If were being honest, its going to be hard to get multiple kids against Georgia or Alabama, Johnson said. BP Brandon Petersen Team 8-2 - Social Studies. Top Coach. "Most of the kids growing up here, most of them aspire to play for Auburn; it's their hometown,"Etheredge said. To the benefit of high school football in the state, theyve stayed. In the blackness of night, a car rolled up beside me. Harsin, former defensive coordinator Derek Mason and a number of assistants visited Williamson during Woodyard's recruitment, and coach Melvin Pete Jr. was impressed by their professional style. Pete enjoyed a conversation with Harsinin December about how Auburn schemed in the Iron Bowl. field59.ipo = { That didnt take away that occasional feeling that comes with a lost love, though, or one you feel is slipping away. 5 in the state and No. One part of the team that will be missing is a starting quarterback, as A.J. Main Number 331-228-3100 . Higgins was struck by a new coach trying to learn and improve while maintaining his recruiting principles. 2 in Alabama) and defensive lineman Peter Woods (No. A four-star recruit, hes ranked No. But later, Western Carolina pulled back its offer because of a coaching change. Jesuit head coach Matt Thompson was honored Thursday (Sept. 17) at One Buc Place as the Bucs' "Coach of the Week." Thompson earned the honor following Jesuit . Hes ranked No. The more kids that get on campus, you're going to see him put his stamp on the type of kids he wants to recruit.". Former star Marlon Humphrey was an All-American at Alabama and is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. His record at Thompson in nine seasons is 83-18 and 21-2 in the playoffs. How do you go from that 6-4 year and what ways can I get our kids over that hump. It was 1987 when he took the reins of the Thompson Middle School team in Newport. Thompson High School in Birmingham is one of the perennial prep football powers in Alabama. Another thing that needs context is how hyper competitive Class 7A, Region 3 football is within the state. She was just sad and disappointed to watch me like that. And Woods is a five-star 2023 defensive lineman who has programs all over the country begging for his services, too. Copyright 2002-2023 Blackboard, Inc. All rights reserved. Jaiden Thompson (3) flies high to block a shot. Its going to be scary.. Copyright All rights reserved. Football. He takes over for Kyle Sprenkle, who resigned in January after seven seasons to help his. With his wife already a little miffed at him from moving away from Gulf Shores, Freeman didnt have any thoughts of leaving Spanish Fort for another high school job. He was good. Id say Im athletic, Alexander said. Words wouldnt be able to explain that moment.. It kind of started in seventh grade, Thompson said. records may be incomplete. Calera High School is searching for a new football coach after former head coach Trey Simpson recently joined Alabaster City Schools and Thompson High School. Griffin MiddleSchool team in seventh and eighth grade. But after realizing that I wanted it for myself, then things just started to pick up.. Former Auburn defensive line coach Nick Eason visited Eufaula in December, but he is the only Auburn staffer Rigby has seen at the school. Freeman, 55, told AL.com at the meeting that he hadn't even seen his contract or knew his final salary number. That was his happy place, his own piece of utopia. Thompson Warrior: Sloth Nationzz AHSFHS Master Researcher. Coming back here and kind of turning this program around was a big thing for me.. Theyve already landed two blue-chip recruits from Thompson in the 2022 class, and they have eyes on two more in 2023. So if everybody took two players at the Apps and East Carolinas and Wilmingtons and all that, a lot of kids get to go play. Saturdays game, a highly anticipated rematch of last seasons semifinals, will be played at McDowell High School in Marion at 3 p.m. You might even be able to hear Faulkner yelling words of support for her grandbaby, even in a gym packed with 3,700 other fans. 2022 Georgia High School Football Playoff Brackets: GHSA Class 2A. Thompson was approved as Spring Grove's new coach Monday night. Freeman landed his first head football coaching job at Bessemer Academy in 1998. KANNAPOLIS After walking into town 12 years ago and leaving his footprint at one of the most highly regarded programs in Cabarrus County, Mi, CONCORD They draw fans to the storied gym in droves, as if the Charlotte Hornets the original Kelly Tripucka-in-the-Charlotte-Coliseum Hor. She had never seen the room that full and the specially-called board meeting was still about 15 minutes away. Its almost a collective awe that funnels out when his teammates describe Woods. Being able to keep that promise for my