REDMOND IS LONE JUNIOR LINEMAN

When the week 10 game of last year was cancelled, ultimately resulting in a forfeit win for the Bearcats there was disappointment, of course, but maybe no more so than among those on the Bearcat offensive line.

Consequently a heavy rain that soaked the area Thursday had Bearcat offensive lineman Josh “JJ” Redmond a little giddy.

“Last year when we got rained out we were all looking forward to playing in the mud. We had the mustard pants on and old practice jerseys (for pregame),” said Redmond. “Then it wasn’t going to stop raining.”

This year, although the turf at Bearcat Stadium, like that in Cedarville, is grass, there is no choice but to play the game. After all it is a playoff game.

As far as the playoffs go overall, Redmond believes in his team.

“I think we’ve got a really good shot to get (to Little Rock). We’ve got to fix a couple things. We’ve got a little puzzle on our offensive line,” said Redmond.

The rest of the puzzle will be among seniors and sophomores because Redmond is the last man standing when it comes to linemen in his – junior – class.

Because Booneville is a school that does not blend eighth grade players with seventh grade teams, there was a minimum of five linemen when the Class of 2025 finished seventh grade football.

Then the numbers began to drop, eventually to one.

“They didn’t want to do it anymore. I’m the only one out of my group of seven or eight. They all just left, or they moved,” said Redmond.

Redmond really does not really mind being the only junior left even if it comes with come leadership requirements in the future.

“Coach Hattabaugh told me he is really proud of me and really impressed that I was the only one in my class that stuck it out,” Redmond says. “It would be kind of weird if you had no junior linemen (because) you would have no senior linemen.”

Hattabaugh is not the only coach who is glad Redmond stuck it out.

“JJ has made a tremendous jump this year. He was a kid who contemplated giving up football after his 10th grade year,” said head coach Doc Crowley. “We had a good talk and he worked extremely hard during the offseason to earn a starting position at tackle.

“He has turned into a different kid. He has matured both mentally and physically and turned into a heck of a football player.”

A center in junior high, as Crowley noted, Redmond is anchored at tackle these days. He is also seeing progressively more action on the defensive side of the ball of late.

“They prefer me to be a one-way (player) but in the last game and in practice (the coaches) have been putting me in on defense a little more,” Redmond said. “Might be playing, might not. We’ll see how it goes.”

Like most linemen, Redmond has bought into the idea that notoriety for team success is often absent, though finger pointing for shortcomings are frequent.

He understands seeing a flag dropped for a false start or a hold is a lot more visible than the block that opened a hole for the back to get to the next level. Also like most linemen, he will tell you that is okay.

“I think I’ve had only one holding call, and it wasn’t even a hold,” Redmond says a little defiantly. “It was a pass play and I had him squared up with my body.”

Redmond also accepts that it is the trenches that are scene of many battle scars.

“I’ve got a torn labrum in my shoulder,” Redmond said. “I’ll take care of that after this season.”

The tear actually occurred last year.

“I’m just dealing with it. Sometime last year I fell on it wrong or something happened,” said Redmond. “I guess I thought it was just sore, and then there was a constant click in my shoulder.

"When we go to get our physicals for this year Dr. Daniel was, ‘hey you have a torn labrum, you may need to have surgery.’”

He opted to tough it out, for now.

“I’m just going to deal with it. I want to be able to give my team the best ability to get to state,” said Redmond.

Of course Redmond can also be seen sporting a brace on his knee, either actually, which is all but expected of linemen.

It was also Redmond who boarded the bus for Charleston in a suit carrying a briefcase. Inside the briefcase was a single sheet of paper proclaiming a win, that business is good, and a place for the game score.

“That was great. I ended up taking that home and posting it on my wall,” said Redmond.

Last year Redmond played basketball but he has no intentions of doing so this year, thanks to the injury and possible surgery, besides expecting to be the only senior with a number from 50 through 79 this summer.

“I do track and trap. Throw disc and shot,” Redmond said of track. “It’s either that or you can run.”

Timed at 5.38 in the 40, Redmond has run, as the anchor no less, on a 4x400 “Honeybun Relay” winning team in a meet in Waldron once.

A typical lineman, Redmond is involved with outdoor activities – ag mechanics is on the class schedule, and he welds – working at Holt Farms or for his father and doing lawn care and landscaping in the offseason.

The son of Joshua and Carrie Redmond, Redmond is toying with the idea of being a heavy equipment operator after high school.