Spring Football With The Rogers Mounties | Varsity Vibe

The Rogers Mounties have had a few months to move on from the way the 2025 season ended, and are now excited about what the 2026 season can bring. As head coach Chad Harbison explains to Alyssa Orange, it'll be different and new, but they've got some good talent to lean on. 

Transcript

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And thank you always for being with us. We're still going to talk some high school spring practice that's either started or just getting started for a lot of teams around our area and around the state. And we got to sit down with head coach of the Bentonville Wolverine. Welcome into VarsityVibe. I'm your host, Alyssa Orange. As always, thank you so much for joining us. And we're going to continue to talk about spring practice because it's either starting or just getting started for a lot of teams around our area and around the state. I spent some time with Bentonville West head coach Brian Pratt. If you missed that conversation, I encourage you to go listen to it. And now we're going to head to Rogers and sit down with head coach Chad Harbison. You know, they've had a few months now to process and move on from that heartbreaking win against Bryant and now focus on what this 2026 football team is going to look like. They lost pieces like Jeff Regan and Braxton Lindsay, but it's not necessarily about replacing those guys because you quite frankly can't do that. But what the talent they have on the roster and coming in that they can now use to build this brand new team. He's excited about the possibility of the future and the pieces that they have in place. And I enjoyed picking his brain about what Rogers football is going to look like in 2026. So enjoy my conversation with head coach Chad Harbison. You got a lot of holes to fill. You got a lot of holes. You gave yourself some time, I'm sure. Yeah. And then you kind of really just start seeing what next year was like. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:09

Yeah. And and and the cool thing is we've got we sort of got a lot of talented players. You know, they they may have got overshadowed a little bit last year by some of the because we had some we had some exceptional guys on our team last year, and uh and and so you know we all can't replace some of those guys, but still we still got really good high school football players and and uh no no. I just think start with our offensive line, we're back there, you know, those guys that's that's kind of suited to the strength of our team, you know, and and and if that's the case, I think that gives you the opportunity, gives you a chance. So we we feel good about those guys, and then we and obviously graduate quarterback, two-year starter quarterback, three-time all-state kid, and one probably one of the best players ever play here, and uh uh so we we're we're in the process of figuring that's what spring football's all about right now is get ready to crank it up, see who's who's gonna take over that place, that spot. And uh we didn't really play the running back much last year because we snapped Jeff.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:14

So we're different, you know. But but we got a couple guys that are really playing well there. They look good. Uh so feel good about that. So well, I mean, there's there's some brights, a lot of bright spots. We also pe you know, people don't really think about a lot, but defensive line boss, we had we lost all of our guys at defensive line. And they were very, really, really good, very active, very good uh players. But there again, we've had kids that have just been sitting there waiting at that that had great winners and you know they feel good about them, you know. So I know we we're gonna be different. That's all I can say, really, uh uh what that looks like right now. I don't we I have an idea, but we've got obviously like you said, a lot of holes to feel.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Yeah. I remember when Jeff became a junior, and we've talked about this, yeah, that he went from that utility Swiss Army knife to the quarterback position, and you kind of made that shift for for him a little bit. Um but but now what when you look at the options that you have with spring football, are these guys that you're maybe gonna have to ask someone else to see if they want to sl s shift like Jeff did, or do you say, hey, I think we've got some guys who are quarterback?

SPEAKER_04 5:25

I mean we're we're uh you know, Jagger Blopper was a defensive new camera as a softboard last year at safety. And he's he's in the you know, he's him and and an and uh another guy are in the process of playing the quarterback spot. Yeah. So yeah, he plays safety. He played quarterback for us a little bit on Mondays last year just to get him some reps. He was he would have been our backup last year had we dated the guy. Uh but he'll he'll come over and and battle for that spot. Plus, he's still playing safety. Yeah, you know, and that's the thing I think the biggest difference for us right now. We're probably we're looking at a lot more guys doing more to fill some of these holes because we got some talented guys probably uh but we're probably a little bit young, to be honest with you. I mean, we're our senior class is not great, not a large junior class. We got a lot of kids, but we got a lot of good young kids in our program. So we're just gonna kinda try to rely on some guys to get the older guys to kind of step in and do a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 6:32

Yeah, yeah. No, when you have a quarterback battle like that, just overall in general, what are you looking for specifically throughout the spring to see who's the right fit?

SPEAKER_04 6:42

I I I think a lot of it's just the intangibles of the who's our team gonna follow. Yeah, who do they trust? You know, it's trying to figure out that, and then also it just upgrades in production. I mean, who who's who's moving the chains, who's getting the ball in the end zone, who's who's commanding the offense the best, you know, that sort of stuff. So we got a couple guys right now that are really good. They're both playing, they're both doing a great job, and it it both have respect to their teammates. So I mean it's gonna be interesting throughout spring to see how that plays out. And I don't know if we'll know through spring, to be honest with you. Summer's gonna be a big part of our our process as well.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Yeah, relying on those team camps and the seven on sevens to kind of see where that chemistry is built.