grandma? Shes real aggressive sometimes, but I love her. Theyve got a great group of young players coming back.. Thompson paused, realizing that that day had been his moment of clarity. MOODY Thompson High School co-defensive coordinator Jake Ganus was introduced as the new coach for the Moody Blue Devils on Friday, December 17. That now makes him the highest-paid coach in Alabama high school football. Posted - 02/28/2023 : 12:35:46 . We now have834teams & 188,070games on AHSFHS.org. All are seniors and key contributors on this Vikings squad making its bid for the schools first state championship since 2000. The Crimson Tide, who have the No. I know that theres a freshman that plays quarterback, and at the end of the day when I was a quarterback at Chelsea, I was not a quarterback I was just one of the best athletes on the team who could throw the ball OK. Thats something well look at as well. Here's an updated ranking of how Class 7A, Region 3's salary structure adds up: The salary data isn't everything. At Eufaula, Rigby says Alabama assistant Charles Kelly is good at staying in touch. Jaiden Thompson (3) busts a move to get to the basket. And for that to actually happen? Baker, who had a decorated career as the head coach at Catawba College, believes Thompson, who carries a 3.8 GPA, will win the recruiting game. Out of all of the public high school football coaches, Joseph is the highest-paid. He said he had only been given a range in the hiring and interview process. His softball teams made Final 4 appearances from 2003-05, and his powerlifting teams were 3 time State Champs. Visit our website for info. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Josh Floyd was hired by earlier this month for $121,000 per season. In 2011, he became the head football coach at Spanish Fort High School. With one of the states largest high school athletic programs at the Class 7A level, Hester said it would be beneficial for the school in many ways. The 2023 class is even better, led by two five-stars: Cornerback Tony Mitchell (No. If you look at where Jaiden is ranked in his class, in the top 30 or so in North Carolina, normally the top 50 or 60 kids end up with a Division I offer, Baker explained. In the spring of 1978, Dodge's freshman year at Jefferson, the school hired a new coach, former Yellow Jacket Ronnie Thompson, to restore some pride in the football team. The challenge facing Harsin as he enters his second season at Auburn is making inroads while his program is geographically sandwiched between Nick Sabans established Alabama machine and Kirby Smarts emerging Georgia juggernaut. But in middle school is also when Thompsons love for the game took its first arrow. Both coaches compete in Class 7A, Region 3. Now, reaching the 30-win plateau -- in ONE season is the standard. "I want everyone else to know we are going to be a major player in everything we do for our children," Vickers said. In Freemans first two seasons, Thompson finished with a 5-5 record. I would see everybody get these offers, and sometimes people base their lives on one game. Email Steven Hoffmann. But everybody is just on hold with a lot of these very good high school players. His 2013 team finished 15-0 and won another Class 5A state championship with a win over Muscle Shoals in the title game. Position: Coach - JV Football - Davis Senior High School, July-November 2023, $3,366.00/season. Those hirings mean the two highest-paid high school football coaches in Alabama compete in the same region. The season before he arrived, the Warriors finished with an 0-10 record, missing the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. When I was principal at Montevallo, I appointed him as athletic director there because of his potential.. He even referenced the model set by former Cox Mill star Wendell Moore Jr., who led the Chargers to back-to-back state titles before going on to shine at Duke and become the first Cabarrus County-bred athlete to be chosen in the NBA Draft. I knew he had a plane to get to, and I kept trying to hurry him out, Eads said. Before that, I couldnt even get the rim, Thompson said. These days, Thompsons love for the game cant be questioned. It gives a kid a lot of fire.. #alpreps https://t.co/F9GZmsQwGo, "Every team when that game kicks off they want to win," Freeman said. His focus right now is getting past West Charlotte, into the state title game, and then coasting back down the interstate with a championship medal around his neck. But he acknowledges that the dynamics have changed since he was leading the Indians courting prospects. How can we make Moody more successful. 4) are both top-25 prospects in the country. 1 and No. Those hirings mean the two highest-paid high school football coaches in Alabama compete in the same region. 