The Tyrone Shorter era officially began for Louisville in April with the start of spring football practice. While Shorter's digs at Louisville might be new, coaching the sport isn’t, as Shorter spent the last 20 seasons at Noxubee County, nine of which as head coach.
Rain scrapped last Saturday’s spring jamboree at Starkville, but Louisville was set to welcome Lanier Wednesday for a rescheduled scrimmage. Shorter, who was hired in January, said his players are chomping at the bit to play in their first organized contest since their Dec. 1 MHSAA Class 4A State Championship win against Poplarville.
“When we put out that we were canceling the game, they were ready to play,” Shorter said. “They kept calling and texting and asking when we were going to play or if we were going to make it up. They were ready to go. I’m excited to see them play.”
Louisville went 15-1 last season en route to winning the school's ninth state football championship. December’s title win also concluded an illustrious career by former Wildcats coach M.C. Miller, who retired at the end of the season.
Shorter accumulated an 89-28 record and four MHSAA Class 4A titles at Noxubee County. He intends to duplicate that success at Louisville and said his reception this spring has been well-received.
“It’s gone really well,” Shorter said. “I thought coming in it would have been a whole lot different, but it wasn’t. We came in and the kids started buying into everything that we’ve asked them to do. It wasn’t a hard transition at all. Most of these kids know who I am. They know of me. But I just brought the same style of coaching here that they’re used to. These kids are winners, so it wasn’t hard for them to buy into what we want them to do. They know how to win, they’re winners, and they work hard.”
The Wildcats return a number of starters from a balanced offense last year that averaged 144 yards passing and 190 yards receiving and 37 points per game.
Six are expected to return, including a trio of talented receivers in Drea Shumaker, David Haynes and Niselbyion Kirk.
Last year, Shumaker filled in at quarterback for much of the regular season while Deonte Yarbrough recovered from an ankle injury. He emerged as a consistent pair of hands when Yarbrough returned. Haynes tallied a team second-best 402 yards and five touchdowns, while Kirk accumulated 399 yards and five touchdowns on 30 receptions. Kirk’s fourth-quarter touchdown reception against Poplarville helped seal Louisville's title win.
Kristian Hopkins and Jy’Kevious Hibbler are in line to lead the Wildcats’ defensive unit. Hopkins, a linebacker, posted a team-high 146 tackles (90 assists and 56 solo) and averaged 9.1 tackles per game as a junior. He recovered three fumbles. Hibbler, a defensive end, recorded a team-best 15 sacks with 24 quarterback hurries.
As spring practices wrap up this week, Shorter and the Wildcats will look to roll the momentum over into summer. He said he’s looking forward to seeing his new players take the field against a real opponent, and evaluating their performances over film sessions.
“I know this program, and I’m familiar with this program,” Shorter said. “I’ve been telling everybody that it’s not about me, it’s about this program. There’s a lot of tradition with this program, and I’m excited to be here and get started with a new era… We’re just ready to go. We’re getting ready to line up our summer practices and our camps and things, and the kids are ready to go. We’re ready to make another run at it.”
Shorter will face his former team on Aug. 23 when Louisville visits Noxubee in the season-opener.
