Spring Football with the Bentonville Tigers | Varsity Vibe

The Bentonville Tigers fell in the 2025 7A State Title game to Bryant, and as they look to 2026 there are a lot of new roles to fill with the talent returning for the upcoming season. 

Alyssa Orange and head coach Jody Grant to look ahead at what the Tigers want to accomplish during Spring Football. 

Transcript

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This one's going to take us to the 7A runner-up from the state championship a season ago in the Bentonville Tigers. Such a great season in 2025 for Jody Grant and that team. And of course, falling short to Bryant in that state championship in December. But like they always do, the Tigers always seem to just reload and re-plug in guys at positions that they've lost some people at, specifically at the quarterback position. And that's going to be a big focus for the Tigers during spring ball, as well as a lot of those offensive weapons around them at wide receiver and at running back. What can they do with those positions to continue to keep that high level of execution and excellence that we see from the Bentonville Tigers year in and year out? I had the opportunity to spend some time with Jody Grant. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with the Tigers head football coach. Is that time of the year again? You hit spring. When you're coming off of last season and now you're getting ready for 2026, what are some big things that you want to accomplish in these next few weeks of spring football?

SPEAKER_03 2:46

Well, we've got spots to fill. I mean, we lost a lot of people. Uh we return, I think we returned two on offense and four on defense. So when you're talking about replacing that many starters, uh spring football is very valuable and important, especially when you're talking about all your skill positions, quarterback, running back, every receiver you got, uh your entire D-line, stuff like that is these practices are valuable. Now, the good thing is we've got uh guys that we're excited about and uh it's their time and their opportunity. And our football program's kind of built on this, you know. Um, we got guys that are ready. Our our JV program was successful. These kids are used to competing at a high level and winning football games. I will say we've had a really good offseason. This is a really strong team and and selfless, you know, work hard, all the things that a coach wants in a team. So now you just want to put the pads on and see if what they've done in the weight room and and the speed development that we've worked on can be transferable to the to the field, uh, which we expect it to be, but you know, we want to go see it and see what it looks like.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Yeah, when you when you talk about that, let's talk about the quarter pos quarterback position because Cole's obviously graduated. Uh, and then you had Evan, who had to step up, you know, unbeknownst to him in that state finals game. Um, what does that position look like?

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Yeah, so that's a really good question. Evan Canoe was put in a really bad situation in the state championship game. Cole Slapecki goes out on in the you know, like third or fourth play of the game uh with a pretty significant uh head injury um and to put a sophomore in in that moment against the best defense in the state. Um, you know, really your backup quarterback doesn't get significant reps and practice throughout the week, especially when you're you know at the point of a state championship practice week. Um you always have a plan for a backup, but not not a not the plan for him to come in and play the whole game. And so um he's been in big games, he's been in big moments. Now it's it's his job to to take. Um, I mean, he's the favorite to take it. He's very talented. He's got great leadership qualities, he's very athletic, he's a three-sport athlete, played on our basketball team, he's starting on our baseball team as we speak. Um the kids respect him and like him and um trust him. So um, and then we got some younger guys that are talented that'll that'll compete. But truthfully, it's his job to lose. Uh, I don't ever like to word it that way, but the reality is he's penciled in as our guy, and as long as he uh doesn't completely botch it, you know, it's his. So we always want to press our guys. So we'll have our younger guys press him. With him being in baseball, he'll he'll miss some time. So we'll give some of the younger guys an opportunity to work with some of our older guys. So uh I'm anxious to see how the quarterback position develops.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, yeah. You know, you mentioned that just the crazy and unfortunate circumstance where he went in against uh that game against Bryant. But what do you think he took away from that overall and just being able to be put in that position?

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Yeah, I think we'll learn that more when we see him play this year, the experience of play in those in that in that moment. Um, you know, and you go you really you look back, he he made some really big throws and did some really good things. And and like I said, you know, I think Bryant signed every kid off that team. Um they just had guys everywhere. And so that was a big moment for him. And and you know, he handled it pretty good. You know, there were some things I wish that I think he wished he could take back and all that, but that that's true for me as well. So um I think the ceiling is pretty high for for Evan Canoe. So uh I think we'll learn more about what that moment meant to him. I think if you check back with me, you know, after he completes his junior year, I think we could point back to that moment and be like, because of that moment, because of experience in the state finals against a really good football team, um, he was able to be this guy.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Because he's playing baseball, and you mentioned all of the other areas, the wide receiver running back um on the offensive side. How do you build chemistry in the spring when some guys are playing other sports?

