Coach Oscar Bonds of Tanner High School football has a Rattlers team with a deep junior class and senior leadership, along with freshman and sophomores who will contribute to the success of the team.

Bonds is one of the longest-tenured coaches out of the county schools, alongside Michael Parker at Clements and Shelby Davis at West Limestone.

Bonds is a former player himself, doing well enough at Russellville High School to play college ball for Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State.

“I was blessed to win a couple rings and be an All-American my senior year,” he said.

He spent years in the coaching ranks at Piedmont High School under head coach Steve Smith.

He was a part of multiple state championships with Piedmont.

Bonds uses a combination of coaching methods from his time at Jacksonville State and Piedmont, which had contrasting styles of football.

“Jack State, it was all physical. Be the meanest. When I got to Piedmont, it was more technical. Be where you are supposed to be. I combined them both and tried to bring it to this program.”

According to Bonds, the 2022 Rattlers will be a combination of talent and an understanding of what the standard is for the Tanner program.

This year’s team will also have to build on the success of 2021, where they made it the farthest out of any team in the Athens-Limestone area come playoff time.

Their numbers have increased under Bonds’ watch. Now, he has the culture and expectations instilled in his players.

“The culture is really about accountability. I am real big on no excuses. Whether you have 50 players or have 20 players, you dedicate yourself to getting in shape and getting stronger. (It is about) being there and being a good teammate. I believe in sportsmanship, class, conducting yourself the way you should and taking care of your academics. That was the biggest thing when I got here, and really taking a step into the weight room and conditioning.”

This culture is not for everyone, as he holds his players to a high standard, and sees huge upside with this group.

“I expect us to take the next step this season, because I like their chemistry,” Bonds said. “We are (down) to around 24 kids. But, I will take those 24 kids anyway because I know what I have.”

What Bonds has is a group of a large number of rising juniors who are returning starters, seniors who will take a step up in responsibility and a mix of young guys who are going to make an impact.

“We have, as of right now, two seniors on offense and two seniors on defense. Basically, we have the same team for two years. My offensive line this year is four juniors and a sophomore, so next year it will be four seniors and a junior. We start three juniors on the D-Line.”

Bonds says he “doesn’t want to leave anyone out” and named every prospective starter for the team and his high expectations for each of them.

He goes into detail about what fans are going to see from the Rattlers team.

At quarterback will be Karl Parham in another year steering the offense, after earning his starting role previously.

“He throws a really good deep ball and he is the fastest player on the team.”

Junior class member Elinneaus Jackson will see many of the touches from the running back position.

“He was the slot receiver (last year). Now we are moving him to tailback; you will see him get touches,” Bonds said.

Another player to see some touches will be Nick Garth.

“Then we have the guy who will do the dirty work, and that is Nick Garth. You always have to have that guy. He doesn’t mind blocking, (he’s) physical … anything he can do, he’s going to do it. (He will) run the ball a few times.”

While Bonds is looking forward with two seasons left with basically the same group, he also is having to replace three starters on the offensive line.

However, players such as Jamari Malone are individuals expected to make an impact on the line for 2022.

On defense, they will start a mix of mostly juniors at linebacker, with sophomores and seniors also seeing the field.

On the line, defensive tackle Tre’juan Lett is described as having “some of the most upside” and “multi-talented.”

Bonds, making sure to credit all involved with the Rattler program, also spoke about how pleased he was with the coaching staff, saying they all “get along.”