There are just 38 days left until the kickoff of the 2016 high school football season -- 20 days until the first practice in pads -- 13 until the first fall conditioning practices may commence. But make no mistake, the 2016 season got underway months ago in weight rooms, sand pits and practice fields throughout the state. And teams from throughout northeast Georgia are in the final stages of preparations for the coming season.
With that in mind we spent the last few days catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going and what coaches believe the fall will look like. We call the series "Two-a-Days" in honor of the grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall. And for the next two weeks, AccessWDUN will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
BUFORD
The Wolves have played in nine straight state championship games, and while last year proved a disappointment -- Buford fell in the title contest for just the second time in that incredible run -- they learned plenty of lessons that should prove invaluable in the Wolves' attempt to make a 10th straight Georgia Dome contest.
After graduating plenty of committed talent -- Buford saw 12 players sign National Letters of Intent -- the Wolves know they will face tough new challenges in 2016, not least of which is move up to Class AAAAA. With that in mind, AccessWDUN sports editor Morgan Lee caught up with Buford coach Jess Simpson to talk about his team and how they have reacted to last season's championship loss and what he's seen from his team this summer.
QUESTION: Last season's team appeared to give it's absolute all in pursuit of another state championship but fell just short. What lessons did your returning players take from that campaign?
ANSWER: We had some great seniors in that group last season, and they were part of a special four-year run (that included state championships in 2012-14). Some of them played in a state championship game as ninth graders and did so all four years. They had great careers at Buford, even though last year obviously didn't end like they wanted it to. And the kids that are still here saw how hard they worked and respected that and learned a lot from those guys. But they also have a taste that they want to get rid of now because of that loss. At the same time you have to put that to bed and move on, and these guys have worked extremely hard -- as hard as any group I've seen -- and that's good because there's a lot to be done. We just got back from "Dead Week," and we've got to get hard back at it. We'll be putting on pads fairly soon, but there's also less time in pads this season, so it's going to be tough to squeeze in an extra week of work. We've only got three weeks in pads this year (allowed by GHSA rules) -- usually we have four. That's a different dynamic, and it will be interesting to see how that effects the conditioning of the team -- not just us, but all over the state too.
Q: You graduated plenty of talent, but also undoubted leadership from last year's team. From what you've seen this summer, who are the players ready to step into starting and leading roles in 2016?
A: This senior class coming up has got great intangibles. This group is really hungry -- when you lose your last game that's what happens. And you can say what you want about our expectation levels, but those guys did not expect to lose that game last year. And every class here does not want to be the one that loses a title game; they want to win and pass that streak on to the next group. But when it does happen you see how much hunger it gives the next group -- like what we saw in the preseason in 2012 after we lost in 2011. That 2012 group was incredible hungry. It's also been fun as a coach to watch these guys, and some of the most fun years for us have been after we've lost a title game because of the sense of urgency it imparts.
Previously in Two-a-Days: BANKS COUNTY
Up Next in Two-a-Days: CHESTATEE
