El Dorado’s secondary has one familiar face in senior corner Bryson Boulden. The rest of the names in the starting lineup are new, including senior safety Jordan Ford.
Ford has the task of replacing Marquees Waller. The senior took over the position in the spring and believes he’s ready for a starring role.
“I played quite a bit in certain coverages,” he said of last season. “I’m excited and ready to get started.”
Defensive coordinator Wes Ables called Ford the quarterback of the secondary.
“Jordan has been really good. He’s been consistent all summer. We’re expecting big things out of him,” said Ables. “We’ll do a lot of things with him. We’ll leave him back as a centerfielder. We’ll let him play a half-field deep safety. We could even bring him in the box because he’s more of a physical-style safety. We’ll do a lot of things with him.
“He’s like the quarterback of the defense. We’ll allow him to make some checks and things for us based on what he sees. He has a good understanding of what we’re trying to do.”
Ford said he spent time in the off-season working on press man coverage. He considered himself more of a natural run stopper and relishes supporting against the rush.
As for this season, he believes he’s ready to take the next step as a starter on the defense.
“I feel like this year I’ll have a bigger opportunity than last year. Now that I am a starter, I feel like I can prove more than what I did last year,” said Ford, who talked about last year’s seniors.
“I learned a lot from them. I learned how to be a leader. I learned how to take control. I learned how to actually follow, too. I learned a lot coming up behind them.”
Caden Perry, a junior, has stepped up as El Dorado’s other starter at safety. Joining Boulden at cornerback will be junior LeVictor Levingston. Sophomore Ajavion Gilmore could come in as the third corner.
They will have the task of slowing down a speedy Camden Fairview offense Friday at Memorial Stadium.
“I was very pleased with our secondary the other night. I know North Little Rock really didn’t challenge us vertically a lot. But when they did throw the ball deep, we had people there,” said Ables. “We actually got one pick, missed a chance on a couple more. We probably should’ve had about three of them. But I was very pleased with those guys.”