2017 football preview: Garrett hopes to bring energy, 'excellence' back to Riverside football

GAINESVILLE — Riverside Military Academy football has experienced excellence on the field during its long history, typified by its winning the GISA Class AAA state title in 2005.

And it was the "excellence" of campus, facilities, and attitude that attracted new coach Nick Garrett from the far-reaches of California to take over an Eagles program looking to get back to those heights on the field.

Looking very much like he could still strap on a helmet and pads, and flashing an exuberant energy, Garrett said it was that one word that sold him on making the cross-country journey.

"I have a friend here that kept telling me about the school so when the position opened I inquired. In a word, 'excellence' is what comes to mind when you see everything that is here. That's the feel you get when you first drive down Riverside Drive. So I felt like it would be a great opportunity," Garrett stated.

It will also be a tremendous challenge as the Eagles have not posted a winning record since 2008 and have not advanced to the playoffs since 2009. In addition, Riverside must always deal with a constantly-shifting roster -- many of those players unable to attend summer workouts -- and a fall camp that begins later than most programs.

What is known, however, is that the Eagles will return some outstanding skilled position players in 2017, led by junior quarterback/wide receiver Isaac Teasley, senior receiver Charles Dimwaobi, junior receiver Khalid Duke, and senior running back Victor Pittman. Senior quarterback Cameron Mulvehill also should join the mix, which will give Garrett's new-look spread attack plenty of weapons to choose from.

"We have a lot of talent and speed on the offensive side, and we're going to try to utilize of them as much as possible," Garrett said. "We'll be a full run-pass-option (RPO) type of offense which puts the ball in our court a little more to pressure the defense."

However, a big question mark must be answered on both lines of scrimmage as the Eagles return just one player, junior two-way standout Harry Kim Wookdong, with any real varsity experience.

"That is a glaring weakness at the moment but we don't really know everyone we have available yet," Garrett said.

Playing in the ever-tough Region 8-A, which had six teams advance to the (public-private) split Class A playoffs and three reach the second round or better in 2016, Garrett already understands he will have to rebuild in the middle of battle. They open against two-time defending region champion Prince Avenue on the road.

"We're looking at that first game to kind of see what we have and what we need to do to be competitive in the region," he said. "What I have seen on film is that the region has a lot of well-coached teams and that there are no easy games in this region. Our goal is to build this program back up and get back to the playoffs.

"Football for us really just started this summer. We're ready to get going."