Wenonah High School 2024 Football Media Day

[Music] we present to you the Winona dragons led by coach Nick Howard an alumnus of the Winona high school program the second coach to his sit on our Podium who is a disciple if you will of the great coach Ronald cheetah Nick how you doing homeboy doing well man great to see you as always introduce your players and tell us about your goals for this year Well to my left is my sophomore quarterback uh Neil Brown and um to my right we have my senior defensive end ELD shelter and uh for this season we just uh we just we just look to have some success on the field uh to show the hard work that we put in during the off season uh well let's go to uh Neil first Neil you walk in the footsteps of folks like Joe Leon day what does it feel like man to be the quarterback as a more man you got a lot on your shoulders as a young guy yes sir uh it feels great I just like coach Nick said I'm looking forward to having great success throughout the season with all the work that you put in offseason absolutely and and I'm going to give it over to eldis to answer this question tell us about your goals eldis but also remind him that he's got to follow the footsteps of Trey young right yes sir um my goal is I just really want to be a good leader to our young guys leave them mouth with something good and you know the main goal is try to go out there and win a state championship and what did Trey mean to you all team last year as a leader and Trey he was a excellent leader he was um real vocal he got on this but he was also a fun guy so all right Keith Mims Keith Mims W a610 all football Summit media coach let me ask you this what is it going to take to bring back the magic of Coach Ron chetam and the great success that he had for so many years at historic wiona High School go right ahead coach yeah it's a that's that's a simple answer it it is it's just going to take the commitment the hard work in the offseason and uh it and the Buy in from the program which we've already have we already have we we've had it in the past couple of years next question is for quarterback Neil Brown Neil you seem to have a swag and a confidence about you that's unusual for a sophomore where does that come from and what do you look forward to doing and achieving this season this season I look forward to achieving success with all the hard work that we put in as a team it's I don't really like you know the focus on me and it's really about how the team succeeds and through me elid uh question for you what is you like to play for Coach Howard and talk a little bit about some of your other teammates that you're really uh going to lean on this coming season um playing for Coach high it's has been a great experience um when I moved here from Georgia my freshman year he came and um he opened me in with open arms so yeah coach I mean coach Nick he's just a real great coach and then um for teammates I say I got a defensive tackle his name is Jordan Spencer I'm going be leaning on him a lot we looking forward to getting a lot of SATs together I got also got another teammate um Edmond Jones He also on the D line so um yeah and I'm leaning on my offensive line to protecting Neil getting us to U Win games uh Neil you kind of touched on it but uh how much do you look forward to your how much do you ask your brother for advice when you know things TR to get hard in the season uh are you friend with my brother quad yeah I talk to my brother quad every day he's a great role model great leader for me I I Tred mono game after him Ray Turner this is coach how coach I came to cover you last year when you played Pon Grove and I think you out physical them you you you gave up a touchdown late and changed the momentum of the game but you stood up for three quarter what does the physicality of your team come from do you teach that or it would you just going with team because you was that was a very physical game yeah so um anybody that knows that that's pretty much the we know a way um I think um that's what we got back to we went back to the we know way and the way that you do that is you you prioritize you know that the weight room is the most important thing in in high school in football period and that's what we dedicated ourselves to the waight room tell us about a Thursday Friday night over in Wood Ona Birmingham so a Thursday and Friday night is a is a is something to look forward to uh a lot of people in the school use the term popcorn ready so um it's it's entertaining uh the community pretty much shuts down and get ready to to support we on the football and that's what we are so excited to get back to thanks coach coach looking at the last few seasons you go from 1-9 3 and 6 to 6 and4 in 2023 you got two guys here who have both had as questions been asked of them about themselves and they've talked about the team how special is it for you going into a fourth year now to have a group that seems to be so much about the group and as you look for more success year in 2024 yeah so that that's that's the ultimate goal to uh to have a selfless group of individuals at this age group to um so uh I I mean last year we had a lot of individually good guys but this year we are more team orientated so uh that that's one of my goals I want my guys to to to play together as a team as one unit and that's what that that's that's pretty much where that comes from well I can certainly say coach you were that kind of player as a player you were gritty you couldn't be denied and I see your team reflecting the kind of man that you are so we wish you well on a great season and let's give the win on the dragons a round of applause all right thank you we now welcome to the PO Podium the Winona High School flag football team and I must say they are a a Podium of winners it may be more championships and winnings between these people sitting here across all sports than any group we've had up here we got head coach Ivan Lane who you may have known from his basketball prowess but now he's getting it done uh on the flag football field as well so coach I won't steal you Joy tell them about your last season and introduce these two critical players who helped you get there uh to my left we have Michaela Williams um known as to and we have uh she she played multiple positions uh she actually one had a concussion the last play of the regulation uh Samarian Franklin to my right that's my quarterback of the last three years uh she's 54 and four as a starting quarterback and uh and I'm just glad to have him on my team absolutely you are a championship team I might add so tell us about