Spring Football with the Har-Ber Wildcats | Varsity Vibe

Year one under Head Coach Aaron Danenhauer is in the books for the Har-Ber Wildcats, and now he looks to continue to build on what they've accomplished in the fall during Spring Practices. 

He joins Alyssa Orange to talk about the group of talent returning, including quarterback Bryce Owens, and what they hope to accomplish over the next few weeks. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 1:41

Hope you guys are doing well. Hope you guys got to have a fun weekend. And thank you so much for joining us like you always do. I love it when you join our conversations because I love sitting down with these coaches and just talking to them about their teams and about their athletes because you learn so much about what's going on with these programs that I truly enjoy and I truly enjoy sharing with you. So let's jump into it, continuing to talk some spring football. And now we get to go over to Harbor. And if you're coach Aaron Dana, you're really excited because at the quarterback position, you have Bryce Owens coming back. And when you look at Bryce, he looks like a quarterback. He's got the tangibles, and now it's time to take his game to the next level. That's a big piece of what this Harbor Wildcats team can do in 2026, especially the offense. But of course, there's always some other questions too about just some holes that they have to fill. But just an exciting time for Harbor and what Coach Dannenauer is building over there for the Wildcats. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with Head to Spring Football, right around the corner, getting started for you as you take away what you learned your first season at Harbor, and then now here into a spring practice. What are some of the biggest things that you'd like to accomplish when it's all said and done?

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Well, you know, I think it's a good question. I think after last year, I really feel like we changed kind of the culture back here at Harbor where you know we're gonna compete, we're gonna do things the right way. Uh kids love playing football again. Um, but now the standards changed, you know, the expectations are different, and the kids know that, and that's what they want. And you know, I'm hoping that spring ball is just you see a lot of dudes just flying around hungry, competing. Um, we got a lot of guys returning, so it's it ought to be really interesting. It's exciting to see. We have a really good crop of young kids coming up to support us as well. Uh, our sophomore class is is a very talented group. They won the conference as a freshmen last year, and so um uh just this exciting time. So we're just flying around, you know, loving football and getting after it.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

Yeah. No, I love that you brought up the experience, and so let's start there. When you look around just the 7A in general, I think that Bryce Owens might be one of the only returning quarterbacks uh in in the league, and and he's got that experience. I mean, where can Bryce take and elevate his game that starts with spring football?

SPEAKER_02 3:57

I think it's like leadership stuff. You know, it's just everywhere. His talent is there, his arm strength is there, his ability to run the football is there. Um, I think just the way he demands a huddle, the way he shows these younger guys as they're gonna continue to come up um and lead them even in practice of how he does things. And he's he's good about that. Um, I think he's come a long ways. Uh, and I think I really expect him to have a heck of a year for us. Um, like you said, he really is, I think the might be the only returning starter in the 7-8 West. Um and so that's that's a pretty good deal because that's a big deal, really, when it comes to your quarterback coming back.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Yeah, does he feel that sense of responsibility? Do you think? Have you had conversation with with him about what this uh senior season could look like for him?

SPEAKER_02 4:40

You know, I'm not big on like putting a ton of pressure, like, hey, you know, it's your senior year, you're returning all that. You need to be the guy. Like, I think he already knows he needs to be the guy. So, you know, my goal is how can we support that and continue to just keep him growing? Um, you know, he's been in an off-season. The guy looks like a million bucks when you're standing next to him. Uh, and he's really worked on his craft, his throwing motion. So I like I said, I just expect big things and his leader. I've talked more about leadership, how he's in the huddle, how he's out of the huddle, even just an off-season, how he leads and does drills and he's lifting and he's running and our competition stuff. You know, he really is doing what I expect of him in those in those roles, you know.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

Yeah, I have to say, when I was out there for Pro Day, I mean, you he looks like a football player and he looks bigger and stronger than he did. And maybe it was because the pads weren't on, uh, but he looks like a guy uh who is going to lead a 7A West football team uh at the quarterback position. And so that's I'm sure really cool to see. Uh, but how does that trickle down to his teammates? And and you talk about the leadership and taking a big step there, but knowing that this is his offense to command, now trying to fill in those spots around him to give the offense success as a whole.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Well, I think there's just a presence. I don't know that you can say I I was I was actually talking to my wife about this the other day about leadership and how uh leadership is just sometimes it's like who you are, it's in your heart. And I think just some kids have that and don't. And that's okay that not everybody does, but it's it's one of those things where he when he he has a presence about him when he walks in a room that kids I think just attract themselves to. And and and he has a lot of other supporting roles. I mean, offensively, we have minus our uh Jack Gilder at tight end for everybody's back. I mean, it's it we have everybody returning, and so there's a really good supporting cast around him that's could make it really special.

SPEAKER_03 6:33

Hey, speaking of supporting cast, I was gonna ask you next about Reed. Uh, so fun to watch last year uh there in the backfield, just getting him back. How excited are you to see what he can do?

SPEAKER_02 6:43

I am. I mean, we have him. We had a new uh another kid that moved in from Texas called uh Logan Beck. Um, and so I'm interested to see what he can do. But Reed will Reed will be a guy. I mean, he's done a really good job for us, he's a tough kid. Um, you know, just having that experience back there, know what it's like to go through all these seven seven A West schools and even into the playoffs. Um, it'll be big. He he he can do some special things, and uh, we got some good returners up front that'll help. You know, that's always nice to have as well. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

When you look at the defensive side of the ball, what does that look like for you guys?

