New Watson Chapel coach switches up offense

In recent seasons, Watson Chapel has been known as a run-heavy football team.

New Coach Steven Heard is changing that this season.

“We have two or three solid guys that can actually spin the ball a little bit,” Heard said. “They’re academic, so they can think well. They read the defenses. One surprise I had coming over here, I didn’t think they had that many skill guys, but we can go six or seven deep at the wide receiver that can actually make some plays.”

Heard, who comes to Watson Chapel after spending time on Micheal Williams’ staff at Pine Bluff, is transitioning the Wildcats to a spread offense, leaving behind the single wing they ran under Maurice Moody.

That’s a big transition, but Heard said it has gone well.

“They’re excited to be in a spread, so they really pay attention to it,” Heard said. “They trying to find the ins and outs of it. They have no preconceived notions about what they should do, so they really just listen to what I say and run it the way I want them to run it.”

Malachi Rayford is expected to lead the way at quarterback in this new offense with players such as Taariq Conner and Jaelon Young at receiver.

The offense might be the more immediately noticeable change when Watson Chapel hosts Helena-West Helena Central in its season opener Aug. 30, but it won’t be the only difference.

Heard was Pine Bluff’s defensive coordinator, and he is also changing up the defense from a 3-4 to a 4-2-5. Senior linebacker Brannon Dycus said he enjoys the new system.

“I love it,” Dycus said. “It’s fun. It’s definitely fun. My past coach, he was real gridiron football, real downhill. It was fun, but (Heard has) kind of opened up football. … He’s definitely made it a place to just be able run around with a free head and just hit.”

Heard said he has set out to make football more fun for the Wildcats, since the past few years haven’t been that enjoyable for them. He said being more competitive will go a long way toward that, and that requires the players study the playbook as hard as they work in practice.

He also said playing a style of football the players enjoy can help keep them on campus. Several athletes in recent years have left Watson Chapel to play at places such as Pine Bluff or Mills, a trend Heard hopes to end.

“Something as simple as watermelon or feeding them after practice or having cereal bars or candy or something for them,” Heard said. “Just letting them know that you care about them as a person and not just a player. That is very essential. I don’t think a coach can get by with ‘You gonna do what I say, because you don’t have anywhere else to go.’ Those days are long gone and probably never coming back.”

Heard inherited a program which has one win over the past three seasons, a 2022 non-conference victory at Texarkana. His task is to close the gap between Watson Chapel and the rest of the 5A-Central Conference, which may seem like a gulf given some of the final scores during this stretch.

He said the Wildcats are going to have realistic expectations entering the season, but he believes they can turn things around.

“I’m not going to put a number on it, but I think these guys are capable of really putting the state on notice that Watson Chapel is going to be a competitive program and is going to get back to what they used to be,” Heard said. “They have the skill here. They have the support.”