GAINESVILLE — Most coaches would grimmace at the thought of returning just two offensive starters.
Gainesville football is not most programs, however, and the players looking to step into new starting positions for the Red Elephants are far from junior varsity material.
And then there is that defense.
In his 15th season at the helm, Gainesville coach Bruce Miller can rest confident in the fact that he returns eight speedy starters to a defensive unit that largely held foes in check in 2015.
"They're a pain to go against in practice; I know that," said Miller, chuckling.
And the Red Elephants coach knows that well after taking back play-calling duties this offseason following a large staff turnover.
"It was probably the biggest I've ever experienced," he said of making five staff changes. "We had guys who took a lot of opportunities this offseason. But I like calling plays; it's been a lot of fun getting back to it."
Aiding that is the emergence of yet another talented quarterback to take the helm of Gainesville's spread attack. Junior DJ Irons joined the program from Central Gwinnett in the offseason and has quickly taken the reins. Displaying the kind of dual-threat ability that could prove explosive in Gainesville's wide open attack -- which has moved almost seamlessly through two one-year starters following the departure of now-collegiate All-American Deshaun Watson to Clemson -- Irons is also surrounded by speed and talent at receiver and running backs with size and ability.
"We made a lot of progress this summer and made a lot of plays in passing leagues -- granted that's not a real game, but that gave us some optimism," Miller said. "The real question is protection."
That will be up to the offensive line, where Gainesville is replacing its entire starting five and will look to build cohesion among eight players battling for time -- just one of which earned varsity time last season (Zack Gibbs).
There is also a tough non-region slate to account for and a region that includes powerful Lanier and Dacula squads, as well as the emerging Winder-Barrow and improving Habersham Central and Apalachee.
"We could be 3-2 and be a really good team," Miller said. "Every single one of those games is going to be a test. But we're looking forward to it."
GAINESVILLE: NEED TO KNOW
- MASCOT: Red Elephants
- TEAM COLORS: Red and White
- CURRENT REGION: 8-AAAAAA
- HEAD COACH/RECORD AT SCHOOL: Bruce Miller, 15th season, 148-33
- 2015 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 8-4, reached Class AAAAA second round
- KEY LOSSES: QB Mesiah Dorsey, RB/LB Chris Byrd, OL Logan Harr, DL Cole Handte, OLB Demichael Borders, Saf Chris Lyles, CB Tae Turner, CB Toddrick Turner, PK/P Chandler Staton
- OFFENSIVE STYLE: Shotgun spread -- Gainesville's wide-open, four- and five-wide receiver sets attempt to string out defenses and get its playmakers in space. That doesn’t mean the Red Elephants won’t run the ball, however. In fact they may do so often with an extremely athletic quarterback and some strong running backs.
- KEY OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: 2 returning starters -- Jr. QB DJ Irons, Sr. RB KD Smith, Sr. WR Martavious Davis, Sr. WR Rodarious Timmons, Sr. WR Andy Hayes, Jr. WR Tre Blackwell, Jr. RB TK Kabir
- DEFENSIVE STYLE: 3-4 -- The Red Elephants are on their third defensive coordinator in three years (Mike Newton), but the style and attitude remain the same: Attack. Players will come at opposing offenses from multiple angles, blitzing from one spot, dropping in another.
- KEY DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 8 returning starters -- Jr. LB Keith Harris, Jr. DE Trevor Calvert, Jr. DE Tyreke Watson, Sr. NG Herve Akiotsoe, Jr. LB Zion Williams, Sr. LB Kris Montague, Sr. Saf Tyree Robinson
- SPECIAL TEAMS: PK Brandon Reyna or Christian Jiminez, Sr. KR Calvin Murphy, So. KR Jim Barnett, Jr. KR Tre Blackwell
- STRENGTH: Skilled position players/defensive front 7 -- Gainesville has speed, athleticism and depth at most of its skill positions on offense, and while Irons has yet to take a snap at quarterback, he has plenty of help around him. Meanwhile, the defense is greased lightning with an attitude, returning plenty of experience up front that -- while it may be smaller than many foes -- will be hard to get past.
- QUESTION: Offensive line/secondary -- There is plenty of talent in both spots, but it is largely untested with just one offensive lineman having played in a varsity contest. Meanwhile, Gainesville's corner backs will be stepping into starting roles for the first time.
- KEY GAMES: The opener against a West Hall team coming off back-to-back playoff seasons is intriguing, and the remainder of the non-region slate also presents challenges. In fact, combined the Red Elephants' first five foes were a combined 34-22 last season with one state quarterfinal appearance (Marist) and a Sweet 16 (Jefferson) among them. The Oct. 14 game versus Dacula and Nov. 4 contest at Lanier could well decide the fate of the Region 8-AAAAAA crown.
- TRENDING: It says something that a 2015 season that saw Gainesville go 8-4, miss a state quarterfinal berth by virtue of an overtime loss and drop a region crown by eight points is considered a big disappointment, but that's where the Red Elephants find themselves these days. Were it not for Buford's near-total dominance, Gainesville would perhaps be the program in northeast Georgia against which all others are measured. This season the Red Elephants are focused on getting back to double digit wins -- last year broke a seven-year stretch in that department -- and deeper into the postseason (Gainesville has not lost in the first round since 2007).
2016 SCHEDULE
Aug. 19 at West Hall
Aug. 26 vs. Alpharetta
Sept. 2 vs. Clarke Central
Sept. 23 at Jefferson
Sept. 30 vs. Marist
Oct. 7 at *Habersham Central
Oct. 14 vs. *Dacula
Oct. 21 vs. *Winder-Barrow
Oct. 28 at *Apalachee
Nov. 4 at *Lanier
*- Indicates region contest
(All Gainesville games can be heard live on 1240 AM ESPN Radio)
(All kickoffs scheduled for 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