SPEAKER_02 7:18

I think we're gonna have some fresh faces over there. There's no doubt. We do have some good returners, you know, our safeties that have played a lot of football are back, Grayson Daspitt, you know, Will Croft, Landon Schultz, all those guys are back uh in the back end. You know, we're gonna be trying to find we have to find a couple corners, um, but we'll figure that out. Uh linebacker wise, you know, Siler Moore's back from last year. Uh he's going inside right now, is what we're looking at. And uh that dude, I expect him to have a heck of a year for us and lead. You know, our D-line faces are gonna be pretty much brand new. Uh Jackson Hammond Tree came in as a sophomore last year and played some D-line uh and also plays tight end. And so uh he's gonna have I should have a good year and uh we'll kind of go from there, you know. We we've got some pieces to put put together, but uh I'm confident that we'll get that done.

SPEAKER_03 8:05

Yeah, you know, one of the big things I know when I talk to coaches is like just don't get any injuries, you know, be safe, be smart, and and set them up for for the summer. And your experience, um, even as an assistant coach, what is the best way to kind of get through spring practice um and have them have that toolbox for the summer that sets them up when you guys start fall camp in August?

SPEAKER_02 8:27

I don't know that there's really a perfect answer to that, you know, like injuries are crazy sometimes that you can't control. Um, but I think for the most part, it's how you develop kids even in off season. Like I think we do a good job in in my past and here now of developing kids to take on contact in the spring and how you practice. You know, I think there's times where you're alive, and then there's times where it's more of a thud pace where you take care of their bodies. Um, but also leading up to spring, you know, we did you know practices where it was where it was just skill work where they got used to contact, and we did contact prep drills that helps train their bodies for that again. Um, but that's also like like you said, like summer is really big, like in June, too. I'm a big believer of making sure June is big, but July is a little more hey, let's let's go back to focusing on us and skill work, no more team camps, no more seven on sevens, like I'm done in June. That way, if someone does have a an injury, it gives them time to be back for fall, you know?

SPEAKER_03 9:28

Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. I want to go back to something that you mentioned um at the beginning about the culture at harbor and really kind of setting the tone and and getting harbor football moving in the direction of uh you know where it was before. Um how fun has it been for you to lead this program and to and to help create that and seeing a vision of what you see now of what harbor football can be in the future?

SPEAKER_02 9:53

It's it's been a blast. It's not been easy at times, but it's it really has been a lot of fun. Um, you know, through last year and and struggle of these kids really competed at I really did at a different level. Um, even though we came up short in some games, uh they really did. And and I and I think the takeaway from that was like, hey, these guys are here, and then coming through this offseason now, like when we talk to these kids, our standards are different, our goals are different, and they don't they don't look at you crazy anymore. Like they're like, you know, like at first it was tough, you know. They had they had been down and it's hadn't been great. And now it's like they look at you and they're like, Yeah, yes, yes, yes, sir, this sir, what's what we're gonna go do. It's just an expectation. You know, we talk about a championship level program, they don't we don't worry as much about the opponent as we worry about ourselves, you know. When out when Alabama and Georgia go to play whoever they're gonna play, they don't they don't talk as a ton about the opponent, they talk about themselves, you know. If they do everything they're capable of doing, they can win the football game.

SPEAKER_03 10:54

Yeah, you know, and that's kind of where we're at. Yeah, what do you think you learned the most as a head coach about yourself in that first year last year?

SPEAKER_02 11:03

I would say learning how to just some of the toughest times. I know, like if you were know, you know, you knew me in the past too, and you know, just being an energetic, exciting guy or want to get after it, but there is times where it's like, you know, after a loss, how can you handle a tough loss? And also I think love on the kids in the correct way because you knew that they really did everything they could and they're trying to turn things around. Um and I think that was probably something I learned, or probably the hard hardest thing sometimes to come in and give a speech and and talk to them about because they did do good things, you know. Like, how can I turn this into something that we're not gonna go hang our heads about and then we're the season's done, it's over, you know, we have no chance, you know, kind of thought. Um that's definitely that's different. It's it's done, it's definitely different.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Yeah, yeah. I wanted to ask you too, um, and I and I asked Coach Hobbs this at Springdale as well. Um, with adding Shiloh, who's kind of right there in the middle of you guys in Springdale and adding them to the 7A West, just how does that continue to just elevate the conference overall and and and adding them to the mix?

SPEAKER_02 12:16

It does, it does, because they're a good team, you know. So I mean, anytime you can put another good team in our conference, it just it doesn't matter who it is or where they're at, it's it's another it's another opponent that uh makes you have to work every week and it prepares you well for when you get in the playoffs, you know. I mean, it's gonna be, I mean, especially with every, you know, everyone pretty being wide open in our conference this year, I would say. I mean, it there's you know, most of every team in this conference has a chance to compete. It's like it's gonna be a it's gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_03 12:46

Once again, thank you so much for joining us on our episodes of Varsity 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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