June 13, 2022 at 10:01 a.m.
Hodag football to have different play callers entering 2022
Hodag football to have different play callers entering 2022
Kraemer had called the offense in his first three seasons as RHS head coach, and for a few years before that as offensive coordinator under Chris Ferge. Those duties will now be held by former Rhinelander and UW-Oshkosh player, Luke Roberts.
Getting used to the new play callers was one of the objectives Thursday as the team held one of the five coaching contact days it is allowed this summer, under WIAA regulations.
"Really it's just having the kids get to know the new coaches," Kraemer said. "We have a few new coaches on staff and people kind of shuffling around the program a little bit, getting to line up base offense and base defense and make sure they're comfortable with 7 on 7 when we play."
Kraemer said not to expect many changes on the defense from the 3-4 scheme that Zarda adapted from UW-Oshkosh with great success. That was especially true last season, as the Hodags allowed only 8.8 points and 155.2 yards per game in an 8-2 campaign.
"I really do respect the work that Gary put in and the defense that he built," Kraemer said. "It's very communicable for our kids. They understand it and love it. We had a lot of success with it over the last few years. We're going to stick with that and I'm going to try to do him justice as a play caller."
There will likely be a few more changes on offense as Roberts, who was Rhinelander's special teams coordinator last year, settles into the play-calling chair.
"Coach Luke taking over the offense, there will be a few different things," Kraemer said. "You'll probably see a little more pistol stuff, a little more expansive stuff. He's a young guy so he likes the new stuff, but I'm excited for him. I'm excited for his opportunity and excited for the kids to learn from him. He's a great coach. He's going to do a great job."
Part of the reason for the change will simply be due to new personnel at the skill positions as the Hodags must replace running backs Cayden Neri and Caleb Olckias, who combined for more than 3,000 yards from scrimmage in 10 games last year. The team will also need a new signal caller to replace the graduated Jacksen Smith.
"We're going to have to try to find ways to get our best players the football," Kraemer said. "Last year it was pretty simple, our best players were in the backfield for us, so we ran the ball 70-80% of the time. The personnel's different. We've got different players. We've got to try to make sure we get those guys the football in opportune situations."
Thursday's two-hour session was split roughly 50/50 between classroom and on-field sessions. Kraemer said an emphasis was put on getting the basics down ahead of the five-week Northwoods Passing League, which begins this Thursday at Lakeland and will rotate between Lakeland, Tomahawk and Rhinelander.
The Hodags' four remaining contact days will be used during its team camp July 18-21.
"It's about having a lot of fun this summer," Kraemer said. "I don't see 7-on-7 as truly football. I see it as kind of the fairy tale land. If you talked to coach Zarda, he's say the same thing. It's Disneyland. Defensively, we want to wreck the rides. Offensively. we want to have a well-oiled machine going into camp."
Kraemer also noted that he's been pleased with the team's commitment to the weight room early on in the summer, giving his team a "passing grade," so far.
"We've had high 30s and low 40s over the past couple of days in the weight room for our football program, which is really good," he said. "It's been strong this offseason and it's going to have to be for us to be successful. We're going to have to build teamwork here in the offseason to really gel around the seniors that left last year."
Football practice officially begins for the fall Aug. 2. The team will scrimmage at Lakeland Aug. 12 and kick off the 2022 season at home against Tomahawk Aug. 19.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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