Published: August 31, 2007 10:50 am            

O’Neal steps into leadership role

The Weatherford Kangaroos lost an enormous number of seniors to graduation in 2006, which meant many of the juniors from a year ago would be asked to step up and fill the voids.

Linebacker Stuart O’Neal was one of those juniors, who watched and learned as much as he could from the Class of 2006. Now, he has the opportunity to return the favor as a senior leader on the 2007 version of the Roos defense.

“Sometimes, some guys kind of want to slack off or give up because they’re tired, it’s hot and everybody is thirsty, things like that,” O’Neal said. “You’ve got to kind of pick them up and fill that leadership role and so far, me and the other seniors have been doing a pretty good job of that, I think.

“I think it’s turned around a little bit from what it has been sometimes in the past, so it’s going really good and I think some of the underclassmen are learning the ropes and trying to play their roles.”

Not only has O’Neal taken on more responsibility in his final season in Weatherford, he has also had to deal with a scheme change. Due to coaching changes, the Roos moved out of the 3-4 and into the 4-2-5 defense.

“It’s gone really well,” O’Neal said of the transition. “Coach [Reid] Waller and the other defensive coaches are doing a really good job of summing things up to an understandable point, making it complicated, but at the same time, making it easy enough to know your job and know your role and be there at the right time.

“These weeks have gone really well. For the most part, everybody is healthy and it’s looking really good. We’re ready to go.”

Another obstacle O’Neal has had to overcome heading into his senior season is injury. He suffered a shoulder injury last season, which never completely healed and continued to give him problems into the spring football season.

Now, after an entire summer of workouts and rehab, with a little help from a shoulder brace, O’Neal is prepared for to make the long trek through the season.

“I have had to brace my arm up,” he said. “During practices, I try to get my reps in, but at the same time, I don’t go in there looking for the big hit. I try to hold off during practices and scrimmages and stuff like that.

“I’ve been optimistic, not real sure what was going to happen. So far, everything is going really good. I’m really healthy and everything feels really good. It’s looking like I’m ready to go.”

O’Neal is anxious to start the season and has the experience from years past to anticipate what the first game under the lights at Kangaroo Stadium will be like. However, he said it is hard to describe that moment, which makes it difficult for him to prep the younger, inexperienced players.

“You’re kind of limited on words on that,” he said. “You can tell them about the crowd, the excitement and the adrenaline, but it’s kind of unexplainable. You kind of have to be there yourself and I think after that first game, they’ll understand it a whole lot better.”

Despite the changes in coaches and personnel, it is easy to see Weatherford is not lacking in confidence on the defensive side of the football.

“I don’t know, I think it could be a mixture of both [confidence and having a swagger],” O’Neal said. “I think these coaches are trying to show us that we have talent and we can hang with anybody on the field. I think that’s spreading out and everybody is realizing that now.

“At the same time, I think some of the seniors are walking around, and we know we can hang with anybody, so I guess just the coaches giving us that reassurance has really helped us out a lot.”

The Roos defense will be put to the test for the first time in the 2007 season when the Abilene Cooper Cougars come to Kangaroo Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

        

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