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Top 10 countdown: TBT lacking only experience

Tribune photo by BILL WARD

Senior fullback Maurice Hagens, center, will once again lead the Titans' offense.

By BILL WARD | TBO.com

Published: August 24, 2009

Updated: 08/24/2009 12:38 am

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Which football team has been the most surprising this year?

No. 4 Tampa Bay Tech

Coming in at No. 4, this is the highest spot Tampa Bay Tech has held in the Tribune's preseason poll. And while some may argue the Titans have far too much to prove to be held in such high regard in Hillsborough County, there's little doubt they have all the necessary ingredients to be among the area's elite programs.

For starters, TBT boasts size. The offensive and defensive lines both average in excess of 265 pounds. Lining up behind that beefy O-line once again will be senior fullback Maurice Hagens, who has been the workhorse of TBT's run-oriented offense the past three years with more than 1,000 yards rushing each season.

If the Titans can spread and diversify the offense more this fall - and that's exactly what they plan to do - opposing teams will no longer be able to key on Hagens. Coach C.C. Culpepper is counting on junior quarterback Johnathan Williams to get the ball into the hands of two talented receivers, seniors C.J. Jackson and Charles Davis. Hoping to take some of the rushing load off Hagens is former Armwood standout Tavari Grant.

Defensively, this is a physical Titans team. Linebackers Greg Hickman (6-2, 250), Sam Jones (6-2, 230) and Tim Stewart (6-1, 190) are quick and powerful, and down linemen like Mark Grant (6-2, 260), Frankie Fernandez (6-0, 280) and Josh Smith (6-3, 230) are experienced players who pursue and penetrate. In the secondary, TBT features one of the county's best cornerbacks, Jerome Speights, whom Culpepper counts on to be the defense's "quarterback."

Besides size, speed and power, Class 5A TBT has another key ingredient needed to be a team capable of venturing deep into the playoffs: depth. A typical practice features 80 to 85 players and the Titans are exceptionally well-stocked with big linemen.

About the only thing stopping TBT from going far into the playoffs this season is its lack of experience in high-pressure games (last year's win over Auburndale was the program's first playoff victory), as well as a Plant High team that also moved up to 5A this fall after winning the 4A crown. The Titans and Panthers could meet in a regional final.

"The expectations for this team are probably driving me crazy right now more than anything else," Culpepper said. "The expectations of knowing that we should be better than we were last year and twice as good as we were my first year here. With the bodies and the positions and the athletes we have - I can't wait until the Kickoff Classic Friday to get a true idea of what we really have."

KICKOFF CLASSIC: Friday at Plant City
SEASON OPENER: Sept. 4 at Plant

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