SPEAKER_04 7:28

Yeah, because we're we're talking about all new receivers too. Yeah. I mean, everybody, all of our school kids, except for J uh Xander Burke. Xander Burke played a lot for us the last two years as a sophomore and a junior, and we have Xander back, but he's the only guy really that's coming back with a you know, with a lot of playing experience on the offense.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Yeah, I think we've made it about five minutes into this conversation without talking about Braxton and Lindsay, which is impressive.

SPEAKER_04 7:53

Yeah, and I and listen, I I was just sitting at lunch talking to some people and and you know, I keep he's in he's in actually he's in town right now, but I I uh his mom sending me podcast and that dude is he's stepped on campus of BYU at 17 years old and has made a huge impact out there and they're gonna have a hard time not playing. Yeah. As a true freshman. Yeah. And so super proud of it.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Yeah, yeah. And and he's a guy, just from you talk about the tangibles on the football field, but the leadership off the football field. Uh hard to replace a guy like that, but I'm sure at the same time, you've got a linebacker position and a and a wide receiver position to try to see if you can get someone to fill.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

Yeah, that's what he's it well there again. He's none of those guys, he's a he's probably a maybe a once-in-a-lifetime talent for I mean, not just for us for a lot of coaches, yeah, you know, for a lot of programs. He's that good. Yeah. And he I I expect him to play on Sunday someday. Sure. He's that kind of kid, and it's kind of it. I'm glad he was here. Yeah. And but he also left a cool legacy, and he's still he still stays connected with our kids. He still gets neck or a coast. So it's kinda neat to have him. Every time he comes in town, he shows up. Yeah, you know. And uh I think it's kind of neat that and people see what he's doing at the next level, just in the little dick's been there.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:18

So I know it's it I don't know. I'll make you say replace. Sure. No, I know that's a really bad word. Yeah, you just find some other guys that can get it done. Sure. And they're not they're not gonna be him. Yeah. And it's we can't try to make them be him. Yeah. Let them be who they are. We won games before him and we'll win the games after, you know. Uh we'll just have to do it.

unknown 9:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:40

He was dominant, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Yeah. And it's well, you know, so maybe big picture.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

What Braxton was able to do for the program and Jeff, I mean, you know, Titus, these guys, your senior class last year, the the mark that they made, how does that then now translate maybe into the spring? Because now these kids actually kind of say, Hey, we just want to pick up where we like.

SPEAKER_04 10:02

Yeah, and that's the truth. And that's the thing about you want you want to see our our group this year. We we really, really bad taste in our mouth how things ended last year. And y you know, and it's hard to get there. You know, the our this program in particular, it's been to that level once that I can remember. And we were knocking on the door last year of having an opportunity to play for a championship, and then it it it didn't work out. So to me, that's that's the competitor spirit, and that's the fire that that should burn in a coach and in our kids. That's like, hey, because everybody's gonna say you lost all these people, and there's no way you could be as good as you were a year ago. That's that's just that's gonna be the truth. That's what's gonna be that's that's how people are gonna look at us, and and that's okay, but it'll be different, but there's no reason why we can't have success again and get back.

SPEAKER_03 10:57

Yeah, one of the conversations we've had before prior to today is uh the talent you do have on those lower levels and setting um that standard that junior high, JV, freshman, all those guys, you know, there is talent there and it's success, and there's they're in the system, right? And so that's what you're leaning on is hey, we get it, but we got a lot of really good craps coming up too.

SPEAKER_04 11:20

Yeah, we do. And we've you know, we our our freshman group coming in, it's one of the best we've ever had. You know, so I think you know, that'll help us in high school this year, obviously, but I mean just but the last two years in a row we won we'd won a junior high conference or for whatever, but that's where it's I mean, I know high school's different, it always is, but our kids have tasted success, they know what it takes. They and like you said, they our system and starting our sixth year now. There's not a kid in our program that hasn't played, that's played in any other system. So that helps us a lot, that continuity, that consistency that they have. And so and our street, like guys I've met's mentioned a bunch of times our strength and addition is so much we're so much further ahead than we were six years ago. Simon, it's it's it's crazy. Look at the numbers. So I don't know, it's things are going the right way. You know, just gotta keep it.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

Entering the spring, yeah. Entering the spring. So, you know, last year you really had a good idea of what you had, right? And talked about that. But is there's an element of maybe excitement or just like rejuvenation about like, hey, let's I'm real excited to see exactly what we are.

