Young Wildcats embrace summer challenge
Oak Ridge’s Jamon Crowley stretches out to haul in a one-handed reception during the Wildcats’ 7-on-7 competition this summer. Oak Ridge wrapped up its preseason 7-on-7 schedule before the TSSAA dead period, which begins June 22. (photo:ORHS Sports Media )
The Wildcats graduated several key contributors following the 2025 season and must replace those players before the 2026 campaign begins.
“We have a lot of inexperienced players and we’re breaking in a new quarterback,” said Rang, who will soon begin his fourth season as Oak Ridge’s head coach. “We’ll have Brody Sparks, and he came from Carter. He played there, but it was a different system.
“We have experience at running back and at tight end, but we’re really, really young at linebacker.”
Oak Ridge recently competed in 7-on-7 action against Alcoa, and also faced one of South Carolina’s top programs during its college tour through East Tennessee.
The team visited Maryville College, East Tennessee State University and Carson-Newman University before playing the Wildcats.
“We were fortunate enough to play two good teams,” Rang said. “We played Alcoa, and we played Jones Island in South Carolina. They’re a perennial Class 6A state semifinalist in South Carolina, and they came here on a college tour.”
With so many new faces, the Wildcats have simplified their approach this summer.
“We have talent, but we don’t have a lot of experience,” Rang said. “We don’t have a lot of guys who have played a lot of varsity football on Friday nights.
“So for us, it’s just all about getting kids reps, quality reps. This is my fourth year at Oak Ridge. My first year, we had a lot of experience and a lot of guys who had played a lot of football with two different coaches. My second year, we didn’t have as much experience, and it came together for us. Then last year, we had experience and we started well. But we didn’t finish the season like we wanted to.”
This week marks Oak Ridge’s final week of workouts before the TSSAA-mandated two-week dead period, and Rang plans to make the most of the remaining practice time.
“We have some data, and we’ll look to correct some things,” Rang said. “We’ll work and we’ll fine-tune some things before the dead period, where the guys will have to work on their own for a while.”
