By Robbie Tinsley
Courtesy The Journal

rtinsley@upstatetoday.com

CENTRAL — Randy Robinson makes a point of knowing what he’s got in the pipeline.

John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com
Receiver Carter Groomes will be one of the top losses to graduation for Daniel heading into the 2016 season after leading the team in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this year.

So when the Daniel High School football coach sees the Edwards Middle School football team going undefeated and the Lions’ junior varsity team winning its region, he has good reason to be optimistic that his varsity team’s 4-7 record was an aberration.

“Clearly, we’ve got more talent coming,” he said.

After losing only four regular-season games in the previous four seasons, the Lions stumbled out of the blocks and never truly got going in 2015. Even with an inexperienced team, an 0-3 mark in nonregion play, an 0-3 record against fellow Western 3A powers Belton-Honea Path, Seneca and Wren and a first-round playoff exit wasn’t what Daniel and Robinson had for this season. It was the program’s first losing season since 2006.

But with 10 starters from the team’s playoff loss at South Pointe either sophomores (eight) or freshmen (two), the Lions will have some young talent to draw upon next year. And to make matters better for Robinson, they’re hungry to improve.

“I actually had to tell a few of them to take some time to decompress,” he said. “Some of them told me on the field at South Pointe that they wanted to get in the weight room Monday. I told them there would be plenty of time for that; we can get back at it after Thanksgiving.

“That’s a plus as a coach when you’ve got guys who are that hungry and are ready to go to work.”

He hopes that the young core’s attitude will continue into spring practice and summer workouts.

Meanwhile, Robinson and his staff will go to work trying to fix his two biggest area of concerns — the team’s defensive scheme and work in the weight room.

“Defensively, we have to sit down and look at everything we did schematically,” he said. “It wasn’t good enough, so we’re going to make some changes and adjust some things there.

“Physically, we weren’t there this year, and with some talent coming up, we want to make sure we get these kids as strong as we can get them.”

Improving those two areas as well as receiving an influx of speed from the upcoming Lions will be a great help to a Daniel team that’s making the bump up to 4A football in 2016. Daniel’s new region will have a familiar look — Western 3A mates Belton-Honea Path, Pickens and Wren are also making the jump to join a five-team region which includes Greenville — but Robinson knows the odds will be stacked against his team.

“It’s a big step up — we’ll be the smallest 4A team in the state, numerically,” he said. “We’ll definitely be beating the drum (as motivation) that we’re the underdogs.”

The shortened region schedule allowed Robinson to get back to his roots for the Lions’ season opener in the fall — Daniel will host Berkeley — Robinson’s previous stop as an assistant coach — in Week 0.