40 area players named: Full ASWA all-state teams list To end another memorable season of high school football in the area, 40 players in East Alabama were recognized when Alabama Sports. No, we got a great person, Vickers said. The Tigers did not add anybody to their 2022 class on National Signing Day earlier this month. Last years team started 3-2 and finished 3-7, but lost four games by eight points or less to talented playoff teams. Freeman was also the coach of the All-Star football game seven consecutive seasons. His uncle and role model, former Central Cabarrus football standout Michael Ricks, had a lot to do with that, coaching Thompson on his Concord Comets team and putting him through drills like dribbling with a tennis ball to improve his ball-handling. But by the fall of his senior season, there he was in that preseason game, with his grandma staring from the bleachers, disappointed but mostly concerned. AUBURN The message was inspirational to the kid and an aphorism for Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin, summing up his underdog recruiting mentality. Now, theyre recruiting the freakish athlete. His grandma, of course, will be with his grandpa, his mother and his uncle cheering Thompson on, hopefully for the next two weekends. I believe all the state schools beside (Alabama) and Tuskegee University can do a better job with in-state recruiting. Buildings are filling up. Over the next ten seasons his teams went 101-21 and won four AISA State Championships. "Rogers (High) AD Ricky Hole was close friends with my dad," MacDonald said. Coach Freemans football program has a trademark phrase. Man died Wednesday. During his time with the Eagles, he helped the baseball program reach the quarterfinals of the playoffs in 2018 and then started to turn the football program around the previous two seasons in the 6A classification. Its a region that includes Hoover, Hewitt-Trussville, Vestavia Hills, Oak Mountain, Gadsden City and Tuscaloosa County. I mean, if you come and play hard, its hard to get on a kid. The board approved him through a solitary personnel action. This was what hed wanted for most of his basketball life: to don that Green and Gold. School board meetings don't go quite like this in Alabaster. Things started off good for him the summer before his freshman year at Central. The biggest thing was: Was my wife going to move? That shows citizens and potential community members that their school's high school football experience will be second to none in the state of Alabama. BRYAN HARSIN:'The first one changes you': Coaches recall their debuts in the Iron Bowl, a game that determines longevity, AUBURN BASKETBALL:I tried to score over college basketball's greatest shot blocker, Walker Kessler | Durando, Montgomery Catholic Prep is another school with consistent talent. They do so with a collection of talent on defense that stirs the imagination. Theres no my way or the highway. What I want to do is take what Ive learned, what Ive been able to take in during my five years with Thompson and apply it to Moody. Faulkner had been helping take care of Jaiden since he was yay high, back when he and his mother, Keyna Ricks, first moved back to Concord after a stint in Charlotte. Alabama has more in its backyard than other traditionally talent-rich SEC states, including Louisiana and Georgia. Eads and former Pinson Valley coach Sam Shade (now at Miles College) were among the high school coaches who met Harsin at a seven-on-seven camp in summer 2021. His Rebels were also runner-up in 2001 and 2005. He ran from the other side of the field all the way to our sideline and tackled the quarterback, Fegans said. He won 15 of his 17 playoff games with the Toros. He felt he was on his way. Itll be an RPO, air-raid type system so we do need somebody that can spit the ball out and thats something well have to find in the program or in the hallways.. 258 Following. Thats really what made me as a football player, and getting back to my roots like that was really enticing to me facilities are great, but I think people make the place, and I think the people here make this a special place.. I think the wrestling and how I use my hands contributed to the player I am today.. I can catch the ball, and if I catch it, Ill probably score. High school sports greats who died in 2022, 2022 high school football state champions, Georgia football state championship games. Jaiden Thompson (3) is introduced before a Central Cabarrus game. electronic communication and community service. "global": { But during his time at Calera, Simpson was also the teams baseball coach during the 2017 and 2018 seasons and eventually became the schools athletic director. One said Harsin's continued absence is "just insane to me." The answer to that is Freeman.