LAKEWOOD RANCH — This time last year, Lakewood Ranch’s coaches were unsure about Reggie Lindsey.
Or to be more specific, they were unsure if he could handle the rigors of life as a varsity quarterback.
Now, there’s little doubt. The lanky Lindsey, a junior, will be under center Friday when the Mustangs head to Sarasota for a Kickoff Classic. And he’ll be there, too, for the remainder of the fall, fronting a passing game that Lakewood Ranch hopes will help resurrect the program following last year’s 1-9 mark.
“We knew that he had the physical tools to do it,” coach Shawn Trent said. “Starting a sophomore quarterback is not always what you want to be doing, playing the teams that we have to play. But he did a great job. Every week, he got better. We’re pretty confident in the fact that he’s going to do what we’re going to need him to do.”
Lindsey took over the reins midway through last season, throwing for 675 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. He enters the fall with a lot more experience, as well as a boost from a member of Lakewood Ranch’s revamped coaching staff — Ken Dorsey.
Dorsey set myriad passing records at Miami and led the Hurricanes to the national title in 2001 — the same year he won the Maxwell Award and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Now, he’s coaching the Mustangs’ quarterbacks.
“I used to look up to him, and I used to want to be just like him when I was little,” Lindsey said. “We come out and work hard, but it’s still a privilege to be with him and him teaching us.”
Having a guy on board such as Dorsey, who spent time in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, hasn’t changed the Mustangs’ scheme too much, Trent said. That said, his words, as well as those of assistants Anthony Littlejohn (Mississippi State) and James Williams (FIU), who also played Division I football, carry weight with the players.
Littlejohn coaches the linebackers, Williams the tight ends.
“Any time you can bring guys like that in, they have instant credibility with the kids,” Trent said. “The kids know, and that’s what all these kids aspire to get to — they want to play Division I ball.”
Lindsey’s support system doesn’t begin and end with Dorsey. The receiving pool goes six players deep and is led by senior Octavious Washington, who paced the Mustangs in catches (25), receiving yards (561), yards per catch (22.4) and touchdowns (seven).
Washington, whose older brother, Latravis, is at Nebraska, is a coach’s dream, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing roughly 200 pounds.
“It’s pretty hard not to get him the ball,” Trent said.
Lindsey had little trouble getting Washington the ball during last season’s finale at Naples Palmetto Ridge, where the two hooked up for a pair of touchdown passes, and Washington finished with 121 receiving yards.
The Mustangs are hoping that was a harbinger of things to come.
“We’ve improved a lot on the passing game,” Washington said. “When it’s time to make our plays, we make our plays.”
Lindsey has five varsity starts under his belt. Washington started every game as a junior. Another senior receiver, Jake Goodwin, is ready to step into a starting role after seeing some action last year. And they’ve got an experienced-laden coaching staff led by a guy who nearly led the Hurricanes to consecutive national championships.
The Mustangs plan on doing whatever works, Trent said. Chances are, the passing attack may work just fine.
“It’s just everybody building everybody up,” Goodwin said, “and just building off what we did last year.”
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