Northside Independent School District’s ninth high school, Brandeis, opens its doors to students this month after more than a year of construction. Head football coach John Campbell will be looking to construct a strong football team around Junior Noah Copeland (left) who will play strong safety and Junior Chris Nicassio (right) who will line up at tight end for the Broncos. Photo by John Albright

The orientation officially began for Brandeis’ football program the first week of August with fall workouts.

The first-year team has already gone through off-season, spring training and summer conditioning camp.

However, this is the time of year when it gets serious, because weekly games follow the drills.

Although everything will be a first-time experience for the Broncos, first-year coach John Campbell is hoping old-fashioned success comes their way.

Brandeis will go through tests along the way as well.

With the exception of strong safety Noah Copeland, who started at O’Connor as a sophomore this past season, most of the Brandeis players have no varsity experience. But they come from strong programs at O’Connor, Marshall and Clark, and Campbell believes that has made the transition to a new program go much smoother.

“Getting kids from strong programs made it better, because the hustle and discipline issues have already been addressed,” said Campbell, who came to Brandeis from Katy Taylor. “That made for a nice carryover. We run a lot of the things the other schools do, so that made it easier.”

If the offseason is any indication, the future is encouraging. The Broncos made major strides during that time. In addition to working on getting stronger and faster, the players got a better grasp of the offensive and defensive philosophy. Most important, they formed a unity right off the bat.

““We’re pleased with how everything came together,” Campbell said. “The chemistry was never a serious issue, because a lot of the players already knew each other and they came together. We were pleased with the amount of our offense we were able to put in during the offseason. We were really pleased with our conditioning camp, too. We had a great number of kids participating.”

Now, it’s all a matter of putting it together during the season.

Despite the inexperience, the Broncos have several players capable of making a quick impact.

Much of the promise begins with a solid Power I offense.

During the spring, quarterback candidates Cole Gradeless and Kyle Sewell proved they could direct the offense.

Campbell and his staff look for additional progress during the fall workouts and the upcoming scrimmage with Clemens.

Depth is also present in the backfield with tailbacks Taylor Mays, Sylvester Sauceda and Copeland showing signs of providing a sound running game.

At fullback, Campbell likes the progress coming from Nick Huizar and Kyle Chapman, while John Jackson has shown signs of being a go-to receiver.

Much of the protection on the line comes from tackles Nicholas Short and Marion Kinoshita, guards Felix Real and Seth Schuenmeyer, tight end Christopher Nicassio and centers Eryk Cook and Jakob Carillo.

Although Campbell wants to see his Broncos develop ball control, he also wants to take advantage of the passing opportunities from the attack.

“I think this offense fits our kids,” Campbell said. “I still think you have to establish the run, but we like to have balance, too. We want to be able to throw the ball down the field.”

The success of the Broncos’ 4-3 defense begins with Copeland, but other players started showing signs of making big plays during the offseason. That help is expected to come from linebackers Cody Rogers, a transfer from Stevens, Kyle Chapman, Joshua Campbell and Antonio Hernandez, along with the defensive lineman Joshua Scott.

Brandeis coaches can talk about what to expect under the Friday night lights, but players won’t experience the true feeling of the atmosphere until they go through it themselves.

District 28-5A looks to be strong as usual with Clark, O’Connor, Warren and Taft tabbed as the pre-season playoff favorites.

Before the Broncos begin that challenge, they’ll get a chance to test the water against Johnson and Canyon, two teams going through the same experience as Brandeis.

In addition, the Broncos should get a strong evaluation during a scrimmage with Clemens.

“That will be a good way for us to start the season, because we are all in the same boat,” Campbell said. “Going against Clemens will be good. Clemens is an established program that has had success. Hopefully, some lights will go on when we’re playing and the players will see what it takes.”

Brandeis schedule

Aug. 30 Johnson 7 p.m. Farris

Sept. 5 at Canyon Lake 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 13 x-Clark 7 p.m. Farris

Sept. 20 x-Taft 7 p.m. Farris

Sept. 26 x-Holmes 7:30 p.m. Gustafson

Oct. 10 x-Stevens 7:30 p.m. Gustafson

Oct. 18 x-Marshall 7 p.m. Farris

Oct. 24 x-Jay 7:30 p.m. Farris

Nov. 1 x-O’Connor 7 p.m. Farris

Nov. 7 x-Warren 7:30 p.m. Farris

x-District 28-5A games