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NEW TAZEWELL – Claiborne is stacked with seniors as the Bulldogs head into the 2023 season, 15 to be exact, and that’s something head coach Nathan Medlin is thrilled about.

“I love that we have almost the same team we had last year,” the Claiborne skipper said. “We only lost three starters and while they were very important on the offensive and defensive line, only having to replace three means we don’t have as much inexperience as we have had in the past. So far, the leadership this senior class has makes up for any lack of ability we may have. They are very coachable and are great leaders and you don’t have to worry about the little things with them. I have been excited to see them in practice and they have practiced very hard. We have had very good buy-in overall with our freshmen all the way to the seniors. This senior class is special as they do a good job of running the show”.

One of the places the Bulldogs will be the most deep will be in the backfield. The return of the two top rushers from last season makes the Claiborne ground game a formable threat. “On the offensive side of the ball, I would love to see Josh Bolton, Austin Murrell and Cole Jones and the other running backs have productive years,” Medlin said. “It seems like we have seven runners coming back. Obviously, I want to see them stay injury free and being able to see kids like Josh and Austin who didn’t get to finish last year because they were hurt come back and have a great senior year would be awesome.”

Claiborne begins the season with the same signal caller with which they ended last season. “Isaac Daniels started the last few games at quarterback for us last year and right now he will be starter this year so the experience he got in those games makes me excited to see him. He worked really hard this summer. We have two offensive linemen return in Riley Wilson and RJ Robinson so the on the line, we are trying to find the next three guys. We have several rising sophomores and a few others who are competing for it so I am sure we will be okay, we just have to find the right five to fit in,” Medlin stated.

The rest of the offense is highlighted by returners from the 2022 campaign. “At receiver, we return Korbin Hatfield and Tyrell Myles and Jake Smith moved to receiver. Anthony Turner is also playing receiver so we have five or six guys who have been here two or three years and know exactly what’s going on,” Medlin said.

Most of the defense is also back and Medlin said having players in positions where they have been for the past two or three seasons is a valuable asset for his team. “On defense, we only had to replace three starters and that’s a good feeling when you look at who we have coming back. Our secondary will be the same as we return both Hatfield and Myles who started the last three years and this will also be Jake’s third year starting as well. There are four linebackers who come back and this will be their third year starting. We return a lot of guys who have started for three seasons. Gavin Shelburn and Zay Gerrells and Elijah Poore are all back and will have several people competing for three spots. We have great competition going right now.”

The Bulldogs may have 15 seniors but they only have eight juniors which means a large number of sophomores and freshmen will see playing time in back-up situations. Getting the young to blend with the old is the biggest challenge Medlin said his team may have this season. “We have to get kids to continue to grow up. Part of that is the overall attitude about hard work and what it takes to be successful. The biggest thing we have to overcome is finding our rhythm together. Even though we are only replacing three starters, every team is different. With the leadership we have, I don’t have any doubt we will, it’s just going to be for some of our guys how to be a good follower.”

Claiborne opens the season at Grainger on August 18.