We're featuring some of our HomeTeam 100 players, including our No. 11 player, Armwood DL Byron Cowart:
The final draft of the scouting report on Byron Cowart isn’t quite finished. By his own admission, the Armwood junior lacked focus on some plays and knowledge of the playbook on others last season.
But when the confusion is edited out and consistency inserted, the kid whose ancestry is half-Samoan and half-Southern could blossom into All-American.
“He can rush, he can also get out and cover a little bit, and that adds a huge dimension to your defense,” Strawberry Crest coach John Kelly said. “And he’s very strong (355-pound bench press), so if he decides to rush, you better have a couple of guys to account for him.”
At times last fall, Cowart (6-foot-4 , 250 pounds) brandished that Himalayan potential. Exhibit A occurred in early September against Tampa Bay Tech, when he totaled 11 tackles, a sack and interception.
But he managed only three other sacks the rest of the year. “Last year, you could tell me, 'Byron, run to the ball,’ and I could do it, but...I really didn’t know what I was doing,” he said.
“This year I know I’ve improved to where my coach doesn’t even have to be at the game. As long as they give me the call, I feel like I can do it.”
That mental evolution could be critical. Armwood, which hasn’t diverted from its base formation in recent years, could blitz a lot more. Cowart, who lists Florida and Vanderbilt among his college favorites, could line up inside on one play and on the edge the next.
“All-American,” coach Sean Callahan says of Cowart’s potential. “But what I mean by that is, he has to play every down hard.”
Also in this series:
Players 91-100
Players 81-90
Players 71-80
Players 61-70
Players 51-60
Players 41-50
Players 31-40
Players 21-30
Players 11-20