By: Brett Greenberg
It was roughly 14 years ago (2007) when Terry Crowder was coaching the Chattahoochee Cougars and future NFL veteran Clint Boling in the Region 6-5A.
Crowder went on to win the program’s first and only state championship in Class 4A in 2010 while Boling continued his football career with the University of Georgia (2007-10) before being drafted 101st overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011 where he played in 106 consecutive games from 2012-2018.
Now, after multiple schools along the way and eight service years in the NFL later, Crowder and Boling team up on the King’s Ridge football coaching staff; Crowder the head coach, Boling assuming offensive line duties.
They’ve stayed in touch through the years as Boling has attended a few practices. He received an insurance degree from UGA, but he discovered it wasn’t the right time for that career path.
“So when coach Crowder took the King’s Ridge job it kind of fell into my lap,” said Boling. “I am extremely excited to give back to these players because I know how important coaches were, at least for me.”
Coach Crowder carries a 106-75 all-time coaching record into his second year at the helm of the Tigers. The coaching legend spent five seasons at Creekview and started the Denmark football program after leaving Chattahoochee in 2012.
“I do enjoy the challenge of building a program, we’ve got a long way to go over here [King’s Ridge] but we improved a ton last year,” said Crowder. “I hope to finish my career here, I want to end it at this school.”
Evidently so, Crowder emphasizes the importance of relationships built and continued through the years and credits this for his continued success. Crowder and Boling were getting ready to go to a golf simulator with the entire King’s Ridge staff and the head of the Chattahoochee Gridiron Club from 2004, Michael Fusco, Tuesday afternoon.
“You need to create relationships with the players and their parents, so the sphere of influence I have created through the 30 years is incredible,” said Crowder. “Some coaches don’t enjoy that part of it, but I love it. The reason we have Clint back over here is because of the relationship we built and we are friends.”
Boling might not have 106 career wins to his name, but he has plenty of awards and a family of his own with two daughters, Emma and Avery.
“It’s unbelievable. I have two girls, Clint has two girls and we have no boys between us,” said Crowder. “I just keep thinking there is a reason for that somewhere.”
Crowder talked about his love for Clint and how incredible it is to see him with his own family while Boling explained how it has been to see his former coach from a different standpoint. Crowder added that even has some players now whose dads played under him years ago.
“Seeing both sides of it now that I am a coach makes me appreciate him [Crowder] so much more,” said Boling. “Some of things that might have seemed weird back then make total sense now and the way he can joke with the players and also get the most out of them is incredible.”
Oddly enough, the NFL workhorse liked basketball more than football at Chattahoochee and relayed the message to his coach one day during the school year. Crowder saw the potential in him and was not going to let him give up on football.
“He let me know that some colleges and coaches were looking at me and that kept me locked in for football and it obviously worked out pretty well,” said Boling. “It is a great game, it’s great for building character and values that will be important later on in life.”
The 18-year head coach who has seen it all in the Georgia high school environment says he is still learning new things and has Boling to thank for that.
“When you only have 35 kids, you cannot practice like we used to. When Clint was in school our practices were brutal,” said Crowder. “It’s been great to have Clint here because the staff and myself have learned a lot of things from picking his NFL brain and learning the best way to handle our athletes because we need them on Fridays.”
The Tigers’ program is still looking for its first winning season since the inception of the program in 2008.
“The approach is the same as it was at Chattahoochee, Creekview and Denmark,” said Crowder. “I have to build a program that makes kids want to come play for me. I was able to do it at all three of my prior schools and I am hoping to do it here.”
Boling left a message to the younger players who are pursuing playing in college and even in the NFL: “Don’t just go through the motions, try to give as much effort and do the best you can. You’re going to see gains whether it be in the weight room or on the field and grow as a person. I have always said football is the best team sport there is.”
Boling also provided some insight into what it is like to be in an NFL locker room and a 53-man roster, which applies to all levels of football.
“The best part of football is the locker room. You’re up in Cincinnati with guys from all around the country, we had guys from Europe and Germany,” said Boling. “You get a ton of different personalities and backgrounds and there is nothing better than having a fun locker room where guys get along and have fun.”
Nearly 11 years removed from the college scene and dealing with the NCAA, Boling says it is about time these players have an opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL).
“I remember it was my senior year A.J Green got suspended for five games for selling his own jersey,” added Boling. “It is crazy to me that it has taken this long to get here. I am very pro-player. The players are going to learn about the free market because the left tackle is not going to get as much as the quarterback. You have coaches who get to leave whenever after selling a dream to a recruit, but the kids cannot do that. It was never a two-way street, we’re on the way to making changes though.”
In the offseason for year two, Crowder has seen an improvement in each player and has noticed the culture starting to change which he gives, once again, relationships the credit for this.
“If the kids like you and they know you care about them, they will play hard for you and you can treat them how you want to,” said Crowder. “We are going to outwork everybody and I know these players are working harder than they ever have before. No one is going to out coach us either.”
Boling shared a quick not ‘so feel good’ story [literally] from his days with the Cougars and coach Crowder. Crowder, trying to hold in his laugh, says Boling still holds this against him.
“I was playing both ways my senior year and we had two-a-days in the Summer and about the third practice in, I just could not do it anymore, so I am lying in my bed between workouts and Crowder comes in making me get out to practice,” said Boling. “I ended up finding a trash can and projectile vomiting for about 30 seconds straight and then went out to practice.”
“I have never seen anything like it in my 30 years, I was begging him and we always preached about hydration. I don’t know how much water he drank because it was a steady stream,” said Crowder. “I knew if I could not get Clint out to practice, no one else would come out, Clint was our guy.”
Crowder joked at the end of the interview that the Tigers’ Athletic Director, Crissy Watkins is a massive Bengals fan, so as long as Boling is on the staff, he will get to keep his job.
King’s Ridge opens their season at Greene County Friday, Aug. 27 in a non-region matchup. The Tigers will be on the road for the first three weeks before hosting three straight home games against Darlington, Mount Paran Christian and Lakeview Academy.
“This school is incredible, by far the best school I have been at as far as the day-to-day and structure,” added Crowder. “I am hopeful we can build something that the best players in the area want to come play for me and for King’s Ridge.”
Reach Brett Greenberg at brettgreenberg29@gmail.com or via Twitter @74talk
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