DAHLONEGA — Changing the culture at Lumpkin County is the top priority for first-year coach Caleb Sorrells.
It’s a challenge that former Stephens County assistant is not backing down from as he prepares to tee it up for the first time as a head coach. As a matter of fact, he’s embracing it with a smile and, as he says, “we get to make it what we want it.”
“The biggest challenge is all the non-football stuff,” he said. “I want to be with the kids, the weight room and on the board dialing up all the Xs and Os. But it’s worth doing all that stuff (non-football) to know the fun part is being able to say I get to be the one that sets the culture.”
Sorrells began his career at Lumpkin County in late-April, which left him a bit behind and no time to pull together a spring practice. So the Indians took the spring off, waiting for the summer school bell to finally ring, signifying the start, finally, to the football season.
Sorrells began immediately implementing his program step by step, hiring coaches and learning more about the players.
“I think they’ve progressed just like we were hoping they would, while we're still keeping in mind that we’re not where we need to be. Are we as far ahead in terms of scheme on both sides of the ball as I would like to be if we would’ve had spring and months of meetings? No, we’re not that far. But I think we’re right where I hoped we would be having gotten such a late start.”
The Indians were an old-fashioned wishbone offense last season. 2019 graduate Luke Smith was the only standout in terms of production, rushing for 1,086 yards. But the offensive unit wasn’t very productive, otherwise, averaging just 16.2 points per game.
Sorrells hopes to change that this year with his power-spread offense, but it’s not the typical spread offense.
“It will not look like a four-wide, sling-it-all-over-the-place kind of spread offense,” he said. “We’re fortunate enough to have some really good tight ends. We will be a run-based offense. Everything we do will be based on run schemes.”
Sorrells will look to senior quarterback Tucker Kirk to pace the new offense. Last season, the Indians only threw the ball 35 times for 137 yards and one TD.
“I think Tucker is poised to have a really good year,” he said. “Because, I think, we’re going to let him do things that he really hasn’t been able to do in the past.”
Defensively, the Indians will be anchored by a four-man front. Aaron Hopkins, JT Thomas, Ricky Hicks and Drew Allison are expected to star in what will be a seven or eight-man in-and-out rotation.
“I think it will be anchored by that four-man front,” Sorrells said. “I think that’s going to be the strength of our defense. The more time we spend learning that scheme and getting reps, the more you see the light bulbs to turn on.
The Indians play in a tough Region 7-3A, three of the top four teams advanced past the first round of the Class 3A playoffs last season, GAC, Dawson and North Hall. Sorrells knows what this team faces, not only in the region but each week.
“Our expectations are to make sure that we’re prepared for the next game,” he said. “For us, we don’t want to look too far ahead. We know we have plenty to do before Week 1. My expectations, by the time we get to region, I want to be prepared to be the first region opponent.
“The kids have embraced what we’re doing like we hope they would and have really tried to dial in and learn.”
LUMPKIN COUNTY: NEED TO KNOW
- MASCOT: Indians
- TEAM COLORS: Purple and Gold
- CURRENT REGION: 7-3A
- HEAD COACH/RECORD AT SCHOOL: Caleb Sorrells, 1st season
- 2018 RECORD/ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 3-7
- KEY LOSSES: OL Devin Dye, TE/DE Jack Robinson, RB/CB Jonas Ramirez, RB Luke Smith, LB Ben Jones, CB Kyle Amburghey, S Coleman Wendl
- OFFENSIVE STYLE: Power spread -- With a new coaching staff comes changes to the offense. The Indians will shift from the wishbone to the power spread offense. They'll count on Kirk to get up-to-speed quickly to direct the offense.
- KEY OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: Sr. QB Tucker Kirk, Sr. TE Aaron Hopkins, Sr. TE Ryan Burkhart, Jr. RB Trey Wilkes, Sr. RB BoJack Dowdy.
- DEFENSIVE STYLE: 4-2-5 -- The Indians will shift from an odd-man front to a four-man in 2019. Sorrells brought in defensive coordinator Paul Hoch to implement the new defense. Hoch will focus on simple, consistent reads to let players think less and play faster.
- KEY DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: Defensive line -- The defensive front will be critical early on for the Indians. Hoch will count on Aaron Hopkins, JT Thomas, Ricky Hicks and Drew Allison to anchor the defense from the box out.
- SPECIAL TEAMS: Will Ramirez replaced Georgia Tech kicker Wesley Wells last season and is expected to pick up where he left off after a solid 2018 season
- STRENGTH: Change of offense -- The Indians will open up the offense with Sorrell's new power spread scheme. It will allow Kirk to showcase his arm and disrupt the defense with a variety of formations.
- QUESTION: Transitions/culture change -- With the late coaching change, Sorrells didn't have spring practice. With that, it left a lot of unknowns throughout the summer. In addition to the late start, scheme changes on both sides will present a learning challenge. The Indians have used summer practice and workouts to implement all the bells and whistles to the new schemes. Sorrells also has put a focus on changing the football culture in the Gold City. He says that will need to take place before the Indians can act as if they belong in the playoff hunt.
- KEY GAMES: The Indians have struggled to lift themselves out of the bottom of Region 7-3A over the last several years. Sorrells is bringing a welcomed attitude change to the program but still will have to ride through the region gauntlet. They'll have a shot to tune-up against non-region foes East Jackson, White County, Jackson County and Gilmer County before hosting arch-rival Dawson County on Sept. 27. That'll start a six-game region tough road, with Cherokee Bluff, region champ Greater Atlanta and North Hall in a three-week span. If the Indians make it through the region's top-3 teams showing improvement, they could be battling for a playoff spot when they roll into Rabbittown on Nov. 8.
- TRENDING: With a new coach and a new philosophy in Dahlonega, the Indians seem to be on the right path. Sorrells says he's going to let Kirk go in the new power spread offense but that doesn't mean he's going to throw the ball all over the place. Expect the Indians to utilize a balanced run-pass offense. Also, expect to see an improved Indian squad by the time they hit region play.
2019 SCHEDULE
8-23 East Jackson
8-30 at White County
9-6 at Jackson County
9-13 Gilmer County
9-27 Dawson County*
10-11 Cherokee Bluff*
10-18 Greater Atlanta*
10-25 North Hall*
11-1 Fannin County*
11-8 East Hall*
*- Indicates region contest
(All kickoffs scheduled for 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
