Jonathan Meeks’ spring is wound just a little tight on Friday nights. Meeks, Louisa County’s defensive coordinator, is a fiery sideline presence, constantly bringing a heavy dose of energy to an already intense group in Mineral.
In that way he’s not unlike the man he was tabbed to replace on Wednesday, Mark Fischer. Fischer and Meeks share a passion, intensity and excitement for the game that they both wear on their sleeve. Now Meeks will bring that approach to his work as the newest head coach for the Lions, replacing Fischer after a six-year tenure that changed the course of Louisa County football.
Meeks, who Fischer consistently credited for the defense’s success during that span, is predictably eager for the opportunity.
“I feel like I’ve learned from the best,” Meeks said. “I’ve absorbed everything he’s taught. Now it’s my turn to make some tweaks on my end and get this thing going.”
Meeks rose to the top of an extremely competitive applicant pool, a pool vastly improved (nearly five times the resumes when Fischer got the spot) by Fischer’s work and the school’s commitment to creating an incredible atmosphere within and around football at the school.
Meeks, who was a return specialist and defensive back at Hampden Sydney, wasn’t the most surprising hire—his credentials are well known and Fischer spoke highly of his defensive coordinator constantly, so he was clearly qualified. It also makes sense that Louisa County would want to maintain consistency with the run of recent success including a 10-0 regular season in 2010.
But it is a little more surprising that Meeks will shift over to call the plays on offense after the tremendous success he had running things on the other side of the ball under Fischer.
“I feel like the head coach should always be in the hot seat,” Meeks said. “Everyone in the area knows coach Fischer called the offense. To me that’s the pressure spot the head coach needs to take on. That needs to be on me.”
Plus, the defense should be in good hands. Former Henrico star and Pittsburgh wide receiver Princell Brockenbrough, who’s factored in heavily working alongside Meeks on that unit in the past, will take over the defense, which should make for an easy transition for the Lions’ dynamic 3-5.
On offense, terminology and basics will stay the same. Louisa’s offense under Fischer developed from a true single wing into a single-wing/spread hybrid over the past couple of years and that trend should continue under Meeks. But there will certainly be some wrinkles.
“That was a big question we had (in the interview process),” Downey said. “What he said was that ‘the best experience I’ve had is I know what I hate to see.’ He knows what things we need to do offensively to fool the defense and that went a long way for us. I think he’s going to do a great job with the offense.”
For Meeks, there’s plenty of time to put his own definitive stamp on the program. Wednesday, he pushed a consistent facet of the Louisa program that’s played a big role in the Lions’ success. Like Fischer, Meeks is a big believer in the weight room, and he made a point of addressing the players in attendance on that point.
“We should be 60 deep every day,” Meeks said.
Looks like it’s business as usual in Mineral.
