There are just 24 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2023 high school football season. But make no mistake, preparations for the upcoming campaign began months ago. And teams throughout northeast Georgia are already 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)...
LUMPKIN COUNTY
The Indians set or tied several program records in 2022. They return the bulk of a young team in what will be a wide-open Region 7-3A.
However, they will have a new signal-caller on offense and now come into the 2023 season with high expectations. How they navigate those heightened expectations may be crucial in whether they can build off last year.
We asked second-year head coach Heath Webb how the quarterback situation is developing and how the team is handling being considered the hunted in 2023 instead of the hunters.
QUESTION: Y'all are breaking in a new quarterback in converted wide receiver, Cal Faulkner. How has his transition to QB and running the offense been going this summer?
A: Cal got a lot of practice reps last season as our backup quarterback, although he didn't get a lot of game reps. He's a very bright young man that already had a solid grip on the offense, so it's been a smooth transition. He's an explosive player that will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. We feel good about his progress.
Q: The program and community had a breakthrough season last year. How have you and your staff been able to manage expectations as you try and build a consistent winner?
A: Our message has been to stay humble and hungry. That hunger was what drove this team a year ago. We're encouraging them to recall that hunger for success and relive it. A year ago, the hunger was fueled by nobody giving us a shot. Now the hunger is to prove to everyone that 2022 wasn't a flash in the pan. We want to prove that we are a program that is set up for winning year to year.
- Up Next in Two-a-Days: NORTH FORSYTH
- Previous Two-a-Days: LANIER CHRISTIAN
