New look suits Jones, Libertyville to a T
In looking to the future, one of the first things new Libertyville coach Mike Jones did when he took over the program during the off-season was to give a nod to the past.
During some of Libertyville’s most successful years under former longtime head coach Randy Kuceyeski, the Wing-T offense was used. Over the last few years, Kuceyeski, who retired last year after 18 seasons, changed that up in order to incorporate more of a pass-oriented offense. He thought it would better fit his personnel at the time.
Jones, who watched from afar as Libertyville’s defensive coordinator for the last eight years, was anxious to go back to the Wing-T, even though he’s got 10 of 11 starters back who spent all of last season trying to get used to a pistol-type of spread offense with a single back.
“I just like (the Wing-T),” Jones said. “My first year, the biggest thing I want to do is to emphasize a level of consistency and I really think this kind of offense fits your personnel no matter what it is. We can run this year after year. I’ve been on the defensive side of the football and the misdirection and all the options in an offense like this can be really tough to stop.”
The return to the Wing-T has already gotten the seal of approval from the players, including returning starting quarterback Jack Deichl as well as running backs Brian Swift and Connor Simpson, both of whom started last season and will be focal points in this offense. Speedy wide receiver Austin Williams, another returning starter, will also occasionally get some carries out of the backfield, just to keep defenders on their toes.
“Our kids are saying that they feel so comfortable with this offense, that they really like that it is not predictable because there are so many options,” Jones said. “We can throw with Jack, we can run with a lot of different guys. We’ve got some of our kids saying this is their dream offense.”
A dream for Jones is the return of all five starters from last year’s offensive line. The chemistry between Austin Williams, Shaun McCracken, Nick Carlino, Matsen Dziedzic and Brandon Stanfel is making the transition to a new offense much easier.
“Having all five starters on the offensive line back doesn’t happen very often,” Jones said. “They know each other so well and that will be important for our offense all season.”
Defensively, it will be important for the Wildcats to get another good season out of cornerback Joey Salata and linebacker Drew Krinitsky. Both were all-conference selections last year and had 76 and 82 tackles respectively.
“We are continuing with most of what we did last season defensively,” Jones said. “The thing we really need to address is our consistency offensively. We were inconsistent within games, and maybe that had something to do with the inconsistency of our offense in general. Last year, we were running our third different offense in three years.”
Despite being up and down last season, the Wildcats still managed to make the playoffs. Now, the goal is to be more convincing about it. Last year, Libertyville finished with a 5-5 mark, just slipping into the postseason.
“The kids who were here last year realize that 5-5 isn’t good enough. It’s not where we want to be,” Jones said. “We know we can do better.”
LIBERTYVILLE
HEAD COACH: Mike Jones (first season)
LAST SEASON: 5-5, 3-3 in North Suburban Lake Division, lost to Rockford Boylan in first round of Class 7A state playoffs
HOMECOMING: Friday, Sept. 21 vs. Mundelein, 7:30 p.m.