CULLMAN, Ala. — The Cullman Bearcats had put together another good season in 2021, going 7-3 in the regular season, before falling to Jackson-Olin in the first round of the playoffs. After losing a lot of seniors to graduation in May, Bearcats quarterback Ryan Skinner is looking forward to helping lead Cullman to another postseason run in his senior season. Skinner learned a lot while playing behind quarterback Max Dueland in his years at Cullman and he still utilizes a lot of what he learned playing now.
“Being new to varsity as a sophomore, Max Dueland was really good to me. He showed me the right way to run a similar offense to what we ran last year and how to carry myself as a varsity quarterback,” Skinner said. “I learned all of the little things from him. He was always great in pressure situations and was always really calm. He showed me the little things are important about running an offense and how much being precise with everything helps an offense work.”
Last year was Ryan’s first year at the quarterback position and it was a pretty successful one, but he’s always looking for ways to get better.
“I thought last season went well. I have had a lot of things to improve on and off the field,” Skinner said. “Overall, I thought it was a very fun and great year and I loved every second of it.”
Ryan feels blessed to be playing for the coaching staff at Cullman and has soaked up so much from them in his time there.
“We are blessed at Cullman to have such great coaching staffs from youth league to varsity. I’ve learned a lot of things from my coaches. I’ve learned how to see the field better, how to run an offense, and being a better man off the field. Coach Glasscock and the whole staff have done a great job of developing us as not only better football players, but as better men off the field as well,” Skinner said.
Ryan learned a lot from last year’s seniors that will continue to help the team this season. With a lot of players coming back this year, the Bearcats are going for the ultimate goal.
“Last year’s senior class was a really talented group. Talking to them after last season just made me realize how fast senior year goes by, and not to take a moment for granted,” Skinner said. “I think we will get better as the playoffs come around. We expect to play hard and be the best team we can be. Our team is definitely confident going into the season and we expect to have a great year. We expect to make a deep run in the playoffs. Like most teams across the state, our goal is to win the whole thing.”
Ryan has set a lot of goals for himself and has been trying to find ways to help the younger guys get better every day as well.
“My most important personal goal for this season is to enjoy it. Our band, fans, student section, cheerleaders, and everybody makes Friday nights at Oliver Woodward so special,” Skinner said. “I just want to soak it all in, since this year is the last time I’ll be able to play in that stadium. I also just want to be the best leader I can be and step up more in that senior role. I also want to be All-State and win the Class 6A Back of the Year award.”
He added,
“It’s really important being a leader. It helped me so much when I was younger, so I’m just trying to do the same. I try to be positive and encourage the younger guys, but also help correct them when they do something wrong and help them learn the plays.”
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