HERRIN — Football camp during the month of July can be viewed a few different ways. It's either a sign that the fall season is just a few short weeks away, or a teasing reminder that a few weeks still remain between now and then.

It's perception, really. But regardless of the slant, football practice for high school teams in Illinois starts Aug. 13, with the first Friday night clash set for Aug. 29.

Last week, Herrin football coach Jason Karnes and his staff worked with youngsters in the mornings and then spent the evenings with their incoming players to get a head start on the upcoming season.

Karnes gets four more days with his players this week before having to avoid contact during a "dead period" before official practices start.

But count Karnes among those that viewed last week's camp as a sign that football season is right around the corner, even if the corner stretches for a few more weeks.

"This is the start," the third-year coach said. "We've worked hard all summer in the weight room and this is kind of the beginning part of what leads through practice. We wanted to start here in July and let it carry us into the start of football here in a couple of weeks so that everything stays fresh in the kids' minds."

Mother Nature seemed excited about the return of football along with everyone else, Karnes joked.

"It was blistering hot on Monday," he said. "It's been a nice spring and start of summer, but it seems like every year the Southern Illinois weather seems to know when football starts. It always gets hot.

"But then the last couple of days (Wednesday and Thursday) have been beautiful out here."

Just having players on the field, wearing football gear, yelling out signals, put Karnes and his staff in their comfort zone.

"It's nice to see the kids run around with those pads on and flying around popping and having fun screaming and yelling," Karnes said. "It gets you ready. It seems like we just suited up last year but it's already here again."

With only four days, Karnes said the staff put a heavy emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

"We didn't try to do too much," he said. "We just tried to do a few things on offense and defense and get really good at those few things. It's hard to put a bunch of things in during camp. You kind of see the faces and what they can do on the field and get some basic terminology in and hope it sinks in and we build from that in August."

Herrin is coming off a 7-3 season that ended for the second straight year in the playoffs at Mt. Carmel. Gone from that team are speedsters such as Tommie Taylor and Kent Sherrill or gunslinger Kyle Derry, but a group that went undefeated at the sophomore level is rising in the ranks.

"We don't have that one guy that can break 60 yards. We're going to have to have four or five guys pick up those 60 yards," Karnes said. "Which, that's a good thing. We were so dependable on one or two players last year. This year's team is going to have to work even harder because it's going to take more of a team effort.

"This group of seniors is a great group. They've had a great first three years of high school. I'm looking for big things out of them as seniors."

It helps that Karnes has a senior quarterback stepping in such as Ethan Grounds, who has started in some form at the varsity level for three years. He's ran the offense for the sophomore team and backed up Derry last season.

"He's a four-year starter as a kicker and will be a three-year starter on offense and defense," Karnes said. "He's a great kid, a smart kid who plays hard and plays fast. I look for him to have a great season."

There will be plenty of weapons around Grounds — old faces and new — that could make Herrin one of the most surprising teams in the area when all is said and done. But for now, it's still the summer preparation phase.

A specific point of emphasis this offseason came in the weight room, where the Tigers will attempt to avoid injuries that bogged down what was becoming a freight train last season. Injuries to Sherrill, cornerback Blake Hampleman and lineman Brandon Vaughn especially hurt — and didn't go unnoticed.

"This group of kids as soon as football was over last year in November started working in the weight room and doing different cycles to try and prevent some injuries," Karnes said. "You can't always prevent injuries in football. Freak accidents are going to happen. But with this group of kids, a lot of them are going to have to play both ways and they'll need to be in top shape."

Even with several athletes playing on both sides of the ball, the Tigers appear to have a great deal of depth at all levels, something Karnes is looking forward to utilizing.

"In high school football, if you have some depth, things are going good," he said. "The type of kids we have in our program, freshmen through seniors, they're very hungry and they love the game of football. It's a great group of kids to work with."

The Tigers have four days this week to continue building that hunger.

The lights come on for Herrin's season opener against Olney in five short, long weeks.

"I wish it was tomorrow," Karnes said.