Only a couple days into Ozark’s summer workouts, Frankie Munoz already knew he made the right decision to return to the gridiron for his senior season.
“100 percent I made the right choice, no doubt in my mind,” he said.
Prior to first-year Ozark coach Jeremy Cordell’s arrival, Munoz had contemplated not playing, after feeling buried on the Tigers’ depth chart last season.
“Frustration sets in, jayvee (ball) as a junior is not a fun thing to do,” he said.
Munoz has become one of Ozark’s best feel-good stories this season. The Ozark linebacker’s value has skyrocketed. He’s played with the proverbial chip on his shoulder and exhibited reckless abandon while repeatedly gaining penetration into opposing offensive backfields.
He has had a hand in 51 tackles, including 22 solo stops and four TFLs.
“I'm trying to throw my body around,” Munoz said. “If I keep throwing myself around like a torpedo, I should be good. When someone is in front of me, I hit them as hard as I can. When you play mad, you make good plays.”
Munoz provided a strong pass rush upon first stepping onto the field as a fifth-grader, even if he wasn’t quite up to snuff on all the fundamentals of the sport.
“In fifth grade, I lined up at cornerback and got down in a three-point stance,” he said with a laugh. “On the next play, I sacked the quarterback. The next year, I played a little bit of D-line and linebacker. Freshman year, I was at outside ‘backer and I've lived there ever since.”
Munoz received even further confirmation during pre-season practices he made the right call to play when his teammates showed him how happy they are to have his charismatic and purposeful presence in their locker room and defensive huddle.
Munoz, along with offensive lineman Logan Smith and running back Jack Bowers, were voted by the players as the Tigers’ three captains.
Ozark also has a rotating fourth captain.
“I was all smiles,” Munoz said of his reaction to being named a co-captain. “It means everything to be voted on by your guys, it's the ultimate honor. Being named captain and a guy they can count on puts a lot of pressure on me and I own that pressure.
“I love my guys,” he added. “I live and die for them.”
"I love Frankie," Bowers said. "He's a great friend, a great person to be around and a great football player."
Cordell credits his players for their choices.
“We had two (captains contenders) right out of the gate in Franke and Logan and Jack kept showing up and improving,” Cordell said. “It was hard to deny Frankie was one of our leaders. He's worked really hard for us. I'm proud of him.”
