughn is a returning all-state player and will starat linebacker this season for Oscar Smith.
Photo by Dan Trevino
Oscar Smith has a great lineage of quarterbacks, and replacing the graduated J.J. Williamson, who was highly productive as a junior and senior, will be difficult. Right now,
Dashawn Blow is poised to take over behind center, and early reports are that Blow looks good in the role.
Defensively, Oscar Smith will be fast and very athletic. Shelton will double as a defensive tackle while
Kanyia Anderson and
Darren Flowers both return on the outside. The addition of 2014 defensive tackle
Andrew Brown could turn this unit from great to nationally elite.
The team’s linebackers will be led by
Melvin Vaughn. Also a receiver, Vaughn was an all-state selection a year ago and will help make Smith’s front seven extremely difficult to run on.
Jones is the lone returner in the secondary, but he’s a good one. Morgan is not worried about athletes stepping up to fill those roles.
Local look: "Each year college coaches flock to Oscar Smith to see what kind of talent coach Richard Morgan has on his teams. This season won’t be any different."
- Larry Rubama, Virginian-Pilot, in an April 2012 blog
