PAnews.com, Port Arthur, Texas
June 9, 2011
Heady Lunceford impresses all-stars
David Coleman
The Port Arthur News
BEAUMONT — The quality of any football all-star game, from the Pro Bowl to the Southeast Texas Coaches Association Second Annual Ford Dealers All-Star Game, comes down to offensive line play.
Five guys working together keep a quarterback clean and able to make big plays to excite the crowd. When the offensive line gets crossed up, that’s when the game gets sloppy. Fortunately for Nederland head coach Larry Neumann, who’s coaching the East squad, he’s got the thinking man’s tackle on his line in former Port Neches-Groves standout Greg Lunceford.
“He’s done a little coaching on the grass in the past couple of days,” Neumann said. “He’s doing little things that make you as a coach realize he’s got the intellect of an offensive tackle and understands the combination blocks and how people fit up to make plays work. I don’t know how much revelation you can get in two or three workouts, but for me, he’s not just a big guy playing aggressively, he’s a big, smart guy who knows how the game is supposed to be played. That’s a credit to him, his coaching staff and the job they do over at Port Neches-Groves.”
Neumann said he knew Lunceford was a good player watching the film on the Indians, but seeing him work this week has brought a newfound respect.
“Watching him play in the fall, you only see the physicality,” Neumann said. “He’s got some impressive physicality. I think being around him, he is a very smart, savvy football player. In our team situations, his interactions verbally with the others. Just like telling the guard next to him, ‘Hey man, just stay with him a little longer and I’m going to turn him over to you.’ Little things like that, you know they understand the big picture, not just to come off and hit someone. When you’ve got it upstairs, you know you’ve got something special.”
For Lunceford, the real test has been seeing how he stacks up to the talent from the area.
“It’s been a good chance to meet people and compare my skills around,” Lunceford said. “I might be good at PN-G but there’s good guys that you have to come out here and compete against. It’s a real challenge to get a spot. I think it’ll help me get used to college, because it’ll be a bunch of new people and I’ll have to get used to that. It’s a good start for me.”
It’s been a little bit of a transition for him as well, simply because he had so much experience with his offensive line mates at PN-G. Now, however, he’s using his smarts on the field to make the situation work. He also hopes it’ll lead to victory over the West squad on Saturday.
“At PN-G, I had a whole offensive line that I knew my whole life, ” Lunceford said. “Now, I don’t know hardly any of them (on this team). But, you just have to go out there and give it your all. We’ll try to play together and come together as a team, even though we’re all from different teams and are competing against each other in district. We come out here and we have to try and beat the West side.”
The 6-foot-3, 260 pound Lunceford is planning to attend Kilgore College in the fall and play football there, something he has in common with temporary head coach Neumann, who played for the Rangers a few years ago. Lunceford will also be playing in another all-star game later this summer at the Texas High School All-Star Game in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on July 26.
June 9, 2011
Heady Lunceford impresses all-stars
David Coleman
The Port Arthur News
BEAUMONT — The quality of any football all-star game, from the Pro Bowl to the Southeast Texas Coaches Association Second Annual Ford Dealers All-Star Game, comes down to offensive line play.
Five guys working together keep a quarterback clean and able to make big plays to excite the crowd. When the offensive line gets crossed up, that’s when the game gets sloppy. Fortunately for Nederland head coach Larry Neumann, who’s coaching the East squad, he’s got the thinking man’s tackle on his line in former Port Neches-Groves standout Greg Lunceford.
“He’s done a little coaching on the grass in the past couple of days,” Neumann said. “He’s doing little things that make you as a coach realize he’s got the intellect of an offensive tackle and understands the combination blocks and how people fit up to make plays work. I don’t know how much revelation you can get in two or three workouts, but for me, he’s not just a big guy playing aggressively, he’s a big, smart guy who knows how the game is supposed to be played. That’s a credit to him, his coaching staff and the job they do over at Port Neches-Groves.”
Neumann said he knew Lunceford was a good player watching the film on the Indians, but seeing him work this week has brought a newfound respect.
“Watching him play in the fall, you only see the physicality,” Neumann said. “He’s got some impressive physicality. I think being around him, he is a very smart, savvy football player. In our team situations, his interactions verbally with the others. Just like telling the guard next to him, ‘Hey man, just stay with him a little longer and I’m going to turn him over to you.’ Little things like that, you know they understand the big picture, not just to come off and hit someone. When you’ve got it upstairs, you know you’ve got something special.”
For Lunceford, the real test has been seeing how he stacks up to the talent from the area.
“It’s been a good chance to meet people and compare my skills around,” Lunceford said. “I might be good at PN-G but there’s good guys that you have to come out here and compete against. It’s a real challenge to get a spot. I think it’ll help me get used to college, because it’ll be a bunch of new people and I’ll have to get used to that. It’s a good start for me.”
It’s been a little bit of a transition for him as well, simply because he had so much experience with his offensive line mates at PN-G. Now, however, he’s using his smarts on the field to make the situation work. He also hopes it’ll lead to victory over the West squad on Saturday.
“At PN-G, I had a whole offensive line that I knew my whole life, ” Lunceford said. “Now, I don’t know hardly any of them (on this team). But, you just have to go out there and give it your all. We’ll try to play together and come together as a team, even though we’re all from different teams and are competing against each other in district. We come out here and we have to try and beat the West side.”
The 6-foot-3, 260 pound Lunceford is planning to attend Kilgore College in the fall and play football there, something he has in common with temporary head coach Neumann, who played for the Rangers a few years ago. Lunceford will also be playing in another all-star game later this summer at the Texas High School All-Star Game in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on July 26.
