Cooper Anderson has always had a good view of Washington’s defense. He has spent three seasons as a safety for the Pam Pack, serving as the last line of defense. The entire corps was challenged last season as the offense struggled to put together long drives to give them adequate rest.

Now, the rising senior — standing 6-foot and weighing in at a lean 165 pounds — will move to the middle of the field as an inside linebacker. He has the physical abilities to halt running backs and receivers, but also brings a mental know-how to the middle of everything.

“He’s really picked it up well,” head coach and defensive mastermind Jon Blank said of Anderson’s shift. “He’s a kid that, playing safety for two years, he understands the whole defense. He knows how people are supposed to line up. He knows all of our coverage calls. He understood all of our front calls even when he was a safety.

“So, he understands the game of football. That helps us so much. Cooper is a hard-nosed kid with great football instincts. He likes to get in there and get physical. I’ve seen him become a much more of a physical player since the end of last season.”

Safeties don’t get to see as much physicality as linebackers. Blank added that Anderson is excited to start popping pads later in the summer.

Washington should also enjoy improvements from a communication standpoint with the return of rising-senior quarterback Frederick Holscher. He was slated to be the Pam Pack’s backup signal caller this time last year, but was thrown into the starting role mere days before the season opener at Havelock.

It was a tough adjustment. Blank said Holscher, early on in the season, was more of a game manager on offense. With his time as the junior-varsity quarterback, he understood a lot of the basics when it came to coordinating the run game.

Holscher wasn’t able to get much fancier than that until the later stages of the season. He showed glimpses of what he’s able to do with his arm. He produced one of the season’s highlights when he connected with Nazzir Hardy on a long last-second touchdown against North Pitt.

 

This summer has been about nailing down a lot of those nuances. This offseason is the first one that Holscher went into with the starting job. He’s been able to take the time to dial in on each aspect of the game instead of figuring it out on the fly.

“He’s mastered most of the run game: footwork, concepts, alignments, all that stuff,” Blank said. “He’s a smart kid. He really wants to do well this year. We’ve been thrilled with what he’s given us.”

The summer hasn’t been easy for Holscher, though. The Pam Pack coaching staff experienced some changes immediately after the season when Sport Sawyer stepped down. Blank took over, and hired a new offensive coordinator in Perry Owens.

“He’s done an excellent job,” Blank said. “Having to learn a new offense with a new offensive coordinator, he has taken some extra time to come in with coach Owens. They’ve sat down and watched film. He has really been like a sponge. He’s absorbed what coach Owens is trying to give him with their passing-game concepts.”

Holscher, Anderson and company traveled to Edenton over a week ago for some summer passing league competition. Blank said he enjoyed seeing the way the team competed with the 2-A runner up.

The summer fun continues Friday when Washington travels out to Havelock’s “Bash at the Beach.” The Rams are hosting some of the best competition from all over the region: Rose, Conley, East Carteret, Greene Central, Jones Central and others.

“A lot of top-tier teams in eastern North Carolina will be there. We’ll get to see what we’re made of and how we stack up against some really good athletes,” Blank said.