There are just 17 days remaining until the kickoff of the 2025 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)...
WHITE COUNTY (3-7 in 2024; did not make the playoffs)
The Warriors were so close yet yet so far away from a playoff spot in 2024. They lost three Region 6-3A games by 6 points or less and were a total of 28 points over five games from a runner-up finish in the region. Instead, they stumbled to their worst record since 2018 and they come into the 2025 campaign having to replace nearly their entire starting squad.
But Coach Chad Bennett is optimistic that some key coaching changes and young talent should make for a quick rebuild in 2025. We caught up with Bennett to ask him how the changes are coming along.
QUESTION: Coach, y’all are replacing 22 seniors and almost as many starters. A key focus has been rebuilding the defense. How has that transition been going?
ANSWER: I have been really pleased with the rebuilding of the defense. I believe that the defense has the ability to be the strength of our team. Coach Zac Grace, from Houston County, is our new defensive coordinator. He has come in and done a great job. His defensive system is a multiple 3-4 and the players have done a great job of learning his system. We also added a new defensive line coach (Jayden Barron) and outside linebackers coach (Seth Deering) who have been great additions to our coaching staff. We are repping 6-8 guys currently on the defensive line (Jr. Josiah Williams, Sr. Branson Smith, Sr. Austin Garrett, Jr. Chris Nunnally, So. Zay Cheek, Jr. Mikey Moreno, and Jr. JBo Kastner. Our OLB group will be Sr. Easton Drew, Sr. Noel Lammers, and Jr. James Hart. Our ILB group will be Sr. Reid Penrose, Sr. Matt Turner, Jr. Casey Crane, and Jr. Jack Johnson. In the secondary we have jr. Kody Tuhey, Jr. Gaines Clark and Fr. John Jarrard getting the majority of the varsity reps at cornerback. Jr. Zach Godfrey and Jr. Savion Anderson are the safeties.
QUESTION: Another key spot is at quarterback. You senior Alex Freeman and sophomore Brinn Robinson battling for the starting spot. What have you seen from those two guys during the summer?
ANSWER: I have been pleased with the quarterback competition. Competition makes you better and these two have embraced the competition and pushed one another daily. Both Alex and Brinn have continued to get better every day. They continue to master the offense and better understand defenses and what they need to do on each play. I expect that both players will continue to compete for the job through the preseason game. Whoever wins the job is going to be the guy that can best execute the offense, make great decisions, takes what the defense gives, and doesn't turn the football over.
- Back to ther beginning: BANKS COUNTY
- Previous Two-a-Days: WEST HALL
