There’s no telling where Jody McCorkle might be on the field for Winston Academy this upcoming season.
But one thing is for sure, he’s going to be out there somewhere, making him the latest addition to the Winston County Journal’s Eleven To Watch for the upcoming football season.
Already selected for the honor are Shia Moore of Nanih Waiya, Kristian Hopkins of Louisville, and Raheem Hathorn of Noxapater.
McCorkle will be an all-purpose player for the Patriots this season under second-year coach Pat Byrd. On offense, McCorkle could be at fullback, H-back or split out at a wide receiver. On defense, McCorkle could be a linebacker or put his hand down on the ground as a defensive end. On special teams, look for McCorkle booming punts for the Patriots.
“Jody is going to play a lot of positions for us,” Byrd said. “Coach (Tony) Stanford is an I-formation guy so Jody will be our fullback and H-back on offense. He has good hands and can catch the ball and is a good blocker. On defense, he can play in space as a linebacker but will also put his hand down on the ground for us. He has a real nose for the football. And he is also our punter. That’s probably his best asset. He has a lot of pop punting the ball and I think he has a future there.”
Byrd believes McCorkle has a better than average chance to play college football. McCorkle stands at 6-foot-2 and weighs 185 pounds. He has already made a 25 on the ACT and said he wants to get his score in the 30 range this year.
“He is a really good student,” Byrd said. “He has a really high ACT score and that just makes him more attractive to some college programs. I think he will have that opportunity to play. People don’t realize it but if a kid wants to play and has some ability and if they don’t mind going away from home, there are lots of places they can play. With Jody, I don’t think he will mind traveling so that’s not a problem.”
Byrd said that McCorkle has some technical work to do with his punting but the power is there as he averaged 39 yards a punt. He also likes McCorkle’s big frame.
“I would think that somebody would love to have him as a punter because he has such a big leg,” Byrd said. “And because of the way the game is going now, the H-back and tight end are getting more and more popular. He’s a big-framed kid and could put on 23-30 pounds and still be just as athletic. I would think that H-back would be his best position. And there might be somebody that took him as a two-for-one kind of deal because he can punt.
“As far as punting, he needs somebody to work with him on his drops and we are going to do that soon. It’s just a small thing but makes a big difference. If he can get more consistent with that, his average would jump drastically. You could tell when he did it right because the ball just jumped off his foot.”
As a fullback on offense, Byrd certainly has a vision for McCorkle.
“When we get in the I, he will run the short trap and the dive and belly,” Byrd said. “The fullback will have a lot of chances in this offense and he runs the ball really well inside for a bigger guy. But probably the best thing he does is catch the ball in the open field on that bootleg pass. That’s a big kid in the open field and I think with his ability to catch and run, he presents a big mismatch for a lot of secondary kids. He’s a guy that can hand out some punishment on a defensive back when he gets up the field.”
Byrd said he will move McCorkle around on defense.
“He’s going to be an outside linebacker and may play inside some,” Byrd said. “I think he’s best at linebacker but he’s very dangerous when you can put him down because he’s so quick off the ball and plays with a low pad level. When he’s at outside linebacker, he is good in coverage and has good hand-eye coordination. I think he’s a guy that can disrupt the short-passing game. We are going to move him around and give some trouble to opposing offense.”
Byrd said that kids like McCorkle have made his transition to private school an easy one.
“He is certainly a high-character kid,” Byrd said. “He is what you want. It’s refreshing to come to a situation where you don’t have issues with kids missing practice or working or not coming to school. They want to play and they do what they are supposed to do. It’s not just one or two like that, it’s the entire group. He’s certainly a leader for us on and off the field.”
McCorkle said he hopes to be part of the class that gets Winston back to its winning ways.
“If any year is going to be better, it’s going to be this year,” McCorkle said. “We have seven seniors this year. I think it’s going to take the seniors stepping up and leading this year. We have a bunch of young players that haven’t played that much and we have to lead those guys. I am loving it and trying to make the most out of my senior year. I’ve only got one more left and trying to make the best of it. In 7-on-7, I was playing the slot receiver and I’ve caught a few touchdowns. I had a lot of fun with that position. If they need me I’ll be there. I’ll do whatever they ask me to do.”
McCorkle is also a starter on the baseball team. Last year, he hit .293 for the Patriots, who went 12-10 last year under first-year coach Charlie Smith. McCorkle also had 20 RBIs which was second on the team.
“Jody was going to be one of our top pitchers but he had some arm problems last year,” Smith said. “He has had a good summer for us and hopefully he has gotten his arm strength back and will be able to contribute for us on the mound. He was our starting right fielder and runs really well. He’s probably one of the fastest guys that we have. He had some big hits and big swings for us last year.”
Smith said he had an extremely young team last year and McCorkle had to help provide leadership for the younger kids.
“We were very young last year and Jody and Josh (McGinnis) provided a lot of leadership for our younger guys,” Smith said. “Jody worked really hard lat year and got better and we are very excited to have him on our team. He’s a good football player and a good kid. Hi’s parents expect a lot out of him and they will be every important for Winston Academy in football and baseball.”
