Jeberaeel instilling fun with veteran O-Line

Out hit. Out run. Out fun.

That’s the motto for Abilene Christian’s 2020 offensive line as it prepares for camp August 7. 

Fun has been in short supply during these days of pandemic, but third-year assistant coach Mario Jeberaeel and his 17-man unit are determined to find it in whatever they’re doing.

Stepping over and crouching under hurdles? That’s fun.

Properly positioning your arms, hands, and legs? That’s fun too.

Ducking underneath a swinging pad? You bet that’s fun.

Jeberaeel and his assistant (former ACU tight end) Mason Hite enjoy a positive rapport with their players as they go through drills on a comfortable sunny morning at Wildcat Stadium. Everyone’s moving at a moderate pace. There are times to take it slow, and occasions to show a bit more intensity.

On this day (and many more to follow) Jeberaeel shouts encouragement and instruction from under a mask and over the hype music blaring in the background. No yelling. No harshness. Just trying to get everyone back on a routine.

“Eyes up!”

“Stab your instep!”

“Low hips!”

“Be intentional!”

Jeberaeel coaches one of the Wildcats’ most experienced groups. Of the 12 returning players from last year’s team, three are starters and six are letter winners. The team also added Truett Knox from Oklahoma State at the semester break, and in a few weeks ACU will welcome first-years Seth Bower, Hayden Burke, Dylan Howerton and Ty Smith.

Abilene natives Jon Crisp (Abilene Christian High School) and Kade Parmelly (Wylie) started all 12 games a year ago, while Nico Russolillo – a transfer from Towson – made 10 appearances at center for an offensive line that produced one of the Southland’s best running attacks with 168.9 yards per game.

“The team goes as the o-line goes,” said Jeberaeel, who only logged four spring practices with his players before everything was shut down due to COVID-19 in mid-March. “That’s our mindset. I’m proud of the work the guys have been putting in (primarily in the weight room) and we want to see it pay off. We’re a standard driven team and unit, and we want to have a very high standard in everything we do.”

Parmelly and Russolillo already have been tabbed to Southland Conference preseason teams, and Jeberaeel likens them to twins in everything they work at.

“They’re significant parts in whatever we do on the field and in the locker room,” he said. “Leadership comes No. 1 for them because they’re willing to embrace those core values of selflessness, toughness and discipline.”

He’s also been impressed with Crisp and junior Kage Hendrix.

“Jon’s an Abilene Christian guy through and through. He possesses a great deal of pride for his school and hometown and is the epitome of a student-athlete.

“Kage is a great young man who played his best football down the stretch last fall after Nico was injured and we had to shuffle up front. He’s one of the most physical players I’ve ever worked with and his consistency will improve as he gets more experience.”

At this early juncture, the 2020 ACU offense appears to be built around speed. Running backs Billy McCrary (Sr.) and Jermiah Dobbins (Fr.) tied wide receiver Isaiah Davis earlier this week with the fastest time in the team’s ‘Flying 10s’ competition at 0.94 seconds as all were clocked at 21.8 miles per hour.

Three additional wideouts -- DK Blaylock, LJ McConnell and Dax Neece -- also cracked the top 10 at 0.95 second (21.5mph) and new quarterback Peyton Mansell clocked a 1.02 (20.0mph).

Fourth-year head coach Adam Dorrel has four speedy signal-callers on campus as Mansell – a transfer from Iowa - and freshman Stone Earle joined the team in January to compete with returners Sema’J Davis and Andrew Stripling. 

“I think all four of those guys have done a really good job,” Dorrel said during Southland Conference Media Day. “The thing I like about all four of the guys is that all four of them are mobile. They’re not just pocket passers. They’re able to move around. It’s going to help us jumpstart our offense and I think be more creative in giving us a chance to have a dual-threat quarterback with all four of them.”

So how does Jeberaeel prepare his guys for the possibility of an extended play?

“We’ll incorporate mirror drills and learn to stay connected without grabbing so we don’t penalty. We have to be intentional in all our movements and stay active from the waist down.”

For Parmelly, who’s played in 34 consecutive games, he’s excited to block for guys who can make plays happen.

“For some offensive lineman, there’s a fear in having a versatile QB because the play can go on much longer than expected,” he said. “But within our group it’s about ‘out hit, out run, out fun.’ That’s our motto for every play. It’s the ingrained standard in our group – so with guys like Sema’J and Peyten back there we have to out hit and out run our opponent, and have to have more fun. Because if you’re not having fun out there it’s going to be a long year, season or career. We really have fun at our position.”

Jeberaeel has played or coached along the offensive line for the last 15 years. He started his career as a walk-on at UNLV and briefly coached at his alma mater before moving onto full-time jobs at Nicholls, Arkansas-Monticello and Kansas.

Dorrel, meanwhile, is starting his 20th season as a collegiate head coach following his All-America career as an offensive lineman at Northwest Missouri State.

To say Dorrel has been a mentor to Jeberaeel may be a bit of an understatement.

“He’s changed my life,” said Jeberaeel, “and I’m so lucky to have him as a resource. He’s tested. He’s already done and tried so many things that I can either ask questions or bounce my ideas off him. There’s not been a lot of trial and error. He possesses a vast amount of knowledge and he knows what’s essential to becoming successful.”