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Well, first of all, I we we like our kids to play multiple sports. Like we are huge supporters of that. We we I think it's important that if they want to play other sports, that they get the blessing of their coaches from all sports to make this work. It's not like that everywhere, but it's like that here. And um, so we have to like to be a multi-sport athlete, you have to find time to work on your other craft. So like he finds time to come throw, and that may mean on the weekends, that may mean in the evenings, it may mean early in the mornings, but we we get him in here throwing with our receivers when we can. Um, and then you know, our young guys get opportunities to throw with our current receivers and stuff like that. We do a lot of installs and a lot of work with our quarterbacks and receivers, and we have since January. Uh, we have a quarterback development program, and um, so he's been a part of a lot of those, but we also respect the fact that he's in season with another sport, and um I want our baseball team to do great, and Evan Canoe's a big part of that. So uh we we make it work.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

Yeah, they're doing pretty good so far, so far this time of the year. Yeah, you talked, yeah, you talked about your defensive side of the football. Um, up front, you know, let's start there and kind of how do you plug in new guys?

SPEAKER_03 7:52

Yeah, so our defensive line will be interesting this year. You know, we were you know, we had you know, with with Julian Grundy and Kellen Rona and uh Robbie Dubre and um Will Newman and all those guys that are seniors that are all going on to play at the next level and having those guys rotate around up there. I mean, we have some young guys get some reps, but uh two of our two of our guys that we've got penciled in as starters are both uh on crutches right now. So we they'll they'll miss part of spring just due to some injuries. So it's it's wide open at the defensive line. We we we've got a young man named uh Shepard Styron, whose older brother played for us a few years ago. He'll be a junior that we're really excited about. I think he can play nose guard and some some some of the in positions. Um, and we have some some mass, some body mass that we can utilize. You know, we got some offensive linemen that can come over and play defense that are huge humans, and so we'll use those guys too. Um, but we got some young guys we're excited about that'll have a big future for us. So the D line is probably the most interesting as far as youth and inexperience goes, but it's not that's the only fear is it's inexperience and youth. It's not skill set, it's not anything else. Like uh really, it's gonna be fun to watch them develop.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah, you know, you've done this a long time. What do you take away after every season that you like to then maybe go into the next season uh and take with you?

SPEAKER_03 9:15

I think there's a lot you can take away from each season. You know, we we have unfortunately lost four straight state championships, and that can be the focus for a lot of people, but just I choose not for that to be the focus. The low the losing that part of that is kind of a loser's mentality, and we just kind of refuse to have that. We have won a lot of games and we've made it to four straight state championships, um, and we're kicking down the door, and that's the way it's presented for me to our players and our community and our support. We don't say, you know, we've lost four, we have, and then you can't switch that, but let's focus on the good things, and so we do that. But you do have to utilize those games and the bumps in the road in each season along the way to grow from that. And so, I mean, I'll be honest with you, probably the the worst game we played this year, we we won it 38 to nothing, and so when I got after our team after that game, you'd think they thought I was crazy, but they knew that we have a standard that we're gonna play at, and we didn't play at that standard um on both sides of the ball. And so I'll use that example, even though we won that game 38 to nothing, I'll use that example, and there's so many from each season that we can talk about and use that we can grow from. I tell our kids all the time, is it's so valuable to learn from other teams like mishaps or mistakes, and so they hear that, you know, like certain situations that we've had over the years that we lost a game because of this or this or whatever. And so they hear us talk about that. So they're learning from other people's mistakes. You know, one of the best lessons we learn is to learn from our own mistakes, but I always talk about like before you make those mistakes, learn from somebody else that has made those. And so we point that out a lot. So to answer your question, I think there's a lot that we can point out, yeah, um, both good and bad, throughout the seasons uh past to move us forward with this season. We're gonna compare this team to uh it this team that we're about to have is gonna look different than last year's team just because it's a different, it'll it'll just the the structure of it'll look different, and so uh we've already started kind of preparing them for that.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Yeah, you know, with that being said, what's your favorite part about starting spring football?

