With 15 seniors, there won’t be many unfamiliar faces on the field for Plant City on Friday nights this fall.
However, the sideline will be a different story entirely.
This fall, the Raiders welcome five new assistant coaches under Wayne Ward, who enters his fourth year as head coach.
The biggest changes are with the two coordinator positions. Charles Lindsey has taken over as offensive coordinator, and Greg Meyer has made the switch from defensive line to defensive coordinator while reprising his roles as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator for the team.
“The new coaches we brought in, first and foremost, are teachers,” Ward said. “They know how to teach their specific position. That makes my job a whole lot easier. I know that I don’t have to always be around, and when I walk away, I know the job is going to get done.”
Ward also credited the new staffs strong work ethic.
“They’re willing to put in those extra hours to be successful and win,” he said. “They’ll do whatever it takes to help us win games, district titles and, hopefully, at some point, state championships.”
NEW OFFENSE
Lindsey brings a fast-paced system to Plant City, after coaching in the college ranks for the past five years.
Before coming to Plant City in February, Lindsey was an assistant at Becker College, a Division III school in Massachusetts. There, he learned an up-tempo system from head coach Mike Lichten, who served on Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly’s staff, when he was at the University of New Hampshire.
“The offense we’ll run is very Oregon-esque,” Lindsey said. “We’ll have multiple personnel packages that will spread the ball around.”
Coaching is in Lindsey’s bloodline. His uncle is Rick Kravitz, the head coach at Gibbs High School, in Pinellas County, and former defensive coordinator at the University of South Florida and Youngstown State.
“That’s why I got into coaching,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey is a native of Tampa Bay and played at East Lake High School, before suffering a career-ending ankle injury.
He attended South Florida, where he went from an equipment manager for the football team to an undergraduate assistant. He worked in the high school ranks at Middleton and Jesuit, before coaching at a Division II program in North Carolina and then at Becker College.
While he was at Becker, Lindsey recruited Florida, and specifically the Tampa Bay area.
“We got 24 kids out of here my last year I was coaching,” he said.
After deciding to move back to the area, Lindsey began to explore his options and find the right fit.
“Wayne was the guy I trusted the most,” he said of Ward. “I knew I had an opportunity to come here with special athletes and make something happen.”
Ward feels the new offensive system will be beneficial to his personnel, with the ability to put the ball in the hands of playmakers.
“With so many athletes, sometimes, you don’t have enough football to go around, but if you get enough snaps and opportunities, you can pass the ball around a little bit,” Ward said of the new system. “I’m excited about the offense. It’s one thing to go against yourself every day, but I’m ready to see how we stack up against other teams in Hillsborough County.”
Plant City should be strong up front with a big offensive line that will be coached by John Thompson, one of the new assistants.
Ward pointed out that no matter how fast-paced the new offense is, fundamentals still will be key, including taking care of the football and limiting penalties.
“We turned the ball over too many times last year,” Ward said. “We didn’t deserve some of those close games by turning the ball over multiple times.”
NEW INTENSITY
Meyer takes over the defense after serving as the defensive line coach in 2012, his first season with the Raiders.
He will have three of the new assistants on his defensive staff, including defensive backs coach Byron Jones, linebackers coach Patrick Browning and defensive line coach Patrick Horn.
“All these guys that we have are high-energy guys and proven teachers,” Meyer said. “They’re all positive role models for our kids and we really feel like we hit the jackpot when it comes to this defensive staff.”
Jones is entering his first season as a coach but brings an impressive résumé from his playing days, where he was a standout at Texas A&M before stints in the NFL and the Arena Football League.
Browning was Meyer’s best friend growing up and won a national championship with the University of Florida in 1996. He comes to PCHS after coaching at Fargo North High School, in Fargo, N.D.
“He brings a high level of playing experience and high standards,” Meyer said of Browning. “We were fortunate enough to get him home and on the faculty here.”
Horn will take over Meyer’s previous role as defensive line coach after coming to PCHS from Freedom High School.
“He does a great job running drills and getting the guys psyched up,” Meyer said. “With those three guys, it allows me to truly coordinate and also help coach Ward with the day-to-day.”
The Raiders will run the same 4-2-5 base scheme they did last year, but Meyer said they will play more zone packages while still blitzing often.
“The biggest improvement is that we have simplified things to allow our kids to play fast,” he said. “Sometimes, you can over-coach and slow your kids down by asking them to do too much.”
Contact Matt Mauney at mmauney@plantcityobserver.com.