High school football: Enterprise Wolves 2009 preview

Enterprise coach Barry Jones is fascinated with the spread offense. After spending much of his coaching career as an assistant in programs running more traditional offenses, in his second year at Enterprise last year, he took the plunge and switched to the trendy offense.

He was confident — too confident, in fact — about how quickly he and his players would pick it up. The result was a 4-7 record, and a return to the drawing board.

Jones still believes in the spread offense, but he's wiser to its nuances and all it has to offer.

"Honestly, I thought last year we could've been better if I would've been better," said Jones. "This year, we're better because I'm better and the coaches around me are better and that's making a huge difference."

With Enterprise making the jump from 1A to 2A, the Wolves will need to be better to have any hope of competing.

Jones hopes a visit from Northeast Mississippi Community College offensive coordinator David Wilkerson is the secret to success. Earlier this year, Wilkerson made a visit to Utah to enlighten the Enterprise coaching staff about the spread offense, and as a result, Jones is giddy about his team's prospects for 2009.

"I think it's going to make a huge difference," said Jones.

Despite the confidence, there are many factors working against Enterprise this year, particularly depth, with only about 35 players on the team. The Wolves' defense, which wasn't very good against elite teams last year, is another area that must improve.

Millard, South Sevier and Kanab are the likely contenders in the 2A West region, but if an improved spread offense is as good as advertised, Enterprise might be able to sneak into the mix.

"How successful we'll be in this new region that's extremely tough, I don't know," said Jones. "I think right now we have kids believing. As long as we have kids healthy, I think we're going to compete."

Jones would definitely feel better about the situation with more numbers, but with eight hard-working seniors, five of whom are returning starters, he's happy about the potential.

Enterprise Wolves at a glance

Coach: Barry Jones is in his 3rd year at Enterprise with an 11-12 record.