Kemp taking over as leader of Tattnall defense | Macon Telegraph

Aubrien Kemp is one big center fielder.

At 6-foot and 190 pounds, Kemp is one of the biggest free safeties among the GHSA’s small private schools. And after changing his focus last season from offense to defense, the senior has started to draw some collegiate interest.

“Aubrien’s getting some pretty good looks,” Tattnall Square head coach Clint Morgan said. “He came on last year as a free safety. We counted on him a whole lot as a sophomore on the offensive side, and last year, we changed him over to where he was primarily at free safety. He still played a lot of offense, but we knew and he knew his role on the team was to be that person at free safety. He really played it well, he was an all-region player, and he did some really good things for us.”

Picking off a couple of passes and returning them for touchdowns gave collegiate recruiters some film to watch. So did his other interception, which came against Mount de Sales, as well as nine pass break-ups.

Kemp also was a big stopper in the secondary. He had 56 total tackles, including 38 solo stops.

“His biggest talent is the ability to come up and really hit somebody,” Morgan said. “He’s a specimen at free safety, but when you’re talking about a (near) 200-pounder who is playing free safety, at 6-foot or 6-1, that’s a pretty big free safety. He’ll lay the wood.”

With some turnover at the linebacker position, including the loss of Jonathan Ward (100 tackles) to Mercer, Kemp becomes the featured player on a Tattnall defense that yielded just 13.4 points per contest in its 10 wins last year.

Both of Tattnall’s losses in 2014 came on the road to Class A private school runner-up Aquinas. The Trojans lost 49-21 in the Region 7-A title game, then Aquinas posted a 21-6 victory three weeks later in the quarterfinals.

“Jonathan was a huge help,” Kemp said. “We won’t have him anymore, but we’ll still have the same players who have the ability to break out any time they want.”

Kemp is one of five returning defensive starters.

“He brings a lot; he’s a really good safety for us,” junior running back Ahmad Barron said. “He took back a couple of interceptions for us last year; hopefully he’ll do the same this year.”

ABOUT THE TATTNALL SQUARE TROJANS

Head coach: Clint Morgan (104-52-1 in 14 seasons overall; 18-5 in two seasons at Tattnall Square).

Assistant coaches: Travis Absher (defensive coordinator); Andy Woodard, Dan Johnson, Tim Pruitt, Donnie Allen, Yancey Houston.

Offensive scheme: Triple-option.

Defensive scheme: Multiple (base 50).

2014 record: 10-2.

Region: GHSA 7A-A.

Returning starters: Four on offense; five on defense.

Players to watch: Aubrien Kemp (Sr., FS); Ahmad Barron (Jr., RB); Christian Rodgers (Jr., DT); Sean Brown (Jr., DE); Jimmy Marshall (Jr.,W R).

Schedule

Aug. 28 at GMC

Sept. 4 Warren County

Sept. 11 at Strong Rock

Sept. 18 Hancock Central

Oct. 2 at Wilkinson County

Oct. 9 at Stratford

Oct. 16 at FPD

Oct. 23 Twiggs County

Oct. 30 Mount de Sales

Nov. 6 Region 7-A crossover