New era kicks off at Noblesville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The hiring of former Carmel head coach John Hebert yesterday has signaled the beginning of a new era at Noblesville. Hebert brings a winning pedigree to the program: he won two state championships as the Greyhounds' head coach and even more as an assistant coach at the Hamilton County powerhouse.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Noblesville finished with just two wins last season. Nevertheless, while there are no moral victories in football, six of those games were decided by a seven or fewer points. Noblesville has several key returning players at key spots. Here's a look at five players who could fuel a quick turnaround.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1408932' first='Mason' last='McDermott'] - OL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Having a strong offensive line is the key to winning high school football games. Along with Justin Donahue, McDermott - the younger brother of Louisville offensive lineman Ransom McDermott - should give the Millers a strong front five to bulldoze opposing defenses in the run game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Justin Donahue - OL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another returning starter will be Donahue, a 6-foot-3, 260-pound interior lineman who can encircle blocks and be an aggressive run blocker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1466346' first='Praise' last='Oladipupo'] - LB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The younger brother of Boston College signee Israel Olaipupo, Praise racked up 107 tackles, two forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks as a sophomore. The rising junior middle linebacker has quick closing speed and wraps up nicely in space, can stay parallel to the LOS and land some big hits.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1708630' first='Caleb' last='Johnson'] - OL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-foot-4, 270-pound, two-sport right tackle has a quick first step and strong left drive. He has also played at tight end, although he is primarily a run blocker within that position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nick Morris - RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morris is a running back / receiver who had 22 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown as a sophomore. Big and strong (6-foot-1, 210), he has a tough running style and finishes forward on contact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":[],"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-676318ae3916c"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->