Cortney Braswell, Central’s football coach the past two seasons, has taken over at Ridgeland.Cortney Braswell admits he’s a bit of a daydreamer, but even he thought the dream he shared a few years ago with a fellow up-and-coming high school football coach in the area would never come true.
Braswell, then a first-year assistant at Ringgold, was talking about a possible future that included making a difference in his hometown. That future became reality when the Rossville native was hired as the successor to Wesley Tankersley at Ridgeland.
“It’s unbelievable. Getting the opportunity to go home is a tremendous honor and blessing,” Braswell said. “I remember that day at Ringgold when I sat on a fence with Charles Fant gazing about the future. ‘What if I’m the head coach at Ridgeland and you are at Notre Dame?’
“Well, here we are. The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Braswell, 30, was the head coach at Central the past two seasons, leading the Pounders to the TSSAA playoffs each year and amassing a 10-13 overall record. The former all-state running back from Baylor also has, in addition to Ringgold, assistant coaching stops at Bradley Central, North Murray, East Ridge and Soddy-Daisy.