ReJohn Zeno had a breakout season as the fullback in Jennings’ flexbone offense. He will look to do it again this year from a new position: slotback.

“I like it a lot,” Zeno said of his new position. “I want to be better than I was last year. (I am working on my) speed and agility.

“I want to be a better leader for the team. We will be great. We will be much better than we were last year. We have more and better players.”

He ran for 1,884 yards and 21 touchdowns last year, averaging more than 7 yards a carry, continuing a tradition of great Bulldogs running backs that have included the likes of the Etienne brothers, Travis (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Trevor (University of Georgia), and Jalen Lewis in recent years.

“It feels great because they did great things, and I want to try to do the same thing,” Zeno said.

Head coach Bret Fuselier said he hopes to take advantage of Zeno’s speed — he ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at a Louisiana-Lafayette summer camp — and give him more opportunities in the passing game.

“He will get a lot more snaps in the slot position, rather than the fullback position,” Fuselier said. “That is simply because of his ability in space.

“We went through the spring with it, and he looked pretty good. We didn’t give him too many touches in the spring game because we know what he can do with the ball. We did just enough to see the different plays he is going to get from the slot position and how he is going to benefit this offense at the position.

“We were pleased as a staff to see him in the open field and make people miss. I think it is going to be a good thing for us this year.”

Zeno ran for 577 yards and seven touchdowns in the postseason in 2023 as the Bulldogs reached the Nonselect Division II quarterfinals.

“To me, the most impressive thing about him last year is that (opponents) knew our offense revolved around him and he was still able to get 1,900 yards on the season,” Fuselier said. “We were still a 9-4 ball club that made it to the quarterfinals.

“Defenses knew that he was getting it and they still couldn’t stop him. Once he does get vertical, it is hard to think of a time when he got caught from behind by anybody that had that opportunity.”

Fuselier said Zeno has become a stronger runner and sees a big year ahead for the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior.

“On the field, his vision is really good,” Fuselier said. “He knows when to stick the foot in the ground and get vertical.

“He did a lot better job last year as the season went on of putting his pads down and running through contact. That is something that he has gotten better on. I think this year we have a couple more threats on offense, so I think the sky is the limit for him this year.”

Even before Fuselier took over the program last season after longtime head coach Rusty Phelps, a 200-game winner, retired, he knew exactly what Zeno was capable of. In 2022, when Fuselier was the head coach at Kinder, Zeno ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-32 win over the Yellow Jackets.

“Before I got here, they were in the splitback and his thing was on the sweeps,” Fuselier said. “He was a real good runner on the sweeps and also out of the backfield catching the ball.

“It made him a duel threat and you always had to know where he was. That was the thing that stood out playing against (him) before I got here. I definitely knew about him. He is a back that can hit the home run any time he touches the ball.”

Zeno said he hopes to become the Bulldogs’ first 2,000-yard rusher since Travis Etienne in 2017 and pick up more college offers. He said he has an offer on the table from Prairie View A&M of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.