Pruitt primary threat in Har-Ber’s secondary
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Intercepting passes is the easy part for Springdale Har-Ber free safety Houston Pruitt.
Explaining how he does it ? That’s tricky.
“You’ve got to be at the right spot, but you kind of have to have a knack for the ball,” said Pruitt, whose Wildcats host Coweta, Okla., at 7: 30 tonight at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium. “You have to feel when the quarterback is about to throw it. It’s more of a sense and reading the quarterback.”
Pruitt, a 6-0, 170-pound junior, has been nothing short of an interception machine. In the 15 games he’s played in as a Wildcat, Pruitt has picked off eight passes.
Seven came last year, when he earned a spot on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Super Sophomore Team and received a scholarship offer from Tulsa.
“He’s got a lot of natural instincts and abilities,” Har-Ber secondary coach Mark Taylor said. “[With ] understanding the coverages, reading routes and doing his homework during the week, he’s done a real good job about being a student of what other people are trying to do.
“ Then it becomes [about ] his athletic ability, and he’s been blessed there for sure.”
Pruitt credits some of his success to his study of film. When he’s watching footage of other teams, he’s looking to see if quarterbacks are favoring certain receivers.
Pruitt also pays close attention to the receivers’ habits on every play, not just the ones on which the ball comes their way. He said that helps him to understand when he can break away from coverage and head to a different part of the field.
Har-Ber’s coaches have considered using Pruitt at cornerback, but they feel he’s most valuable to the team in the middle of the field.
“I think his field vision is what allows us [to play him at free safety ],” Taylor said. “He has the capability of playing any of the spots back there, but he has no fear at all. He’s taken on running backs and big receivers that have come across the middle.”
Pruitt spent the off-season training, adding speed and strength to his frame. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4. 59 seconds and bench presses 240 pounds.
Pruitt also was setting goals for this season and hopes to improve upon all of last year’s numbers. That means he’s aiming for at least 8 interceptions, 10 pass break-ups and 104 tackles. The 103 he made last year were the Wildcats’ secondhighest total.
“He’s the heart of our secondary,” defensive coordinator Travis Moreland said. “The thing that Houston has is a passion for the game. He really gets everybody where they need to be. He’s our quarterback in the secondary. He makes all of our calls and checks for us.”
Surpassing seven interceptions will be tough because teams are learning not to throw his direction. But Pruitt says he has plenty of confidence that if the ball stays away from him, his fellow secondary members can make the plays.
The Wildcats (2-0 ) have intercepted three passes in their first two games and defeated their opponents, Greenwood and Alma, by a combined score of 93-25. Har-Ber has allowed only 25 of 63 passes to be completed (39. 7 percent ).
“We’ve been doing great,” Pruitt said. “Our goal as a defense is to stay together, because if we do that, we’re going to win.” Coweta (Okla. ) at Springdale Har-Ber WHEN 7: 30 tonight WHERE Jarrell Williams Stadium, Springdale RECORDS Coweta 1-1; Har-Ber 2-0 RANKINGS Har-Ber is No. 8 overall and No. 6 in Class 7 A RADIO KZRA-AM, 1590, in Springdale
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