Cherokee Bluff, a brand new school in Hall County, is on the eve of its first spring football practice as it prepares for its inaugural season in Region 7-AAA, and there is hope and excitement in the air.
Head coach Tommy Jones and the crew at “The Bluff” have spent the majority of the spring putting together a solid coaching staff. On Saturday it all comes together.
“There’s a lot of excitement in the air,” said Jones. “We are looking forward to getting on the grass in the morning. We have put together an outstanding coaching staff. One that rivals anybody.”
Jones is coming off back-to-back 8-AAAAAA titles with Dacula, where he coached since 2013. His best season was in 2014 when the Falcons compiled a 10-2 record and made it to the second round of the playoffs before losing to Colquitt County. Building a program is uncharted territory for Jones, but the coaching staff he has assembled should help the new school glide through the growing pains that accompany first-time programs. The coaching staff list reads like a “Who’s Who” of football coaches across the state.
You can sense the excitement when he goes through the list.
“Our defensive coordinator is Chris Griffin, who was the head coach at Flowery Branch for a number of years,” Jones said. “He’s coming to us from Collins Hill, where he was a defensive coordinator. Miles Martin will coach our receivers. He was a defensive coordinator last year at Cambridge, but he spent most of his career on the offensive side of the ball, as well. My offensive coordinator is Kenneth Czar. He was our offensive coordinator at Dacula, and he’s coming with me.”
Griffin coached at Flowery Branch from 2012 to 2016 and compiled a 29-23 record. With Czar at the helm of the offense, Jones thinks it will allow for a smoother transition from a solid program at Dacula to an upstart program at Cherokee Bluff.
“Tivris Dixon is our defensive line coach,” Jones said. “He was at Habersham Central, where he was a defensive coordinator there. Before that he was at Gainesville and Rome. Our secondary coach and strength coach is Michael May. Michael is coming from Buford, where he served similar roles there. Our inside linebackers coach is Derek Tiller, who’s coming from Gainesville, but before there he was at Peachtree Ridge for 10 years. John Russ is coming to us as our quarterbacks coach. John is coming from Georgia State, where he is a current (graduate assistant) right now, but he was a four-year starter at Mercer in the first four years of its program.”
Russ, a graduate of Mill Creek, won countless awards during his years, including Mercer’s 2016 Offensive Player of the Year Award, the 2016 FCS Bowl National Team Captain and the 2016 FCS Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player, and he was named to the 2016 Academic All-SoCon Team. In 2013, his freshman season, Russ threw the longest touchdown pass in the country, a 93-yarder, in a victory against Valparaiso.
It’s safe to say that The Bluff’s quarterbacks will be in good hands.
For coaches at an upstart program, certain roles will have to be taken on that some of the crew might be unfamiliar with, but the family atmosphere and a touch of humor seems to take care of the job.
“So we just have a lot of good names, good guys,” Jones said. “When you start a football program, your coaching staff has to take on roles that they might not be accustomed to. We laugh and say you need to be able to run a drill, fill up a water bottle and tape an ankle … all at the same time. That’s part of the call of duty in the startup program.”
Entering into a region with perennial playoff powers like Greater Atlanta Christian and East Hall would be difficult for nearly any program in the state, especially a program in its inaugural season. But with a quality coaching staff to guide the players through the spring and summer, things are looking bright in Hall County.
“We have guys who are unselfish and are great coaches, but they’re better men, and they’re excited about being a part of the program.”
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