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ANTHONY GAGLIANOOffense, defense, special teams. Maurice Crum and Cedric Maxwell will always be on the field for Tech.
TAMPA - Mike Bradley, a former assistant coach at Male High School in Louisville, Ky., knows what a high-octane offense looks like. Chris Redman, now the Baltimore Ravens' starting quarterback, led Male High with a national record 57 career touchdowns and more than 3,500 passing yards.
Bradley's Tampa Bay Tech team will not look like that. With an abundance of underclassmen, bruising senior running backs Maurice Crum and Cedric Maxwell will lead the Titans.
"We're going to have to (rely on rushing)," Bradley said. "We have a young quarterback and, except for Crum and Maxwell, everyone is sophomores. We're going to have to ride those horses until the others grow up."
Between offense, defense and special teams, Crum and Maxwell will likely be on the field for 120-140 plays per game. But Bradley said they wouldn't have it any other way.
"There's going to be a ton of pressure there," Bradley said. "But Crum's been under the microscope since he was a freshman. It seems like he's been playing in Hillsborough County for 22 years. And Maxwell started at Jefferson as a sophomore. They relish it. I tried to get them off special teams and they cried at me, "Why aren't we out there?"'
ON THE GROUND: Behind Crum and Maxwell, Bradley is readying sophomore running backs Andre Patrick and Darius Chatman. The offensive line is questionable with five new starters.
Torrend Ebner, the most experienced lineman and an honor-roll student, gained 35 pounds during the offseason. With Ebner, George Smith will bookend the line. Joining them is Alex Amiker, an athletic center, Javier Rosado and Justin Rizer.
THROUGH THE AIR: The sophomore the Titans are counting on most is quarterback Dominic Grooms. At first, don't expect more than quick drops, screens and play action out of Grooms. But Bradley thinks he has a bright future with the potential of becoming one of the county's best by season's end.
But Grooms won't have an experienced receiving corps with the loss of Romae Rucker and Albert Daniels. Senior Cory Carter and juniors Mike Javery and Quinton Williams will have to pick up the slack. Six or seven different wideouts could catch double-digit passes.
ON DEFENSE: Crum gives the team a sure tackler at linebacker and Maxwell, his cousin, will bolster the defensive line. Halfway through last season, Maxwell had six sacks.
Free safety John Vidal has the perfect defensive temperament. According to Bradley, he never smiles. Vidal also will play receiver.