your goals for this year coach I mean you know once you once you get to the top you know folks expect you to stay there well our goals don't change our goals is to be undefeated so that's the that's the key thing if you're undefeated everything else take care s but um we we also try to make sure our kids uh have opportunity to go to college since they're doing this now and we do have uh kids that have had the opportunity to play Flash football on the next level from the things that uh they have done um and we just want to bring up uh shine a brighter light on flag football in the state of Alabama and Coach I appreciate you for that because you know I mean again you're a basketball head coach by by Nature I guess by by most of your experience and people kind of think that we look at the ladies a little different but you are advocated and have advocated just as strongly for your young women as you always have for basketball and I commend you for that Keith Mims Keith Mims w610 all football Summit media my question is for Michaela Michaela you you just absolutely have a personality that everybody seems to be drawn to uh has that always been the way and kind of talk about some of your goals uh for this coming season um yeah my goals are to be more versatile and to be a big leader and a role model for younger kids and to stay motivated I want to motivate others to do what they want to doing follow the dreams well every time I see you I think about you as the Michael Jordan of flag football uh how do you like that title I love it it's it's it feel good to you know have that feeling to know that people you know leaking me like that you feel good coach uh let me ask you this uh coaching um flag football and you also coach a women's professional team as well uh talk about the differences between High School uh football and professional women's football if you will U not really much different man because uh football is still kind of freshing so many uh people adults and kids as well uh athletes are athletes so once you teach them the skill set then you kind of put something together and I think we've had some girls that were uh had speed you know athletic we just got to teach them how to catch teach them routes teach them you know basic football thing and that's no different from the uh taple with the women question for Samaran uh Samaran if you had to pick a player in the NFL quarterback in particular who would be your favorite player um my favorite quot about all time Jaylen Herz from Alabama that's a good one now Keith I got to put you in check man you did not address her right because you know she's the Michael Jordan of basketball you know if you've ever seen her run the point and run the two run the three play defense oh she said you're the co oh excuse me m mentality well you know I'm I'm a joint guy we all has most of us are joint guys but your due respect for the Pinnacle for which you deserve cuz you all are outstanding athletes and you are an outstanding coach who's next out there Ray coach um if I told you your quarterback was the best in the state would you disagree with me not at all how she get to be that good she just she blessed man she she she's a blessed uh young lady athletically but uh her IQ and how fast you catch on being able to make the right decision at the right time it's just like I'm just glad she on my team man okay um the quarterback we call you li Sam on the circuit and I know y'all don't know the stats but she she threw uh like like 48 touchdowns I know I know I know I know yeah how good you going to be better than you were last year you was last year definitely what make you so good because you can you will you call yourself consider yourself a dual threat quarterback yes most it's just the work that I put in cuz I love what I do so anything I want to do or I do I put my 110% in every time on and off okay do you ever get tired of coming out the game Miss William do you ever get tired no I didn't think so I love playing playing sports just all types of sports so thank we we're so honored to have these young ladies here you know I can I can testify that you know since let's move and let's do a commercial for Les's move Sports in the Birmingham city schools these young ladies play Les's move in Samari what third grade you were winning championships over me when I was trying to coach at Brown Elementary so she's been a winner and I'm sure Coach Lane just like she said she has that heart to go for it and she puts her best in it and she's always made everybody around her even better so kudos to Coach Lane oh we got some more questions let's go back go ahead all right we we've been talking a bit all day about growing this game flag football and everything coach to start this part with you you express to these players I think did you say 54 and four is her record over here starting three years yeah 17 and old last year man can you put into perspective what the path they're blazing for other people to come in and the Legacy they're leaving here man I'm trying to but to be a part of it is kind of difficult you know because we in the moment and I don't I don't know that they quite understand what's going on that they're you know they're really blazing the path for those come behind them um and you know if you look at some young ladies in the past didn't get this opportunity it's it's it's right upon them so you know we just try to represent for Birmingham city man and for both of you going off of that no you're in the moment what has it meant to to play this game and as you start to maybe look back a little bit reflect on kind of what this is meant playing this and being a part of this here at Winona it meant not it meant a lot to me because we made history I never made you know had a chance to do that and I just feel good about it you know make me feel good about myself well for me it's kind of different because me and Coach Lane we started together like 3 years ago so we always had a goal what we wanted to do we actually made an increase cuz it wasn't a state championship it was just a championship regular but after 2 years and he stayed on me about everything then that third year it was just over we took over and we went stopping he just kept us on the right track practicing hard every day every time we was on the field ready he had to come tell us we just knew what mindset what we wanted to do cuz he had already put it in us that we was stars in the making and making history so we got the best coach so he kept us motivated more definitely more definitely BCS Excellence thank you the Winona dragons flag football team