By Jacob Verket
Staff Writer
An average National Football League roster contains 53 football players, with 11 athletes from each team on the field at one time. Mira Costa’s junior varsity football team faces the challenge of having less than 30 players on its roster.
According to sophomore tight end Cameron Alexander, many players have to play multiple positions on offense, defense and special teams, leaving a minimal amount of players available to substitute in the game.
“There are certain positions that do not have enough players in case of an injury,” Alexander said.
Injuries can be problematic because there is no depth on the team, and it is difficult to find replacements for the injured players.
“There is more pressure now because the tight end, Cameron Alexander, got a concussion, so now I’ve had to move to tight end,” sophomore quarterback and tight end Nick Rangel said.
With a limited roster, coach Matt Baker said they can get a better look at the players and specialize the practices to include more drills to improve each play.
“I feel like I get more repetition at my position and that makes me a better player,” Rangel said.
Recruiting is illegal for public schools; however, football looks to athletes from other sports as well as Costa’s Physical Education classes. As of Sept. 16, the JV team recruited seven more players, both sophomores and juniors to play.
“Adding new players gave us the reassurance of having substitutes to play in games,” Alexander said.
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