There’s nothing like returning to special places. And make no mistake, Alabama will always be special to Josh Niblett.
He played high school football there and won a state title. He played on Alabama’s 1992-93 national championship team. He coached national powerhouse Hoover to five state titles from 2009 to 2016 in Alabama’s largest classification.
On Thursday, Niblett returns to where it all began, only this time he brings his newest team, Gainesville, to Moody (Ala.) in what traditionally is a rare out-of-state opponent for the Red Elephants. In fact, it’s the first out-of-state road trip for Gainesville since 1950.
“I'm sure there'll be a lot of people there from places I've been before that I have connections to,” he said. “And there's been people that have reached out to me saying ‘I will be at the game.’ So, you know, that's exciting.
“I was born in Alabama. Spent most of my career in Alabama. It's been home to me. It's where my parents live, and my sister lives. Alabama's always going to hold a special spot in my heart. I mean, I played at the University of Alabama, so to be able to go back home, that's special.”
And he’s pulling out all the stops just like in his days at Hoover. Niblett contacted his old team Pastor, Jeff James of Green Valley Church in Hoover, to give the Red Elephants a few words of inspiration before kickoff. James was part of three Hoover titles during Niblett’s run.
“First, Josh is a good friend, and we keep in touch,” James said. “Second, he’s the real deal when it comes to the kids. A tremendous person and a great coach as well.
“So when he called saying he was bringing his team back to Alabama and he wanted me to talk to them, of course, I said yes. It’s going to be good to see him again, and I expect this to be a fantastic game.”
Niblett stopped short of calling James a good-luck charm. But with three titles collected in seven years as the team Pastor...hmmm.
“I don’t know about all that, but Jeff always has a great message for the team,” he said. “It’ll be good to see him again.”
But as Niblett is apt to say, it’s not about him. And it won’t be on Thursday.
The Red Elephants bring a high-flying offense and a nasty defense across the border to take on a Blue Devils squad that will be staging its season-opener.
Gainesville dismantled Marietta 41-3 in its opener last week. New sophomore quarterback Kharim Hughley was 14 of 18 passing for 228 yards and two touchdowns as Big Red racked up 371 yards of offense in his first varsity start.
Shane King hauled in 9 passes for 127 yards. Jeremiah Ware had 6 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Carmelo Byrd had 16 carries for 111 yards and two scores rushing.
But the defense held Marietta to 161 total yards and no touchdowns. The Red Elephants’ front-7 can make a claim for the best in Class 5A, and that includes defending 7A state champ Milton in their region.
Behind former Georgia Bulldog linebacker Jake Ganus (2015), Moody is coming off its best season in program history (10-3) with a trip to the Class 5A quarterfinals last year. The Blue Devils return 11 starters from the 2023 team, including their entire offensive line. Also back is QB1 Charlie Johnston (61% completions, 2,559 yards, 29 TD) and senior receiver Braden Wright (490 yards, 4 TD).
But the crucial battle may be when Big Red has the ball. The Red Elephants are big and talented up front with seniors Alex Payne (6-5, 275 pounds), Will Turner (6-2, 270), Tony Meja ( 5-11, 275), junior Krew Moledor (6-3, 285), and sophomore Tyler Ford (6-6, 300) to give the Red Elephants perhaps one of the biggest lines in Class 5A.
On defense for Moody, the front-7 will be the strength (Simon Molay and Cam Mallory on the line, linebackers Ba'Roc Willis and Kaleb Guff). In the secondary, Sidney Walton and Kylan Baker will draw the tough assignments. Willis, a junior, had 79 tackles and 9 sacks last year, and senior FS Kaleb Goff compiled 118 tackles and 83 solos. The Blue Devils were plus-10 in turnover ratio in 2023.
Niblett said they are expecting a battle and understand that what was once friendly confines will be enemy territory come Thursday.
“Coach Ganus will have that place hyped up and ready to go, I’m sure,” Niblett said. “I think the community's probably real excited, not only because it's the first game, but you're playing an out-of-state team, and I don't know how many times they've done that. I also know he's trying to take his program to a whole nother level.
“Coach Ganus is like me; he's a high-energy guy. He wants his guys to play fast. He wants his guys to play physically, and then they're going to have fun doing it. He's going to make sure he gives his team every opportunity to be successful. I think it'll be an unbelievable environment.”
But Niblett said if his group can get anything out of the program’s first trip out of the Peach State in 74 years, it’s this:
“I told them, ‘You get a chance to kind of be the legend of saying, hey, we played a team in Alabama. I want this group to experience as much as they can,” he said. “Taking our kids on the road like this, giving them that opportunity, is going to be awesome. We're definitely looking forward to it.”
GAINESVILLE at MOODY (Ala.)
Records: Red Elephants (1-0, Region 7-5A); Blue Devils (0-0, Region 6-5A)
Last week: Gainesville beat Marietta, 41-3; season-opener for Moody
Where: Bill Morris Stadium, Moody, Ala.
Radio: 94.5 FM The Lake
Time: 8 p.m. EST
The Statisticals: First-ever meeting. This will be the first out-of-state road trip for any Gainesville team since 1950, when the Red Elephants took on Olympia out of Columbia, South Carolina. This could be one of the best matchups of the week. The Blue Devils are coming off arguably their best season in program history. They went 10-3 with a trip to the quarterfinals.
