GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Josh Niblett is one cool customer. He also appears to be one tough cookie to satisfy.
But that is probably exactly what the Gainesville higher-ups were hoping for when they lured the ultra-successful coach from Hoover, Ala., one of the nation’s most successful high school programs, to take over the struggling Red Elephants back in December.
So far, Gainesville is off to its first 2-0 start since 2009, the last season of the Blake Sims-era, with wins over powerhouse Marist on the road (34-23) and Class 7A Mountain View (30-7) at home last week.
On Friday, they will head to Monroe Area to take on the Purple Hurricanes (1-1) with a chance for their first 3-0 start since 2009. For what it's worth, that 2009 squad went 14-1, eventually losing a heartbreaker to Peach County (13-12) in the Class 3A championship game.
“I think we would all rather be 2-0 than 0-2,” Niblett admitted. “But I really don’t think we’re playing that well overall. The defense has played well at times, the special teams have made some plays, the offense has had some moments. But we’re still making a lot of mistakes.”
He was more than ready to provide examples.
“Too many penalties. We’ve had some bad turnovers. Missed blocks. We’ve missed tackles and had missed assignments on defense -- Mountain View had two guys behind the defense that were touchdowns if the throws were there,” he said. “Overall, right now with everything considered, good and bad, I’m probably not pleased with our start. There’s just a lot of things to work on and get better at. We’re nowhere near where I think we can be.”
It’s that last statement that should make coaches, players, and fans -- of not just the Red Elephants, but their remaining opponents -- take notice.
They jumped out to a quick 20-0 lead on Marist in the first quarter getting contributions across the board. They held a good Mountain View rushing attack to just 63 yards, blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown, and also got a pick-6 against the Bears.
But they also had minus-7 yards of offense in the second half as Marist rallied within four points. They managed just 57 yards of offense in the first half against Mountain View, which was negated by 76 yards in penalties.
Talking about the first two games as a whole, Niblett felt the defense may be a little ahead of the offense at this stage. But both units have had solid moments and things that will require film review, as they say.
“On defense, we’re playing a lot of guys, which is a tribute to the coaches and the kids in being ready when called on,” he said. “Depth for me is not just a guy that comes on the field, but a guy that when he comes on we don’t have to change what we’re doing out there.
“The defense played really well last week. We have a lot of speed and they were fast to the ball and understood the situations at the moment and made plays. But again, there were some missed tackles and missed assignments in the secondary. We’ll look at those things on film and address those.”
And the offense, which has six new pieces, including wide receiver transfers Darius Cannon and Tre Reece, while also implementing a new system?
“The first thing to understand there is that we’re really young up front,” Niblett said. “Those guys just need some experience, like doing different drills in practice of things we see they need to work on. We’re trying to speed up the game up front for those guys in practice with one-on-one drills.
“But there are a lot of new moving parts on this offense right now. Knowing what to do and being in the right place, run or pass. Knowing where the outlets are, for instance, on a pass play. Those are part of the learning process, teachable moments for the coaches. We had a lot of teachable moments (against Mountain View).”
But Niblett stressed that they’re only two games into what they hope is a season far beyond the 10 regular season games scheduled.
“You guys in the media can assess things any way you want. But the reality is we’re just two games on the field at this moment,” he said. “Everything we’re doing right now is a work-in-progress. We’re focusing on what we’re doing to us. The penalties, the turnovers, the missed tackles, the missed blocks, all of that is about us. We’ve just got to do better with us.”
Still, Niblett agreed that there are plenty of positive possibilities for his squad. He tried to downplay those but also couldn’t help but give what he thinks could be a small glimpse into the future as well.
“Here’s the thing on how good anyone can get: weeks will tell, days will tell,” he said. “I don’t really like the word potential. Potential to me just means ‘you haven’t really done anything yet.’ But there is a lot of potential with this group.
“They’re a very tight-knit group. They know how to take care of each other and compete against each other to make themselves better. They know how to practice as a group now. They enjoy hanging out together as a group.
“Anytime you have chemistry and character in culture, which we’re continuing to work on, then you can be as good as you want to be. The players have to take ownership. Teams that don’t have leaders aren’t very good. Teams that are led by the coaches are pretty good. Teams that are led by the players are elite.
“Our theme is 'Be the Best.' How best can we be? If we work on it every day we’ll allow ourselves an opportunity. If we don’t, we won’t (have that opportunity).”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/8/1127381/football-gainesvilles-niblett-looking-for-improvement-despite-2-0-start