It was a frustrating opening week of the football season at Long Beach Poly, where COVID-19 positives necessitated a week-long shutdown. The Jackrabbits have been back practicing since Saturday, however, in preparation for their season opener Friday at 7 p.m. on the road against Serra.
Poly also got some good news last week with three sophomore impact transfers all being cleared to play immediately: quarterback Darius Curry, linebacker Dylan Williams, and receiver Jason Robinson Jr. will all be available for Poly from week one.
“We’re really excited for them,” said Poly coach Stephen Barbee. “They’re all impact players, they’re a part of that really strong sophomore class that we have, and they’re all national recruits and high-academic kids. So it’s great to have them in the program and we’re looking forward to having them for the next three years.”
Curry is expected to split time with returning senior starter Shea Kuykendall. He and Williams both played for St. Bernard as freshmen last year, and were cleared to play immediately via a hardship transfer through the CIF Southern Section. St. Bernard announced that they wouldn’t have a season this year, making all players who transferred out of the program immediately eligible. The school has since announced that they’ll attempt to play a three-game league schedule, but Curry and Williams remain eligible for Poly.
The third player, Robinson, is a speedy receiver who is eligible due to non-participation last year.
All three players said they’re excited to be eligible right away, as well as to get on the field this week.
“I just knew we were going to come out and go crazy, but we had to wait,” said Williams, a linebacker with huge upside.
“The week off let us get some guys healthy and we’re all very ready to play this week,” said Curry.
