Players throughout the state began conditioning training this morning -- and will don pads in just a week's time. In fact there are just 25 days left until the kickoff of the 2016 high school football season, but make no mistake, preparations for 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 full countdown mode.
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. Today wraps up the series that AccessWDUN hopes got you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams ran in alphabetical order)...
WINDER-BARROW
Coach Heath Webb has helped lead a two-year resurgence for the Bulldoggs that has seen them clinch back-to-back playoff berths and produce their best football in over a decade. But after graduating a strong senior class, is Winder ready to get back to the postseason in year three under Webb?
AccessWDUN sports editor Morgan Lee recently talked with Webb to find out just how the Bulldoggs feel about their chances on the eve of the 2016 campaign.
QUESTION: You're coming off two impressive turnaround seasons and back-to-back state playoff appearances; how has that affected the program? What is the perception of Bulldoggs football around the school now?
ANSWER: I think we've hit the point where we've built the program to where it needs to be at a minimum level. Program-wise I feel like we're in good shape. We can continue to play the next man in because we've done a good job coaching our depth. A lot of times coaches only concentrate on the starters, but we're coaching everyone on the team so when the back-up's time comes, he's ready.
Q: Who is stepping in to replace your senior class? How do you work to develop leadership within the team?
A: Leadership-wise we've done a nice job. We started a leadership council and started leadership training, so it's cool to watch that come to fruition. On the field we've graduated some guys that are going to be hard to replace. We had the largest signing class in school history last year (six members signed Letters of Intent), and two more could have signed but chose not to. But we've got some good pieces in place. We've got Brock Landis at quarterback, who played a lot last year and is growing into the starting role. And, yes, everyone thinks about Cece Green and how big he was for this team, but he missed through injury two games that we won last year, and Javon Hughes, who started in Cece's place those games, is back to be a starter. We feel pretty good about that. The defensive line and offensive line hurt a little. We've got seven starters to replace between those two positions, and we'll have to grow up there.
Previously in Two-a-Days: WHITE COUNTY
