SWJCFC MEDIA DAY | Blinn’s Bucs counting on experience of guys in the trenches

TYLER – Blinn coach Ryan Mahon believes his team will go as far as his experience up front on both sides of the ball will take them.

The very first comment out of the gate Mahon made on Thursday at the Hollytree Country Club, where the coaches met for the Southwest Junior College Football Conference Media Day, was that the strength of his team on both sides of the football would be up front.

Specifically, he named defensive linemen Jequarrius McClendon, a sophomore from Killeen Shoemaker; Dante Payton, a sophomore from Cibolo Steele; Branson Winter, a sophomore from Houston Clear Springs; and Justin Garza, a sophomore from right there in Brenham.

On the offensive line, the Bucs have a handful of players back that Mahon said had played significant time a year ago: Erik Aschenbeck, also from Brenham; Thomas Domian, of McAllen Memorial; Jeshuah Davis of Round Rock Weiss; and the Rios’s, Jossue Rios and Robbie Rios, both of Klein Forest.

Thrown into the mix, Mahon said, are a couple of freshmen – Nicolas Golden (Houston Madison) and Will Bays (Dallas Lincoln) that are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7, respectively. “That’ll be a fun bunch to coach,” he said.

“We recruited fairly well and replaced a lot of things we needed,” he said. “We recruited really well, and replaced a lot of things we needed. We’ve got a really good bunch that showed up well on campus. …I’m really pleased with them, and can’t wait to see how their careers are going to end up.”

Another position where the Bucs have a lot of experience back will be at defensive back, Mahon said. He named former Lake Travis standout Ifeanyi (“Ife”) Ohalete, Darein “D.J.” Hargrove, out of Houston Summer Creek; Javon Bejarano, of Cibolo Steel; Donovan Bynum of Houston Westfield; and Gladewater’s own Kameron Griffin. “We feel good with the starters,” Mahon said. “We’ve got to figure out who’s going to back them up, and barring any kind of crazy injury – that can be interesting, as all coaches know.”

Back for Blinn at linebacker is Jadon Ducos, a former Atascocita standout that’s a key member of the roster. “He’s probably our team leader, I would say,” Mahon said. “He got injured after the first game last year, and we struggled. He’s a guy who shows up for practice and he’s trying to help and do all the coaching – he’s behind everybody. He’s that kind of kid. He can’t wait to be out there.”

Also back at linebacker for the Bucs is Avion Stewart, from Missouri City Elkins High, and expected to make an impact early, the coach noted, are signees Tyler Cooks of Manvel and Cade Moore, of Brenham.

Offensively, Blinn has a transfer from Sam Houston State – Jalen Washington, from Montgomery High – at running back. “We recruited him. …Really fortunate to have him. We’re excited about him.”

Also out of the backfield, expect to see Martavious Boswell, from Fort Worth Southwest; Justin Howard, of Missouri City Lamar, and Quinton Jones, from Houston Jersey Village. “We’ve got some freshmen who can run,” he said. “Those guys are going to be our scat-backs, and Quinton Jones is a bigger kid, so I think we’ve got a good combination there.”

Now, at quarterback, Blinn has a young man back in Rylan Wooten, from Brenham High, who played the last two games of the 2023 season for the Bucs.

“He’s a kid that, you watch him practice and you wonder, ‘Hey, man, who coaches that guy?’, and I have to look in the mirror on that one,” Mahon said. “But then, when he gets into the game, it’s just different. I hate to say he’s a gamer, but he’s proven to be that. We went through spring and tried to teach him the proper practice habits, and those kinds of things, but when the lights are on, he really goes. So we’re excited to have him.”

Mahon noted there are three freshmen that can push Wooten, but that he looks to be the starter.

The receivers are a fun, interesting group, Mahon said, and named off Austin Abram from Houston Westfield; Tracy James from Cypress Ranch; Louis Williams from Conroe; Rae’G Dailey from C.E. King in Houston, a slot receiver that they got late, Mahon said, a Houston Touchdown Club finalist; and then he also named Nathan Lewis, another Houston Westfield product, as well as former Carthage standout Jakerrian Roquemore, now a sophomore.

Mahon is assisted by former Henderson and New York Jets standout Drew Coleman, the Bucs’ defensive coordinator, as well as Andy Felton, Kenyana Heard, Keafer Clegg, Kenneth Braimer, Joshua Kaddy and Chuck Parsons. All of them are back from a year ago.

The Bucs are four-time national champions, all won since 1995 (’95, ’96, 2006, and 2009).

Blinn opens the 2024 season a little later than the other programs in the conference: the Bucs don’t play until Saturday, Sept. 7, at home against TWA College.

They’ll be open on Saturday, Sept. 14, then make the trek to Roswell, N.M., to face New Mexico Military Institute on Sept. 21, will host Navarro on Sept. 28, and visit Trinity Valley on Oct. 5.

Tyler Junior College visits Brenham on Oct. 12; Blinn steps out of conference to host John Melvin University on Oct. 19; the Bucs host Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on Oct. 26; they visit Kilgore College at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium on Nov. 2; and then close the regular season with a home game against Cisco on Nov. 9.

The SWJCFC playoffs begin the following weekend (Saturday, Nov. 16).

“That’s the team,” he said. “I’m really excited about it. We’ll see. I mean, everybody’s hoping to hope right now. Full steam ahead, and really excited about this bunch.”