SPEAKER_03 11:26

Well, I just love being out on the turf with footballs and helmets and shoulder pads. I mean, I like uh don't get me wrong, I enjoy the weight room and all that part, but it's just that's that time of year where you get excited. You know, the last time we were out on the field together was in preparation for the state finals, and so we still have a bad taste and sour taste in our mouth uh from the result of that game. And so it's just good to get back out there and prepare and and get ready. And I like to you, it's really fun to watch these kids set goals and then reach their goals and then talk about now how you're gonna take this to the field and then bring that up. Like the reason they got up at six in the morning and did speed training with us all January and February, part of March, was for that route or that you know, that tackle that they just made and their ability to close and take good angles and all the stuff that we work on in offseason, they'll hear our coaches talk about that's why we did that. So you could make that play and do this and watch it transfer to the field. That's fun when it comes to spring football. And you know, you you get an idea with your team, like I'll have an idea if how we're gonna be. To me, I don't have a like the true defining we're gonna be good based on this until we team camp, until you play somebody else. But like I'll have a good idea after about two weeks of practice of this team, how they're gonna operate and kind of get a feel for how they're gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Yeah, you know, you look at obviously representing Bentonville, and I know every single year each team understands the weight uh of being able to represent uh Bentonville carries and and how exciting is it to see a new group really embrace the brand.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Well, it's important to these kids to carry on the legacy and embrace the brand, and and it's important to us as coaches to carry on the tradition and the legacy that these kids have laid. And so uh they don't take that responsibility lightly. They know it's important what to do and how to do it, and they know the work that goes into it. Uh, and they're and we, you know, I tell them all the time, you know, well, you're gonna be held to a high standard in how you practice and how you do things. And I'm not wavering off that, you know, as your leader of the program, like we're gonna be all held to a very high standard. So uh I'm not gonna let you practice lazy. I'm not gonna let you, you know, not give great effort. Like you are that's some that's a Bentonville thing, and that's what you're gonna do. And fortunately, it's been built so long embedded in these kids that I don't really have to even say anything because they know it's it's something that they hold that standard is held uh individually amongst themselves and to each other.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Yeah, and it's also you know, you look at 2026 and there's some change in the in the West, which you add Anthony Lucas at Fayetteville and then you add Shiloh as a team. I mean, I feel like there's just a lot of new excitement for what 2026 can hold, and that obviously means you guys going out there and having to execute too.

SPEAKER_03 14:07

Yeah, I mean, I think the seven A, the 7A West has gotten stronger, which is what you want. I think the addition of Shiloh is is great for our conference, it's great for Shiloh Christian. They're gonna be fine. A lot of people are wondering how they're gonna compete. They're gonna be fine. They're they're very well coached and very talented football team. Um, you know, their their skill positions, their quarterback is as good as anybody in the conference. So um I know the numbers are different, but the 11 dudes that they run out there are gonna be real good. And uh so it just it adds another whole dimension to our conference. Um, and then you've got uh, you know, a new coach at at Fayetteville and new life there. And uh Fayetteville already was doing really good, and then you bring Anthony Lucas in and just some new ideas that always excites a community and it excites a you know a program. So you have to take that in, in a sense, it's like you know, you've got you've got a group of kids that are already part of a good program, but now they're excited to play under their new coach. And obviously Lucas is a great human and will do a great job there. And then uh we've got a new coach uh at Heritage, and so you're gonna get a a program that's excited about change there, and they're they're they're gonna play each and every game with a lot of confidence. And so I think it's good for our conference, and uh, I think our conference could be wide open and and um you know there's there's it's gonna be fun to see how it all shakes out.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

So when the next weeks are all said and done, and you guys then head into like team camp in the summer, what's the biggest kind of takeaways you want this new group to take with them leading into those summer workouts?

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Well, as we get through spring football, I just I just want us to get better with each practice. You know, that like I want I want the mistakes to kind of start going away. I want them to show that they know the playbook, they know what we're asking them to do. Um, if we point something out on film that they need to improve on, I want to see improvement the next practice. And then as we go into June, June's a big month for us as far as team camps and seven-on-sevens go. I just want to see them take that and go compete with it. Um, that's important. Those team camps are, you know, you don't walk away from a team camp with a trophy. We don't get caught. A lot of coaches will, you know, try to set their demeanor for the season off a team camp. We don't. We try to get reps, we try to get opportunity. Uh, we don't worry about score. We don't track, we don't leave there and say, well, we beat them, we beat them. We just get a lot of reps and go for that. Um, and then go to the film room and and adjust. Uh, I want to see them compete in seven-on-seven. Seven on seven is not real football. There's no correlation. I just, I mean, you it's good for the quarterbacks and the skills and the receiver guys, but as far as schematically, you're gonna see two man 80% of the time in 7-7, and you're not gonna see it at all hardly on a Friday night. So uh I just like to see him compete, represent the Tiger and play well. But then when we get into July, now it's about honing in on us and what we're about to do and get locked in for the season.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Varsity Vibe. I encourage you to go to our YouTube page and watch some more of the conversations that we've had with coaches around our area, as well as subscribe to wherever you get your podcasts as well. Also, make sure to check out our social media pages that is X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for all the action that's going on right now with baseball, softball, and soccer. It's getting to that point of the season where we're getting close to the postseason, if not already in the postseason for some classifications and obviously the action just heating up. So head on over there for all of that as well, as well as go to varsityvibearkansas.com. Sign up for our newsletter that comes to your inbox twice a week. Again, thank you so much for joining us here on VarsityVi. I'm your host, Alyssa Orange, and I will see you next time.

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