FAYETTEVILLE — Little Rock Parkview football head coach Brad Bolding has coached a lot of talent during his career, but doesn’t think he has ever had this many stars at one time.
This season he’ll have a pair of Arkansas 2021 pledges in tight end Erin Outley (6-4, 245 pounds) and quarterback Landon Rogers (6-4, 215), in addition to a 2022 Razorback recruiting target in tailback James Jointer (6-0, 200) and blossoming senior center in Jared Summons (6-3, 275).
“I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of great players, but usually they have been spread out,” Bolding said. “I have had a couple on a team, but not this many that have been able to play together. It kind of puts a little pressure on the coaches because people expect you to win and win big.
“There are a lot of things that go into winning, like staying healthy and not having any injuries, which hurt us last year, and luck, which also plays a lot into things. We need those two things along with the talent we have.”
Bolding, who coached the late Altee Tenpenny (Alabama) and KJ Hill (Ohio State) at North Little Rock, is stressing to his current stars this is no time to rest on their laurels.
“It’s like I tell people all the time, 'If you are a Division I player then you are usually head and shoulders better than the other players on the field,'" Bolding said. “That’s especially true if you are an SEC player.
“So where you can really help yourself, for us as team now and for your college in the future is to demand that you raise the bar every day. That is what the good ones that I have coached have always done.”
Parkview, which was 4-6 last season with four losses by a touchdown or less, is scheduled to scrimmage Jacksonville on Aug. 25, then open the season Sept. 4 with Little Rock Southwest, a new school.
“It’s going to be fun to see them out there, it’s going tp be fun to play that first game, but we have got to get it going in practice, get it going and stay healthy and play football like e are capable of playing it," Bolding said.
Parakview had another Arkansa offer on the team in 2023 running back Darrien Bennett, but he is now at Jacksonville.
After having spring practice called off, the Patriots were thrilled to be back out on the field on Aug. 3, the first day of official practice.
“When they let us put helmets on, it was the first time we had done that since 2019,” Bolding said. "Even though we weren’t really doing anything, since we weren’t hitting yet, you could really see the excitement.”
Bolding has pushed his standouts more than anyone in the first two weeks of practice.
“I drive them,” Bolding said. “This time of year, they probably pretty much don’t care for me. You ask the best players on my team and they will tell you that I ride them harder than everybody else.”
Outley, a four-star prospect, chose Arkansas over offers from LSU, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida State and others.
“He is a great blocker, runs great routes and controls his body well,” Bolding said. “I told him, 'You are probably going to get frustrated because of who you are and the attention you are going to get. You are probably going to get double- and triple-teamed, but that will open it up for someone else. When you get that opportunity, throw that ball and we will get the ball to you the next time.'”
Outley had 48 catches for 721 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior.
“I think we have come up with some creative things against the coverages that are going to have against him. They can’t stop everything," Bolding said. “I’m expecting a lot out of him this year and I think he is expecting a lot out of himself.”
Outley will be big target for Rogers, who was 99 of 182 passing for 1,661 yards, 19 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, and also rushed 93 times for 584 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
Rogers originally committed to Arkansas on April 16, the day he received his offer from the Razorbacks.
He de-committed July 7 after Arkansas added Texas prep quarterback Lucas Coley, but came back into the fold on July 23.
Rogers also had offers from Kansas, Houston, Arkansas State, Southern Miss, North Texas, UT-Martin, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe and Murray State.
“I thought the comments that he made to the media were spot on,” Bolding said of Rogers stating he had rushed into the decision. “It happened really fast, he’s always wanted to be a Razorback and after he committed to Arkansas, people started recruiting him even more and were really pressuring him and that is something that he is not used to.”
Bolding is excited about the potential of Rogers.
“He is very demanding of himself and when he does something wrong, he does 10 pushups right away,” Bolding said. “He is a kid that I don’t know where the limit is in the sky for him, but I know that at the next level that if they continue to fine tune him that he could be big, big, big-time.”
Rogers is viewed as a dual threat signal caller.
“He can really run and that is something that we are going to use more this season,” Bolding said. “I told him in meetings that I want you to run, but I want you to get as many yards as you can and then get out of bounds and not try to run over somebody and get yourself hurt by trying to run of DBs and stuff like that and possibly cause an injury and lose a game changer like him.”
Jointer is coming off a sophomore campaign he suffered season-ending knee injury in the second game.
“He is looking good,” Bolding said. “He wears his brace and we are not tackling him below the waist, just kid of thudding him, but he is gaining his speed back. He is probably not at his speed that he was last year, but he is not too far away.”
Summons is the younger brother of former Arkansas and current NBA player Bobby Portis. He has moved from tackle to center this season and has an offer from Arkansas Tech and interest from others.
“He’s been doing pretty good and we just have to keep working him there,” Bolding said. “It is muscle memory like it is in golf and by that first game, it will be fine.”