Smith's progression at QB makes Archer City more dangerous

Landon Smith wasn’t sure he wanted to be Archer City’s quarterback heading into his junior season.

But at the insistence of his coaches, Smith made the move from receiver to quarterback.

“What we basically ended up doing is taking our best all-around athlete and putting the ball in his hands on every down,” Archer City coach Bradan Ritchey said. “It’s never a bad idea to have a good athlete at quarterback. He really wasn’t all about it. He wanted to be a receiver.

“It really turned out to be a good thing.”

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That might be putting it mildly.

Smith didn’t look like it was his first time lining up behind center, completing 66.8% of his passes for 2,081 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 356 yards and four TDs.

“You think about all that he was able to do last year and now we can take all that stuff and add more to it,” Ritchey said. “We’re going to be able to add so much to the playbook because of that experience.”

And it doesn’t hurt that Smith is brimming with confidence.

“He thinks he can do anything on the field, and we’re open to letting him try to do almost anything,” Ritchey said. “That lets us try some different things week in and week out. We can really scheme to a defense’s weaknesses because he is such a confident and good athlete.”

Offense

The Wildcats do have to break in a new cast surrounding Smith. They lost two dynamic receivers in Chance Warren and Kole Stovall. Also gone is leading rusher Laine Hall.

Noah Cornell is set to take over at running back, and the coaching staff is confident his bruising running style with fit the offense.

Seniors Keller Crow and Haegen Deerinwater joins sophomore Gage McCord as the top receiving options. Senior Isaac Dieguez will line up at multiple positions, both in the slot and the backfield.

The strength of the offense is in the trenches where the Wildcats return four starters, including Shooter Canada, Alejandro Rodriguez, Zech Allen and Brody Reneau.

“We’re going to be a different team because of that offensive line,” Ritchey said. “We think they can take over games and impose their will.”

Defense

The Wildcats base out of a 3-3 stack but have the personnel up front to be multiple.

Johnathan Clay is a player the Wildcats believer can create mismatches with plans to line him up at multiple positions on the line and off the ball as a linebacker.

The same group on the offensive line will fortify the defensive front along with end Cort Miller.

Cornell is being counted on heavily at linebacker but will be joined by Luke Deerinwater, and Maddox Mayo among others.

The Wildcats feel great about their depth in the secondary, highlighted by Dieguez who can play corner and safety. Haegen Deerinwater and Crow will be key pieces, while Smith will also play more in the secondary. Cason Booher will challenge for a spot at corner.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Smith's progression at QB makes Archer City more dangerous