CLEVELAND — Tim Cokely knew little about White County prior to 2017, but after decades spent coaching in both Georgia and Florida the coach certainly knew football.
And now he's excited to be sharing that knowledge in Cleveland.
"The kids have made it easy, they've accepted me. You think about being a kid in high school, and then you're in the middle of your sophomore year, your junior year and they come and tell you you've got a new football coach. And there's a lot of ways you can take that, but I know that the players here have accepted me, and that's sped up our transition. Because of that we're ready, and we're excited about the fall," said Cokely, who took over the Warriors this offseason after four years at Leon High in Florida.
Now in his 23rd season -- and sixth program -- Cokely believes the Warriors' transition from the option offense and 50 defense employed by former coach Bill Ballard to Cokely's spread attack and 3-4 defense have gone relatively smoothly.
"Ball is ball. What can be a challenge is terminology. A play's a play, but I think we brought in all new terminology on both sides of the board, so it's been a pretty steep learning curve for our guys. But we started a couple of months ago starting to install and get everything in. We know we can block and tackle. We've got good players like Kaleb Crane and Mason Palmer, guys ready to play," Cokely said. "What has been tough is the amount of verbiage our guys have had to learn. But I think we're ready."
Change will certainly be the order of the day on offense, as the Warriors put new faces into starting positions -- both due to graduation and responsibility shifts. Senior Kaleb Crain moves from quarterback to running back, while senior Jordon Palmer and freshman J. Ben Haynes compete to see who will take the starting QB role.
That said, the Warriors are not looking to go to a five wide receiver set and throw the ball all over the field, with Cokely estimating a 60-40 run-to-pass ratio.
"That's just based on who we are as a team and what suits our personnel," said Cokely. "We're going to rotate a lot of guys the first few weeks of the season. But we've got some size and some good athletes."
Defensively, White County can lean on a little more experience with five starters returning, and the Warriors will try to give offenses match-up issues by being as multiple as possible.
After a tough two-season stretch that saw White County win four games combined -- on the heels of three straight state playoff berths from 2012-14 -- Cokely and company are determined to get things turned around
"They definitely have a competitive nature in them. Now we've got to get them to start expecting another great thing to happen," Cokely said. "We've got to transition to a winner's mindset."
WHITE COUNTY: NEED TO KNOW
- MASCOT: Warriors
- TEAM COLORS: Navy, White and Vegas Gold
- CURRENT REGION: 7-AAAA
- HEAD COACH/RECORD AT SCHOOL: Tim Cokely, first season
- 2016 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1-9
- KEY LOSSES: RB Nasser Clark, RB Ky Crowe, OL DJ Dover, TE Sam Smith, DL Will Havlen, LB Trevor Morgan
- OFFENSIVE STYLE: Spread -- The Warriors are moving away from the option game but will still look to run out of the spread because of the strengths of their personnel.
- KEY OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: 2 returning starters -- Sr. RB Kaleb Crain, Sr. OL Jon Burkett, Jr. WR Cody VerSluis, Sr. WR Austin Rowland, Sr. WR Mason Palmer, Sr. WR Mike Baker, Sr. QB Jordon Palmer, Fr. QB J. Ben Haynes
- DEFENSIVE STYLE: 3-4 -- White County will move around and be mulitple on defense in order to combat the wide array of offenses it will face.
- KEY DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 5 returning starters -- Jr. DL Jay Lepkoske, Jr. DL DeeJay Fleming, Jr. LB Mike Mintz, Sr. CB Ty Ulrich
- SPECIAL TEAMS: Sr. PK/P Brett Bardenwerper
- STRENGTH: Special teams/determination -- The Warriors have one of the best kickers in the area in Bardenwerper. Meanwhile, the entire team has worked hard to learn and improve under new coach Cokely, and the coach has been impressed by what he's seen.
- QUESTION: Mindset -- After two tough seasons on the scoreboard, White County has to avoid the collective worries of things going south if something bad happens on the field. Cokely believes his team has the competitive nature to succeed and believes they will keep battling.
- KEY GAMES: The opener under a new head coach and different offensive and defensive systems should certainly prove intriguing, while a trip to an improved Habersham Central (Sept. 1) should also let the Warriors know just where they stand early in the season. Traditional rival North Hall also lies in wait (Sept. 15, away). The region schedule is short but certain to be very tough, opening against defending 7-AAAA champ Blessed Trinity in Roswell (Oct. 6).
- TRENDING: After three straight state playoff appearances from 2012-14 -- the best streak in program history -- the Warriors took a step back in 2015-16, winning just four games combined. White County is hoping that Cokely can re-invigorate the program and get the Warriors back on a consistent upward trajectory. The small but tough 7-AAAA should prove no cakewalk yet again, but White County feels it can force its way back into the conversation this season.
2017 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 vs. Franklin County
Aug. 25 vs. Lumpkin County
Sept. 1 at Habersham Central
Sept. 8 vs. Rabun County
Sept. 15 at North Hall
Sept. 22 vs. Dawson County
Oct. 6 at Blessed Trinity*
Oct. 20 at Chestatee*
Oct. 27 vs. West Hall*
Nov. 3 vs. Marist*
*- Indicates region contest
(All kickoffs scheduled for 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
