The decision last year to allow Georgia high school football programs the choice of going through 10 days of spring practice or getting an extra scrimmage following summer training camp has greatly reduced the number of area teams hitting the field this time of year.
Nine of the 19 schools in the Times Free Press coverage area are skipping spring practice to get the extra work in later. For most of those teams the decision was an easy one for a variety of reasons.
“This is the best thing the GHSA has done for us,” Ringgold coach Robert Akins said. “We get much more accomplished in the summer. Most of our skill players are in baseball, so it’s tough for us to do much in the spring.”
Other programs, however, still view the practices as valuable time to build depth, install new schemes or just compete.
“Any time we can get together and work as a team, we want to do it,” Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said. “We will miss a few players, but over the 10 days we learn a lot about our team.”
Here’s a closer look at each team that is going through spring drills:
Calhoun
Lamb and his defending Class AAA state champions took the field last Tuesday with one of the strongest cores of returning starters in program history.
Offensively, quarterback Kaelen Riley, running back Olico Dennis and a stout line led by top prospect Jack DeFoor are back. Defensive returners include Auburn defensive end/tight end commitment Landon Rice and linebacker Jireh Wilson.
There are, however, some huge holes to fill, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Three of the team’s four leading tacklers — Austin Bennett, Tristen Fuller and Will Conley — are graduating.
“Those guys were really solid for us and will be hard to replace,” Lamb said. “We’ve got some guys I think are ready to step in, and this will be an important time for them. We also hope to find some depth along the lines.”
Coahulla Creek
Chad Barger will start work on his second season as coach Tuesday with the knowledge that the only way to go is up following an 0-10 season in which the Colts scored only 24 points.
On the positive side, the team returns all 11 starters on offense and nine on defense. However, Barger is making it known that no one has a starting spot guaranteed.
“We’ve got 22 positions open, and that’s kind of the way we approach it,” said Barger, who started six freshmen a year ago. “We’re going to look at some different things offensively, and our line in general will be a focus. Pretty much we’re going to see what we’ve got and see what several of our newcomers can do.”
Barger expects about a dozen non-freshmen who didn’t play in 2014 will go through spring drills, and the Colts will have between 60 and 70 athletes overall. He said the team is hardened from last season’s struggles, though optimism is high for a turnaround.
“They kind of understood what happened last year,” he said. “When you play as many freshmen as we did, you’re going to struggle at this level. You can’t coach experience, which is something we now have.”
Dalton
The most obvious area of need with the Catamounts is under center, where all-star Payton Veraldi is graduating after putting together one of the best statistical seasons in program history.
Jace Chastain, who alternated with Veraldi before breaking his leg as a sophomore, is the front-runner, but after a breakout season at linebacker last year he may be needed on that side of the ball more.
“Finding a quarterback is a big thing,” Dalton coach Matt Land said. “We know Jace can handle the position, but he was a big defensive force for us last year.”
With proven playmakers Tyler Noland, Kyric McGowan and Drake McGowan in the backfield and rising college prospect Zek Cobb at receiver, the Catamounts’ QB search is not necessarily about pure talent.
“We’ve got six guys, most of them young,” Land said. “The most critical thing is chemistry. There’s not a whole lot that separates those guys, so we’re going to see if anyone steps forward this summer. We really don’t need a playmaker at quarterback — we have plenty of those.”
Maybe more critical, according to Land, is the need to find four new offensive line starters, so the next 10 days will be crucial.
LaFayette
The Ramblers began drills last Monday with the focus on improving a defense that allowed 43 points a game. Former LaFayette and Shorter University player Matthew Yarborough will head Chad Fisher’s defense and already is stressing a more physical style of play as the team switches to the 3-4 alignment.
“We have to get better on that side of the ball,” Fisher said. “We need to learn to be aggressive, and we’ve got the bodies for that. Matthew is very well versed in the 3-4. The biggest thing is to get 11 hats to the ball and get physical. I think we’ll see a tremendous difference by the end of spring.”
The Ramblers also are focusing on finding a quarterback to replace Evan Head. Junior Connor Green and sophomore Logan Teasley will battle it out, according to Fisher.
