Two-a-days: PC West offense can rely on experience

The Putnam City West defense will have a lot of new faces, but on offense, John Jensen’s club has a lot of returning starters, which has the Patriots confident at the start of camp.

Seventy-two players reported for the first practice Tuesday night, double the number who showed up to open the 2008 season.

Now, with QB Ray Young and a solid group of receivers, including Tevin Berry, Anthony Thomas and Ryan Cooper, the Pats can work on adding to the offense rather than trying to teach it to new guys.

“The base is in offensively and we hope to add,” Jensen said. “We’ve never been to the point where we can add stuff this early. I hope we’re adding some wrinkles, some tricks, some fun stuff.

“Defensively, we’re breaking in a whole lot of new kids — a lot of new linebackers in a 4-3 scheme, changing from a 4-4. So there’s a lot more teaching going on there.”

Back to the offense, running back has an opportunity to be a position of strength, with Corey Thomas, Hassian Williams and D.J. Barnett at the forefront, though there is some depth at the position, and the opportunity for several players to get involved.