Ever heard of Robert Smith?

Not the former pro football player Robert Smith. We are talking the high school football player Robert Smith ... well, the soon-to-be high school football player Robert Smith, that is.

Chances are you haven't heard of him unless you live in the area of Byrds or St. George. But Woodland Wolverines coach Reed Charpia knows all about Robert Smith, and he thinks he's going to be a pretty good quarterback. That's why he's heading into the summer with the idea that Smith -- who will be in the ninth grade next year -- will be his team's starting quarterback. And, while lots of 2-A teams have had to start freshmen at quarterback, Woodland isn't your ordinary 2-A team.

"We like to spread the field," said Charpia. "We like to run the spread offense, a lot like Florida with Urban Meyer, with one back out of the gun. We go no-huddle from that."

The scheme means that Charpia and Smith will be spending a lot of time together this summer.

"This is a really important summer," the coach said. "He has only played at the middle school level, and the first thing he knows is to pull the ball down and run with it because he was bigger than the kids down there. He was faster and stronger.

"I think it's going to be good to get him in a passing league because you can't run," he continued. "You have to throw every down, and that's going to be important in helping him get his timing down and get his reads down."

Something Smith already has working for him is a strong group of returning skill players. At wide receiver, the Wolverines return seniors A.J. Johnson and Raphael Benefiel as well as juniors Dondrell Folk, Marquise Carson and Dekendel Carn. In the backfield, Woodland returns tailback BJ Mazyck, who rushed for over 600 yards last season, and junior Nagui Wright.

"We started playing some younger guys last year, and that's paying off for us," said Charpia. "We have a real solid group of wide receivers coming back, and some of them can even play both ways for us."

The Wolverines will also be solid up front on the offensive line where senior David Ross and junior tackle Paul Daniels will return.

"We'll have most of that line back," said Charpia. "Ross is a three-year starter, and a good Division I prospect."

On defense, Charpia said his team would mostly operate with a five-man front with senior defensive linemen Sam Williams, Datoine Wilson and Dante Ross leading the way.

At linebacker, senior Hakeem Daniels and juniors Enrique Hicks and Merrick Inabinett will be looked at to lead the team into the summer.

"We're just going to continue in our weight program," said Charpia. "We are going to be competing every Tuesday and Thursday in June in passing camps. We will be at O-W on June 14 and Bamberg-Ehrhardt on June 16.

"We've got a lot of work to do, and we are going to be working hard."

T&D Sports Writer Brian Linder can be reached by e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553.

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