Practice Report - Union

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Union started the season with a rare 0-4 record after coming into 2020 with somewhat high expectations. At a program like Union, the expectations are always high and an 0-4 start is not. However, when you really look at the start of the season for Union, it’s a combination of two things that led to one of the worst starts in decades. Brutal scheduling and Covid. Yes, every team has to deal with Covid but Union had several unexpected hurdles to overcome and it slowed them down out of the gate. Combine that with one of the toughest four game stretches in the state and an 0-4 start isn’t impossible to understand. They went on the road for all four games against Bixby, Broken Arrow, Jenks and their district opener against Owasso. Talking with head coach Kirk Fridrich, he mentioned how it just took longer for this team to get into a rhythm with a new offensive coordinator in Dub Maddox coming in. Union also made a switch at quarterback and went with Grayson Tempest. That move allowed Union to become more run oriented and over the last month, they’ve been one of the top rushing teams in the state. After the 0-4 start, Union has won four straight games and it started against Mustang, a team that stunned Union last year. Union would come out and dominate with their new and improved rushing attack. They had one player finish with over 200 yards and two others that had over 100 yards rushing. That began the four-game winning streak that Union will take into the playoffs. Their week ten game against Edmond North was cancelled. And while Union attempted to find a replacement, Fridrich said that he’s okay with having a bye week before the playoffs begin next week. Check out our Individual Spotlight with a look at some of the standouts that have shined over the last month for Union. INDIVIDUAL SPOTLIGHT [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"] - 2021 - Running Back Union running back and Arkansas commit [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"] is not only one of the best running backs in the state, but he’s one of the top overall prospects in Oklahoma right now. And all you have to do is look at what he’s been able to do over the last few weeks to see why he’s just that. And if that isn’t proof enough for you, during the 0-4 start, it was Green that was the bright spot in an offense that was struggling to find it’s way. Now that they’ve shifted to a more run-dominant offense, Green has absolutely flourished. And what is scary about Green and this Union offense is how fresh he’s going to be for the playoffs. He’s splitting carries with two other players. That means he’ll be ready to go at 100 percent when the playoffs roll around. [player_tooltip player_id="67771" first="Antonio" last="Smith"] - 2022 - Running Back One of the breakout players for Union this season has been [player_tooltip player_id="67771" first="Antonio" last="Smith"], a running back that they call "Junior". Fridrich spoke highly of Smith and talked about Smith when he was a freshman. Union typically puts their best freshman athletes at running back and safety. Smith has been doing that over the last few seasons and has shined. Fridrich believes that running back might be Smith’s natural position and he’s certainlly been able to showcase his skillset over the last few weeks. As Union goes into the playoffs, they expect to continue to add to Smith’s workload. He’s become very comfortable in this offense and as that comfort level continues to rise, so will the carries and the opportunities that Smith will get in this Union offense. [player_tooltip player_id="67773" first="Jamori" last="Ray"] - 2022 - Defensive Back Going to the defensive side of the ball we have seen the emergence of junior safety [player_tooltip player_id="67773" first="Jamori" last="Ray"]. Get ready for more 2022 prospects on this young and talented team. Union has produced some very talented defensive backs over the last five seasons and really the Tulsa metro as a whole has seen that position really flourish over the last few years. The next name you need to circle at that position is Ray at Union. He’s in the middle of having a breakout season at the safety position and has become an absolute ball hawk for Union defensively. The ceiling is very high for Ray and several of these junior standouts for Union. However, similar to some of the other players here, we’re looking forward to seeing how Ray responds when the competition goes up in the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id="67774" first="Marlee" last="Forsberg"] - 2021 - Tight End With all the success Union has had running the football, that means that the blocking up front has been outstanding and paving the way for these players to make plays. One prospect that Coach Fridrich mentioned as one that has really stood out is senior tight end [player_tooltip player_id="67774" first="Marlee" last="Forsberg"]. And the way Union has been playing, Forsberg has basically become the sixth offensive lineman on this team and an extension of this powerful line on the outside. Forsberg has been outstanding over the last month. While most tight ends need to be catching passes to get attention, Forsberg deserves the attention for what he’s doing in the trenches. He’s a big reason why Union has had success running the ball, especially when they’re able to kick it to the outside. [player_tooltip player_id="67777" first="Matthias" last="Roberson"] - 2022 - Defensive Lineman Yet another 2022 prospect that has emerged this season has been defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="67777" first="Matthias" last="Roberson"]. The big man has been a terror up front for Union along the defensive line. Even when Union started the year 0-4, one of the bright spots was the defensive side of the ball. While the offense struggled at times, the defense really stepped up and played well and has continued to do so throughout the last month. Starting it all up front is Roberson, who is absolutely having a breakout season along the defensive line. Union is certainly taking a lot of momentum into the playoffs but that momentum should continue into the offseason with all the junior talent they have making plays this fall. Union’s future is certainly a bright one, led by players like Roberson. [player_tooltip player_id="38703" first="Rovaughn" last="Banks"] - 2022 - Athlete Union junior [player_tooltip player_id="38703" first="Rovaughn" last="Banks"] began this season as the starting quarterback after a breakout season last year as a sophomore. However, the Union coaches have made a switch and Banks is able to still showcase everything he has in his game as a straight up athlete. Union still has packages where Banks will line up at quarterback. But when Union is dangerous is when they have Banks and Green lined up in the backfield as running backs. Banks has also shown the ability to line up as a wide receiver. Coming into the season, we knew that Banks is one of Union’s most dangerous weapons on offense. And the shift to running back and overall athlete isn’t a terrible move and as we’ve seen over the last few weeks, it’s really starting to pay off. [player_tooltip player_id="38675" first="Will" last="Thomas"] - 2022 - Offensive Lineman The Tulsa metro area has had a good run of producing big athletic offensive linemen over the last few years. Here’s a candidate to be the next big up and comer at the position. As we’ve written numerous times already, the Union rushing attack has been on fire. And you can make the argument that the most talented player up front for the Redskins right now is offensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="38675" first="Will" last="Thomas"]. Now, we want to see more of Thomas, especially when Union gets into the playoffs and goes against some of the top teams in the state. However, over the last month, Thomas has been an absolute wrecking ball of a lineman. When it comes to all the physical attributes, there isn’t much to critique when it comes to Thomas. We’re excited to see how he does against some of the state’s best.