Minutemen hope to soar on wings of Sparrow

BEDFORD — Liberty High senior defensive end Brandon Sparrow is playing with more passion and purpose this preseason, eager to make an even greater impact on the field than he did last fall, when he led the Minutemen in sacks and tackles-for-loss and ranked second to middle linebacker Michael Bowyer in tackles.

“I plan on being more reckless and making more plays this year,” he said. “I just want to go as hard as I possibly can.”

His teammates are starting to follow suit, learning from rather than dwelling on missed opportunities.

“We’ve just got to go hard every play and if we make mistakes, just forget about them and just go even harder,” Sparrow said.

Two-a-days have taken a toll on Sparrow, who’s had a hard time maintaining his body mass through the heat of summer practices.

“I’m losing too much weight,” the 265-pound two-way starter at defensive end and offensive guard and tackle said. “I just need to bulk up a little bit.”

If Sparrow can maintain his hunger and reckless pursuit of the football through four quarters every Friday night, he will be a game-changing player on both sides of the ball.

“I (tried) to get in the best shape as possible (this summer) so I can play a full game to my best potential, because last year I got tired a few games and I suffered a little bit,” Sparrow said.

His coaches have challenged him not to take any plays off, but to maintain his intensity, stay focused and handle multiple responsibilities.

“He needs to be a big force for us,” eighth-year head coach Chris Watts said. “Just do his job, that’s the main thing — not get caught up in trying to make all the plays. It may be that he gets double-teamed and that’s a great job. That’s what we’re working on right now.”

Even if he doesn’t improve his individual stats, Sparrow should free up his teammates to make more tackles and force more turnovers.

“We’re more athletic and quicker as a team than we were last year,” he said.

Already entertaining offers from Liberty, Marshall, Massachusetts and Ohio, and receiving interest from Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Maryland, Sparrow hopes to live up to personal expectations and help take the Minutemen as far as they can go this fall.

“I just want to see what happens this year,” he said. “I don’t want to have a bad year and like build the hype and then let everyone down.”

He has given fans reason to be excited about Liberty football this fall, as perhaps the most disruptive defensive player in Bedford since Darryl Robertson and Frankie Keeney in 2005.

After playing fullback on occasion last year, showcasing his powerful bursts of speed up the middle, Sparrow likely will be used primarily at guard and tackle on a restructured offensive line.

“Right now, the big issue is replacing our offensive line because all those guys are gone,” Watts said. “Last year, they were all new starters, too, so this will be the second year in a row with a completely new offensive line, which is not necessarily an ideal situation.”

Graduation and injuries have decimated the line in recent seasons, making it difficult to establish any consistency on offense.

“The last two or three years, because of injuries or whatever, we’ve had to move guys all throughout the season,” Watts said. “We get a group on the line and then somebody will get hurt and we’ll have to change it again. It’s kind of kept us spinning our wheels a little bit.

“Last year, we were making fullbacks and tight ends into linemen,” he added. “We’re doing a little bit of the same thing this year, just trying to find a good mix that works.”

If the Minutemen manage to assemble a makeshift line that can provide adequate protection for Tyler Bowyer and reasonable running room for their backs, they should rack up more yardage than their opponents on most nights.

Second-year starting quarterback Tyler Bowyer, the older brother of Michael, has faith in his front five and Liberty’s double-dive attack.

“We lost a lot of people last year in key roles, including a lot of big guys on the line, but we’ve got a good line now, too,” he said. “They’re clicking right now on the practice field.”

Like last year, the Minutemen plan to throw the ball more than they had in previous seasons, to keep opposing defenses guessing.

“It’ll be a real good mix between the run and the pass,” said Bowyer, who was relieved by Anthony Reynolds and Kordero Thompson when the Minutemen went to a spread formation last fall. “I’m pretty confident running the ball and throwing the ball (and) we’ve got people who can do both (run and catch it.)”

Besides its top two tacklers, Michael Bowyer and Sparrow, Liberty also returns its leading rusher, Thomas Clark, who gained more than 800 yards as a sophomore.

“We’ve got tons of running backs that are all really good,” Tyler Bowyer said. “(Besides) Thomas (Clark), Anthony (Reynolds), Quintell Starks and Breon Brawley, we’ve got a lot of young guys that have got a whole bunch of talent.”

Watts said the Minutemen just need to fine-tune their mechanics and find their rhythm to get the offense running as it is designed.

“Nothing’s changed for us, we just have to change the way we execute,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, we’re not executing it right. That’s usually the bottom line.”

“Everybody knows what they need to do,” Sparrow added. “It’s just getting out there and doing it now.”