HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Fall has arrived, meaning students are returning to school, the leaves will begin falling soon and football season is right around the corner. In Hanceville, Levi Estes is preparing to kick off his first season as head coach of the Bulldogs and he’s proud of the way his team worked throughout the offseason to prepare for the upcoming year.
“Right now, I can say we have a bunch of young men who are extremely hard working. They’re giving us everything they’ve got every day and we’ve put them through some pretty tough activities. One thing I preach to them over and over again is to be a tough, strong person you have to go through and do tough things, so we’ve tried to embed that in everything that we do,” Estes said. “We try to create competition in practice so that we have that competitive edge when we get into a game on Friday night. We want to carry everything that we do in our summer offseason program into the new football season.”
Estes spent some time coaching in Tennessee before arriving at Hanceville and he says it has been a bit of an adjustment for him as he becomes familiar with the differences in Alabama’s
“One thing that’s been a big transition moving from state to state has been all the rules that you have to learn about what you can do. When I was in Tennessee, we had two scrimmages and a jamboree before we even played our first game,” Estes said. “Alabama allows you that one jamboree and I kind of like that better than playing in the spring because it gives you a little better idea of what you have coming into the season.”
The line of scrimmage should be an area where Hanceville has some experience on the field this fall, and Estes is looking forward to seeing that group gel together. He knows a strong group up front will help the Bulldog skill players shine too.
“I like to talk about linemen first because I was a lineman in college. Up front we’ve got three guys that are returning that played a lot last year offensively and I’m very excited about that. Finding the two players to fill those last two spots has been huge. We’ve got about five guys up for those two spots and it’s been good to watch that competition grow at practice and in the weight room. Hunter Black is our returning quarterback and I’m excited to see the growth he’s made in the offseason and to see how he adapts to the things that have changed for us offensively,” Estes said. “A spot where I think we’ll have a lot of competition is at running back. We’ve got Marquies Lieth returning and he played a lot of running back last year and we also have a rising sophomore, Zavier Malcom, who is pushing him every day. Both of those guys are extremely good athletes, so it’s been a good competition watching those guys get after each other in the backfield and push each other every day.”
The Bulldogs are making some adjustments on the defensive side of the ball this season and Estes is excited to see how his guys fit into their new roles.
“Defensively, I’m excited about the changes that we’ve made. We’re changing to an odd front from an even front that they used last year and just seeing those guys accept those roles has been great. Eli Akin was the County Lineman of the Year last year and we’ve kind of challenged him by moving him to linebacker this year. We challenged him to see if he could take a new step in a different role and still compete at a high level and I think he’s done a great job there doing some things that are a little bit out of his comfort zone,” Estes said. “That’s something we preach on a lot; you don’t want to be comfortable. If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing, and I firmly believe that. You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone, step out of the box so that you can grow and the people around you can grow. So, I’m extremely excited to see what comes when we finally put the shoulder pads on.”
The Bulldogs won’t have as many players on the roster as some of their opponents this fall but Estes likes the makeup of his team and knows they’ll play hard for one another once they’re under the lights.
“We have nine seniors this year and I think every one of them has a chance to be a contributor in some way. One thing that I look at in a captain is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a senior. I look for someone who is there every day, does the right things, doesn’t skip any reps and leads sometimes vocally, but a lot of the time silently. Leading by their actions and doing the right things,” Estes said. “We’re pretty small in numbers, we have about 30 kids on the roster right now, but I think that we’ve got 30 kids that are ready to go to battle together. They’re gelling together, hanging out outside of the program together and doing a really good job of building each other up.”
2024 Hanceville Bulldogs Football Schedule
Aug. 23 – vs. Cold Springs
Aug. 30 – @ Holly Pond
Sept. 6 – @ Gordo
Sept. 13 – @ Carbon Hill*
Sept. 20 – vs. Oakman*
Oct. 4 – @ Vinemont*
Oct. 11 – vs. Midfield*
Oct. 18 – @ Winfield*
Oct. 25 – vs. Phil Campbell*
Nov. 1 – vs. Oak Grove
*region game
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