2024 Preview: Blythewood Bengals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blythewood wasted no time in beginning preparations for the 2024 season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After falling to JL Mann in the first round of the playoffs and finishing with a 4-7 record in 2023, the Bengals were in the weight room at 6:30AM that following Monday and the work ethic of the team has been impressive, according to defensive line coach Jairus Byrd.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've been committed from Day 1 this offseason. It's a different group of guys,” Byrd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blythewood returns seven starters on offense, highlighted by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172352' first='Reed' last='Paolucci']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360168' first='Brandon' last='Martin']</strong>, <strong>RJ Owens</strong> and <strong>Roscoe Powell</strong> on the offensive line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defense returns a lot of experience with seven starters back, particularly on the back end with <strong>Jaylen Reeves</strong> and <strong>Tyrese Drakeford </strong>at defensive back. <strong>Kyle Wissenhant</strong> is back at kicker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blythewood opens the 2024 season at home against Nation Ford on August 23.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473013' first='Carter' last='Coleman']</strong> WR, 2026 – Coleman is an electric receiver who can make plays all over the field. He battled a groin injury this summer and wasn't able to go to camps this summer but says he will be ready to go for the season. He transferred to Blythewood from Ridge View, and he has great hands and can elude defenders with great speed. He runs great routes as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Coleman on improvements heading into 2024: “I would say just being more explosive coming into this year. I've seen last year's film and I just really looked at myself and thought I could see a better version of myself. So I've been hitting the weight room hard this year, working on speed and getting faster, route running and catching.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1012579' first='Sterling' last='Sanders'] </strong>DL, 2025 – Sanders is the unquestioned leader of the Bengals' defensive line. He is almost impossible to block from his defensive tackle spot as he can disrupt plays before the play even gets going. He committed to Georgia Southern University back in June.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Sanders on improvements heading into 2024: “I want to start off this season more explosive, work more with my hands and my feet.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Why Georgia Southern? “The atmosphere and the coaches were really good to me. I talked to them on the phone and they were good to me.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Johnny Collins</strong> QB, 2026 – Collins is the younger brother of Harrison Collins, who was the starting quarterback for the Bengals last year. He looks primed and ready to take the reins. He can sling it all over the place and can get it to his receivers accurately. He has visited camps at Mercer, Clemson and South Carolina this summer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Collins on improvements heading into 2024: “I would say getting more physical, getting stronger in the weight room and trusting our reads on plays.”</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157753' first='Kemuel' last='Little']</strong> DL, 2025 – Little is an enforcer for his defensive line spot. He has a motor that is always running and can move well. He got into the backfield on a screen after defeating a block quickly, from what we saw on film.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chase Brown</strong> RB, 2025 – Brown has a great burst of speed when he gets out into the open field. He runs hard in between the tackles and is not afraid of contact. He has good patience in the hole to wait for his blocks to develop, and he'll be a big help with Collins taking the reins in the backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"​​u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16678106/656a2a01b536290bf0b47dfa' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a98e2712a4a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP AND COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chance Johnson </strong>WR, 2026 – Johnson can go up and make catches, especially in space. He can make people miss and has a big frame to be able to create matchup problems against opposing defensive backs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Josiah Sands</strong> CB, 2025 – Sands is a returning starter for the Bengals and will make an impact for the Bengals in 2024. He can stick it to receivers, staying stride for stride with them and he has good technique for the position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1180516' first='Darron' last='Robinson']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Blythewood","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a98e2713fd0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Robinson is a difference maker on special teams, and he'll be back for the Bengals on defense in 2024. He knows how to rally down to the ball quickly and go find the ball carrier. And when he finds them, it's normally before the ball carrier can get inside the 20-yard line which sets up the defense well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/19395109/653c977fa6783f0338548343' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003ern","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a98e2714005"} /--> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->