Murray County
Coach Chad Brewer speaks with excitement when talking about his third season in Chatsworth. For starters, the Indians, who ended the 2012 season with 33 players in the program, will have nearly 100 out for spring drills beginning today. They’ll also have 18 of 22 starters back, though a new starting quarterback must be found.
“We’ve got to find a quarterback to replace Justin Smith, who started three years,” Brewer said. “We also need some depth at receiver and in the secondary, but we’ve got 18 back who started last year. Instead of needing starters everywhere, we’re looking for depth at those positions.”
Junior Dominick Genitempo and sophomore John Hunter Reed will compete for the quarterback job, and each is a two-way threat, Brewer said.
The coach also is excited about the Indians’ work in the weight room.
“In the offseason, our strength gains have been tremendous,” he said. “We started lifting the Monday after our last game, and we’ve been doing it ever since. This team will look a whole lot different than my first team size wise. Things are looking up here, and we should be much more competitive.”
Northwest Whitfield
Last spring the Bruins had to replace all their offensive line starters. This year it’s the skill positions that are taking a big graduation hit.
Freshman Luke Shiflett, who got significant playing time in 2014 when his senior brother, Caleb, was injured, is entrenched as next season’s starting quarterback. However, instead of the pass-oriented spread offense the team has run in recent seasons, Shiflett will trigger a more run-focused attack that will take advantage of an experienced line.
“We want to be more downhill-run oriented,” said Northwest coach Josh Robinson, whose team hits the field Tuesday. “We’ll use more two-back sets, and we want to be able to control the clock more against good teams. This is a change I think fits our personnel better.”
Ridgeland
The Panthers, who started late last week, are using the 10 days to get to know each other after Wesley Tankersley was hired to replace Mark Mariakis as head coach.
Tankersley, who successfully turned around the Gilmer County program, gave out 120 helmets, nearly 100 of them to rising sophomores through seniors. Naturally, the new coach wants to see what he has to work with before getting too in-depth.
“Starting out here it’s very important for me to get to know the kids and for them to get to know me,” Tankersley said. “We have a lot of kids, but it’s a good problem to have. They’ve been working hard in the weight room. We went four days at 6:30 on conditioning drills to get ready for spring practice, and attendance for that was great.
“We don’t want to take it too fast. We want to build fundamentals first and go from there. We’re going to work on a few things this spring and get as good as we can at them as we go into summer. As we master those team aspects, we’ll move onto others and so on. We’re still putting the staff in place, and hopefully within the next two weeks we can get that in place.”
Sonoraville
The Phoenix, coming off consecutive playoff seasons, hit the field today with what coach Jim Kremer expects will be a different attitude. They no longer are out to surprise teams, and he wants them to practice like it.
“We’re not going in having to shore up too many positions, so we’re actually going to focus on finding depth, stressing fundamentals and getting ready for our first game,” Kremer said. “We expect to be better than last year. We’ve got a bunch of starters back, and the guys are ready to go.”
Sonoraville will have, according to Kremer, 84 freshmen and sophomores next season and will spend a good part of the 10 practice days seeing where those guys fit for the future.
“We’re looking ahead a year and see if we can go ahead and put those guys in the right spots,” he said.
Southeast Whitfield
The Raiders plan to build off their most successful season in three decades, and coach Sean Gray has a strong group of returning skill players.
In fact, Southeast will return its entire backfield, led by exciting quarterback Will Swantic. However, if he and running backs Devin Fields and Tyler Brown are going to repeat their success of last season, some help must be found up front.
“We’re replacing four of our five offensive linemen, so that’s what we’re concentrating on this spring,” Gray said.
The Raiders also need help in the defensive trenches, where two starters must be identified.
Trion
The Bulldogs take the field today missing several athletes playing baseball, but coach Justin Brown said that won’t hinder his staff’s main goal.
“We’ve got a good group back, but we need to develop some depth,” said Brown, who loses only a handful of starters off last year’s 5-5 team. “We shouldn’t have to do too much teaching with so many starters returning, but we want to find out who can play among our younger kids.”
The Bulldogs also will work on expanding the offense, more specifically the passing game. Talented sophomore Jackson Bowers wasn’t asked to do much in his first year under center, but with the ground game in good shape with Malik Martin, he’s going to be asked to be more of a focal point next season.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.