SPEAKER_04 12:28

Yes, yeah, you feel that? I do feel that. Yes. Can't wait. Tomorrow morning is our first practice. Yeah. So we we get up tomorrow and and break the pads on for the first time and and we'll we'll we'll go a little live, see where we're at, you know? So and I I we had a kind of a walk through pad, I'm not walk through practice this morning early to to kind of get them ready for tomorrow. And you can just kind of feel the energy and the excitement with our kid. And that and that that makes you feel really good as a coach. They're they're ready to be out there and ready to get going.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

Yeah. So yeah, when you're looking at it, um by the time spring is over, what are just some things that maybe your boxes that you kind of want to check heading into the summer?

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Well, I think I I've already mentioned quarterback. You know, I think we'll go into summer, still have a couple of guys that are that are gonna like we go to 707 and we'll probably let a couple guys throw. Uh I think also some of the things that that's different maybe for us than others is we got four or five kids that we think when they get back out of baseball are gonna be an impact or be have impacts on our team, yeah, positive impacts. Yeah. So we're gonna go through spring with without those guys. So the cool thing would be can we can we create depth? Can we find guys through spring practice that we we can trust to play an in-the-slot receiver, for example, or our outside receiver? We got we got find some of those guys, uh and then I think a lot of our question marks are really gonna be in the defensive line and then the magging of our defense. If we move Jagger off to safety, who's gonna fill Jagger spot? We graduated the other safety. Who's gonna play those two positions? Uh we got you know, we got four guys battling that corner right now. I mean, there's a lot of those question marks that we will that that spring ball will help us answer.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Yeah, yeah. And I want to ask you too, because a lot of talk has also been, and we mentioned it this summer in team camps and seven on sevens.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

How have you seen that be really impactful come August? What's the big what's the biggest I think thing there?

SPEAKER_04 14:41

I think for us it it in in my career, if we've had great summers, like we were very competitive in the summer, we were we had good seasons to follow that. We struggled like it's just kind of part of it. But yeah, I think the competitive practice piece of all that we do in the summer, it it really gives you an opportunity to that's a whole lot better to go do the team camps and seven on sevens against other people and kind of see where your kids stack up versus just seeing each other every day. Yeah, you know, so I think it's a big deal and I think I think we learn a lot too when we we get to to a team camp and we and we try to go to a couple places where we don't have to play the guys we're gonna play in the fall. Uh you know, a couple of those things this summer just to see where we stack up. So you know that's all good. I mean I think that's just where we can we can do a lot better by weight.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Well, football's never really over around here. I'm sure you've been busy even since the end of December.

SPEAKER_04 15:38

Yeah. It's it's just different than it used to be. It really is. I mean, we we don't slow down. We don't I mean we we did and everybody else does the same thing. It's not just uh, I mean everybody's working hard. Everybody's everybody's lifting weights, everybody's trying to get quicker and faster and stronger, and and and and everybody's trying to get better just with the IQ of the game and so I mean it's it it doesn't slow down. Yeah, you know and I I I commend our kids for doing but I mean we bring our guys in here early every day and they come in early and then they come back over after school left. I mean it's it's demanding. It is. And it takes for high school kids, it's it's different than it was 20 years ago. It's a lot more commitment and uh and these kids and they they do a great job. I just can't say enough good things about that. You should be able to do it. So they gotta they gotta like it. You know, they gotta love it. Hopefully they do. I mean, that's part of the part of our culture, you know.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Well, I know you do too. I know you like stepping on that football field coaching. We do that, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:46

Yeah, we wouldn't be here if we didn't. Sure. So uh it's always exciting. So um it's just every year's different. Yeah. Every year it doesn't. And sometimes you're maybe three, four games in before you go, okay, this is kind of who we are. It takes a minute.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

So yeah. We'll enjoy the spring. I will. I hope you answer some questions. I hope we will. Yeah, I'm sure you will. So that'll be fun.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

Once again, thank you so much for joining us on our episodes of Var City Vibe. I love that you join in on these conversations because I love having conversations with these coaches and these players and getting to know them and picking their brains and you know, figuring out what spring football is gonna look like because at the end of the day, I know we're all still talking about football, even though it's not necessarily football season. If you've missed any of our other conversations, I encourage you to go watch those or listen to those on our YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts. I also always encourage you to follow us on our social media platforms that is Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook. And of course, you can go and find some of our great content from baseball and softball, soccer, all the sports right now in the spring that are getting closer and closer to that postseason. And while you're at it, sign up for our newsletter at varsityvibearkansal.com. That comes to your inbox twice a week. You get those on Tuesdays and Fridays. Keeps you know in what's going on with high school athletics around the state. Once again, I'm Melissa Orange. Thank you so much for joining us, and I'll see you next time.

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