There are just 29 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. And for the next few days, AccessWDUN will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
NORTH GWINNETT
For the first time since 2003, and the first time in the Bob Sphire era, the Bulldogs did not make the playoffs in 2015. But the bigger concern for Sphire and the Bulldogs was the lack of competitiveness. They were just 1-5 against teams with winning records and were outscored 205-53 in their five losses.
Sphire said the biggest issue for the Bulldogs has been a lack of depth since the school was split into two with Lanier in 2010. North Gwinnett has dropped from 13 wins and a state championship game berth in 2013 to just five wins last season. AccessWDUN sports writer Jeff Hart asked Sphire if they see a timetable for when things will begin to turn back around for the Bulldogs.
QUESTION: You have mentioned quality depth being a key area for the program the last couple of seasons. How long do you think it will be before the numbers get back to where y’all will feel you can compete with anyone at any level?
ANSWER: We’re probably still two or three years away from being back to where we were before Lanier opened as far as the numbers and quality depth. A big key for us the last few seasons has been staying healthy because we didn’t have the depth we needed and last year we had some key injuries and we just didn’t have the second-tier guys that could step in without much of a drop-off. By the time we got to the region games we had three offensive linemen out and we just weren’t competitive with the top teams.
Q: The offense will have returning QB Cade Fortin but who will he throw too is the question. Y’all have to replace 9 receivers from last year’s group, including USC-signee Josh Imatorbhebhe and Miami-Ohio signee K.J. Hancock. Have you found any diamonds-in-the-rough during the spring and summer?
A: We lost a lot of good receivers and I think that, except for overall depth, is the biggest question mark area coming into the season. We have several young guys that I think will be good in (sophomores) Javonni Cunningham, Riley Walker, and Garrison Manor, and (senior) Ryan Smith, who is a good basketball player for us, has looked pretty good. We’re not going to change our philosophy of running the spread but we definitely need to find the right combination of guys that work well with Cade. I think by the start of the season several of those will be ready.
Previously in Two-a-Days: NORTH FORSYTH
Up Next in Two-a-Days: NORTH HALL
