The NKyTribune will be offering focused coverage of NKY high school football throughout the season, thanks to support from St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. See all our pre-season features on each of NKY’s 21 high school football teams and follow our coverage, including roundups each week at Northern Kentucky High School Football.
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ryan McGinness played wide receiver, running back and quarterback on the Covington Catholic football team last season and finished with 898 all-purpose yards on offense.
With his athleticism and versatility, McGinness fits right in with the run-and-shoot offense that new head coach Eddie Eviston is installing during practice this summer. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior will be playing slotback for the Colonels in their season-opener on Aug. 21 against Ryle.
“Last year, we pretty much ran a spread offense and this is something completely different,” said McGinness, one of the team’s few returning offensive starters. “This one gives us tons of different looks and we can run a lot of stuff out of any formation.”
From his slotback position, McGinness could go in motion and become a running back or break down the field as a pass receiver. He could even take a handoff and throw the football himself.
“Ryan will be a weapon for us this year on offense as he will have the most game experience among all of our offensive skill players,” coach Eviston said.
McGinness obtained that experience by playing multiple positions on last year’s CovCath team that posted an 8-6 record under former head coach Dave Wirth, who resigned in January and is now on the coaching staff at Mount St. Joseph University in Ohio.
Eviston signed on as CovCath’s new head coach in February. For the last two years, he was the offensive coordinator for the Georgetown College football team that averaged more than 500 yards per game in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Before he took that job, Eviston was head coach at Newport Central Catholic where his teams compiled a 35-8 record in three seasons and won two Class 2A state championships.
The new coach revealed his plans to use a run-and-shoot offense during CovCath’s spring practice, but McGinness didn’t take part in those drills because he was playing baseball. He had to wait for pre-season practice to begin in July to learn his role in the sophisticated offense.
“It’s a difficult offense to grasp at first, but he did a good job relaying the message and teaching us what’s supposed to happen,” McGinness said of coach Eviston.
Even though McGinness had more experience at quarterback than anyone else on the CovCath roster, the coaching staff decided to use him at slotback and have sophomore A.J. Mayer call the signals in the new offense.
McGinness said he enjoyed having the ball in my hands on every play when he played quarterback, but he’s looking forward to focusing on just one position this season and not switching around like he did last year to fill vacancies when teammates were injured.
“He’s a sophomore, but he’s ready to go,” McGinness said of Mayer. “He’s a big kid with a great arm and he reads the field well. It’s going to be good for the program in the future having him back there because he’s going to get tons of experience. I’m happy with it all.”
McGinness said he has been contacted by football coaches at Austin Peay University in Tennessee and Butler University in Indiana along with several small colleges. If the CovCath run-and-shoot offense gets rolling this season, he’ll get a chance to impress even more recruiters.
“Our motto this year is ‘Challenge Accepted,’” McGinness said. “We have a tough schedule, but we’re ready to go. We just need to keep working hard every day.”
COVINGTON CATHOLIC COLONELS
2014 SEASON: 8-6 record, lost in third round of Class 4A state playoffs.
THIS SEASON: Class 5A, District 5 with Dixie Heights, Highlands, Grant County.
COACH: Eddie Eviston (35-8 in three seasons at NewCath).
2015 SCHEDULE
Aug. 21 – RYLE, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 – ST. XAVIER (Ohio), 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 – at Sycamore (Ohio), 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 – at Lexington Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 – at Beechwood, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 – Columbus DeSales (Ohio), 1 p.m.
Oct. 10 – GRANT COUNTY, 1 p.m.
Oct. 17 – HIGHLANDS, 1 p.m.
Oct. 23 – at Dixie Heights, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 – at Scott County, 7:30 p.m
See these NKyTribune prep football reviews:
Bishop Brossart High School
Ludlow High School
Campbell County High School
Highlands High School
Dixie Heights
Bellevue
Newport
NewCath
Conner