Head coach: Caleb Bagley (1-19 here and overall in two years)
Returning starters: 8 offensive; 9 defensive
Key players: OL-DL Wade Wiggins (6-0, 230); OL-DL Daniel Smith (6-1, 262); DL Jake Young (5-7, 192); LB Boone Creswell (5-11, 180); RB-LB Austin Hernandez (5-8, 192); RB-LB Titus Underwood (5-8, 172).
Team strengths: Experience on the offensive and defensive lines is the key to keeping Bagley’s building program on pace.
Austin Hernandez is seen after running a drill during practice at Coahulla Creek High School on Thursday, Aug. 3, in Dalton, Ga.“Those kids have played since they were ninth- and 10th-graders, most before they were ready,” he said.
Team concerns: A strength last season, the secondary will have three new starters, a group that includes Zander Burse and Austin Martin.
Breakout candidate: Hernandez. He’s battled injuries the past two seasons, but the senior is poised to be a leader on both sides of the ball this season.
Season outlook: There are numbers that matter and some that don’t for Bagley and the Colts.
There’s no escaping the fact that the program has won only seven games in eight seasons and one game in the past three.
Year three of the Bagley regime could start to make those numbers obsolete. It’s not just the 17 starters who return or the fact there are more than 30 seniors on the roster. The biggest number that matters are the 100-plus players Bagley and his staff get to coach every day now, more than double his first team.
“When we got there as a staff we kind of circled this year as when we could turn the corner and be able to compete,” Bagley said. “We have the biggest senior class in school history, we return a lot of starters and our numbers are way up.”
Seniors who took their lumps two years ago are now bigger, stronger, faster and ready to return some of the pain they endured. Bagley got a glimpse of what he hopes will come in the Colts’ spring game against Armuchee. With varsities going against each other in the first half, Coahulla Creek led 28-0.
“That spring game was kind of validation for them,” Bagley said. “The guys are excited and, to be honest, they look like football players now. They’ve been through a lot, this senior class. It’s been a rough high school football experience for them.
“They want to be the group that leaves their legacy on the program as the class that turned things around.”