GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Quarterbacks were on the minds of those in attendance at Tuesday’s Kiwanis Club of Gainesville's annual Football Coaches Program at the First Baptist Church.
So much so that even Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon was curious, asking Gainesville’s Josh Niblett about Kharim Hughley to get the topic started. The luncheon featured coaches from schools in Gainesville and Hall County.
Hughley, a rising junior, had a breakout season in 2024 after being thrust into the job last summer without much warning.
“We had a situation where a guy transferred out and then (Kharim) was the guy that we turned to,” Niblett said. “He had a tremendous season in my opinion. Can’t say enough about Kharim.
“Now, he’s become a leader on our team. When he talks, his teammates listen. He can make all the throws and we’re expecting another big year from him.”
North Hall’s Sean Pender got the next one about the Trojans’ embarrassment of riches at the position with both Alex Schleiman and Smith McGarvey. Both would be stand-alone starters for just about any team in north Georgia but are a formidable duo that drive a high-powered North Hall offense.
Both battled injuries last season. Schleiman missed the final month of the season while McGarvey got injured during this past baseball season and is just now back at 100 percent.
“We have two guys that have the experience and both are capable of running the offense,” Pender said. “They’re both great leaders and more importantly right now, they’re both healthy coming into the season. We’re excited about this year.”
First-year Flowery Branch coach Michael Perry had a different issue. He inherited a pair of players already in the program in rising seniors Riley Bourrie and Tristan Radford. But they were joined by West Hall transfer Brett Sturm, a former three-year starter for the Spartans, during the summer.
“We’re still two weeks away but Brett and Tristan have really kind of separated themselves at this point,” Perry said after the luncheon when asked. “Riley has transitioned more to defense at this point. Tristan is a great leader. He works extremely hard. At the same time, Brett's come in and been very humble and done everything we've asked him to do. But I’m not ready to name a starter just yet.”
But of the nine coaches in attendance, only Niblett decided to tackle the opening question of the event -- one from the crowd about NIL money and the ability to pay players to come to a particular school.
“The Georgia rules are that you can’t have any kind of contact with a kid getting an NIL deal,” Niblett explained. “Can’t set up anything like commercials or anything of that nature. It’s not really an issue at the high school level like it is at the college level.”
The 2025 season is slated to officially begin on Thursday Aug. 14 with a slew of games around the state. But none will be bigger than the nationally-ranked battle in Buford between the Wolves (13th in MaxPreps) and Milton (22nd in MaxPreps) at the new $62 million Phillip Beard Stadium. Milton is the defending Class 5A state champion. Buford is coming off a semifinal run in Class 6A. That game will be televised on ESPN 2.
Twenty more teams in the AccessWDUN and Friday Game Night coverage area will get started on Friday Aug. 15.
