There are just 28 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2023 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign got underway months ago. And teams throughout northeast Georgia already are in full countdown mode.
With that in mind, we spent the last couple of weeks 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. Our "Two-a-Days" series honors those old-school grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall, asking each area coach two key questions about the state of their respective programs.
Over the next two weeks, AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia.
(Teams run in alphabetical order)...
GAINESVILLE
The 2022 campaign for the Red Elephants could only have gone better had they been able to overcome Hughes in the state finals. But a 35-28 loss made them the Class 6A state runners-up. By any standard, it was a tremendous first season for head coach Josh Niblett.
But that season is behind them and now Niblett and his staff will begin the task of trying to repeat history. They return several key pieces on both sides of the ball, including senior quarterback Baxter Wright, who will have the tough task of trying to improve on a career-season.
We caught up with Niblett about the challenges of trying to repeat a state final run and on the continued progression of Wright, who will be in his third season as a starter and second in Niblett's up-tempo offense.
QUESTION: Y’all are coming off a state runner-up finish last season. What has been the biggest challenge this summer for the coaching staff and the key players that return in making sure there is no letdown this season?
A: Probably the biggest thing when you've had a season like last year is just trying to keep everyone locked in to what you need to accomplish this season. Last year is last year. It's gone. The focus is on this group and what they can do. We have a core group back but also have some new guys as well, which you have every year with graduations and kids moving up to high school. As far as letdowns, I don't worry about that kind of stuff. If it was the same exact group of players, maybe. But with new guys and players ready to to take their turn, we don't worry about last year. Just because you made it last year to the finals does not guarantee you'll get back there. The focus is on this year and what we need to do for this group to get better every day, every week.
Q: Quarterback Baxter Wright and the offense had a breakout season last season. Can he and the offense improve on those numbers in 2023 or are their other priorities this season as y’all try to get back to the championship game?
A: Baxter had a tremendous season last year. He got better as the season went on. By the seventh game he really had a grasp on what we were wanting to do. Right now in the summer, he is light to dark on where he is and what he understands about the offense. He's gotten bigger, faster, stronger and is a real leader out there. I think he can improve on his numbers from last year [3,343 yards, 72% completions, 40 TD, 4 INT]. But it's not all about stats. The goal is to finish every drive with a kick. You want to be better on third down and be even more explosive. As a team, we lost some really, really good players. We need to grow some quality depth in some key areas. Creating quality depth is a big priority for us.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: HABERSHAM CENTRAL
- Previous Two-a-Days: FLOWERY BRANCH
