It won't count in the standings nor does it count as a win or a loss, but J.Z. George's scrimmage at Ethel High School Friday is big in many ways.
"It gives us a chance to see where we are after just a couple of weeks, and we also get to look at several kids who have caught our eye so far," said J.Z. George head coach Rusty Smith. "We have the obvious guys who we expect to stand out, but we have noticed a few, one being sophomore Aaron White, who we want to see in live action."
The scrimmage will start at 7 p.m. Smith said both teams will run 15 plays each on offense and defense, plus 10 plays will be run in goal-line situations. They will also work on kickoff and punting situations.
"I thought it was going to be two 20-minute quarters, but this may be better because we can run some plays with our offense, and then see what our defense can do against their offense," the first-year coach said.
J.Z. George is coming off a 3-8 campaign in 2019 under former coach Ben Burton. Smith took over in early May after spending the past 10 years at Charleston High School.
Smith doesn't plan on showing much, but he said they are still putting in the offense.
"We have four to six running plays we are running on offense, but we will line up in different formations. It will be helpful to see if we line up correctly, we also have about the same number of pass plays from the various formations," he said.
Smith said that Jacob Johnson continues to work at running back, but he's now joined in the backfield by Wil'tavious Williams, who has been moved off the offensive line. Williams will be in the backfield and also play middle linebacker.
"Jacob is a hard-nosed runner, and Wil is such a tremendous athlete. We've got to get the ball into their hands as much as possible," he added.
He said that junior safety D'Anthony McGlothan has been very impressive on defense.
J.Z. George opens its 2020 season on Sept. 4 at Coldwater High School.
