Hilton Head Prep linemen ready to put their all into this season

Trey Speer is elated about his final season as a Dolphin. The Hilton Head Prep School lineman can’t wait to sink his teeth into their SCISA schedule.

With one season left, he has his heart and mind set on making the most of every play.

“This season I’m going to try my best at everything,” Speer said.

Lineman Davis Puckey is eager to get the pads popping as well. Puckey was sidelined all of last season after tearing his ACL in the first game.

“We were playing against Orangeburg Prep,” Puckey said. “I went through six months of physical therapy. I’m not afraid to get back out there. I’ve had injuries that were worse than that.”

The Dolphins have one of the smallest teams in the state, but that’s never been an issue. If you ask Puckey, the key to success is pumping iron.

“Were trying to get as many guys out here as we can,” Puckey said. “Right now, we have about 15-20 a day. We’ve been doing pretty well. We have a lot of freshmen, but we only have four seniors, so we have to step up and look out for the younger guys. If you’re going to play both ways, you have to hit the weight room all summer long.”

Head Coach Dave Adams has been encouraging his young kids all summer as they prepare to face off against more experienced players.

“Our starting center is a ninth-grader, as well as one of our wide receivers,” Adams said. “There are other young guys that will get considerable playing time. They’ve developed great over the summer. Sometimes the hardest thing is encouraging them when they’re playing with 17- and 18-year-old men at the varsity level.”

Adams praised his players for their fall camp. Taking part in different competitions over the summer gave his guys a good feel for what’s to come.

“We had about five 7-on-7s against other schools, and they went well,” Adams said. “That gave us some good experience. You jump into those things to gain some experience and to see what the kids can do. Sometimes they’re moving around to different positions, but it’s fun to do and it gives them something to look forward to.”

And while numbers might be an issue, Puckey likes the size of the linemen but knows they need to work out a few kinks before their home opener against Orangeburg Prep this Friday. Defensively, Speer likes what he sees and believes they will turn heads this season.

“We’ve got to get the motion down,” Puckey said. “Once we get the motion down, we’ll do well. The offensive line is looking good. We’re averaging over 210 pounds, so that’s always good.”

“We’ve been hitting the holes that we need to and covering the places where we need to be,” Speer said. “It looks like we’re going to have a strong defense this year, stronger than what other people think.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Hilton Head Prep linemen ready to put their all into this season."