Miranda Pederson/photo@bgdailynews.com Edmonson County's Daniel Caudill runs a drill during practice Wednesday at Edmonson County High School.

Nathan Smith is new to the varsity high school head football coaching profession, but he’s no novice when it comes to Edmonson County.

Smith, who served as Edmonson County Middle School’s head coach for four seasons and also on the varsity staff under former head coach Kyle Pierce, brings a good bit of continuity to the Wildcats as he steps in to replace the man he calls “one of the biggest mentors I’ve ever had.”

Pierce stepped down after 12 seasons of leading the Wildcats.

“Following in his footsteps is going to be tough,” Smith said during Saturday’s SKY Conference Football Media Day at 6-4-3 Sports Bar and Grill. “He did pretty good at Edmonson County.”

The Wildcats, coming off a 6-5 season that included a first-round playoff loss to Paducah Tilghman in the Class 3A state playoffs, have some holes to fill on both sides of the ball.

Most of depth is at the skill positions, and that’s where Smith has focused his attention by shifting Edmonson County’s offense from a power-oriented running team to a more balanced look featuring returning starting junior quarterback Tucker Cole operating out of the shotgun on most plays.

“He’s a great athlete, so it makes it a little bit easier back there,” Smith said of Cole. “He’s played quarterback for us for a long time. He was getting reps as a freshman, so he’s been there awhile and he knows what he’s doing.”

The Wildcats will still count heavily on senior running back Daniel Caudill, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards last season. Caudill said he’s focused on being more productive in the passing game this season.

“I feel like I’ve always been able to catch the ball well,” Caudill said. “One thing I’ve worked on is pass blocking. We’ve got to have time for the quarterback to throw the ball, that’s the most important thing.”

The Wildcats have three returnees on the offensive line, including longtime starter Dylan Waldrop and center and mammoth sophomore Logan Hagan (6-foot-6, 370 pounds) at guard.

“He definitely will surprise you with how he moves inside the box,” Smith said of Hagan.

Senior Rheece Berkley and juniors Brayden Carey and Logan Lindsey are all returning starters from the secondary, and all will factor into the passing game on offense.

“It’s the same kids,” Smith said. “We’re iron-man football. Everybody’s playing two positions, one on offense and one on defense.”

The Wildcats’ strength in their 5-2 base defense is likely linebacker, where depth and experience isn’t lacking spearheaded by Waldrop and Caudill, who is moving from an inside linebacker spot to outside.

“Our defensive tackles are little smaller guys that can move, and our defensive ends are hybrid linebackers, so stronger and faster kind of kids,” Smith said. “Our defensive line is probably the are where we have to replace the most, but we’re doing it with our offensive line.” 

An overall lack of depth, combined with that solid group of skill position players, has prompted Smith to open things up this season.

“I would much rather build it around all of our skill kids than around the six lineman that we have,” Smith said. “It could get hairy in there pretty quick with only six of them, and all of them going both ways.

“… We’re 13 or 14 deep. We’re a solid 13 or 14 deep, but after that we’re two sprained ankles away from having to start a freshman that really doesn’t need to be starting right now.”

— Follow Sports Editor Jeff Nations on Twitter @Jeff_NationsBG or visit bgdailynews.com.