There are just 26 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)...
JEFFERSON
The Dragons had an emotionally-charged 2022 season that ended in the first round of the playoffs despite a Region 8-5A championship and winning their final six regular season games. Coach Travis Noland and his group have put that behind them, but on the field, they will have a very different look after graduating the bulk of their offensive and defensive production.
The still have RB/LB Sammy Brown, but they will be breaking in a new quarterback and will have to replace several key spots on the defense. We asked Noland about the quarterback battle and their development, and about how the defensive rebuild is shaping up.
QUESTION: You are breaking a new quarterback with a healthy battle between juniors Forrest Ross and Gavin Markey this summer. Has either of them begun to separate themselves during the summer?
A: Gavin Markey has gotten most of the reps as Forrest Ross has dealt with an injury for most of the summer. We feel good about the progress they both have made over the past year.
Q: The defense was hit hard by graduation with y’all replacing the entire defensive line and three spots in the secondary. Who has begun to step up in both spots and how has the transition gone overall this summer?
A: Defensively we have a lot of new faces competing for a lot of spots. Those will continue into the fall. It is hard to judge a defensive football player without contact. Those spots will be decided once contact begins.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: JOHNSON
- Previous Two-a-Days: JACKSON COUNTY
