Under first-year head coach Jim Rowell last season, Johns Creek enjoyed the beginning of a new era and now — after a year of growth for his young team, with half (39) of the players on its 2023 roster underclassmen — Johns Creek is poised and primed.
Rowell took over as the program’s third head coach in three years and was tasked with rebuilding the program. However, rebuilds are not unfamiliar territory for Rowell, as he spent four years at Cambridge as the team’s defensive coordinator. He was on the coaching staff that turned a young football program into a consistent winner, qualifying for the GHSA playoffs for four straight years, including a Region 7-6A title in 2022.
Rowell is confident in how the standard was set last season and looks to carry it over to this season while preparing a team which was hindered with injuries last season.
“I think the number one thing was we brought in a culture of expectations, we held them to high expectations,” Rowell said. “We got crushed with 32 injuries last year so that really limited a lot we could do, and we had a lot of young guys that got experience and we played a ton of some freshmen last year. Being able to do that helped develop our program a little bit and got us going in the right direction to build long term.”
The Gladiators will experience a change under center, with junior Josh Hopkins serving as the team’s starting quarterback after starting for the junior varsity team last season. Hopkins grew up in the Junior Gladiator program and returned to Johns Creek last year after spending his freshman season at North Gwinnett. The dual-threat quarterback looks to elevate Johns Creek’s run-pass-option-based offense both in the air and on the ground.
“Josh has worked really hard in the offseason. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who’s not afraid to sling it in there,” Rowell said. “He’s really worked hard on his decision-making, especially in our RPO-based offense, so that’ll help a lot.”
Johns Creek will also feature a new attacking style 3-3-5 defensive scheme that Rowell is familiar with and has implemented throughout his previous coaching stops. The scheme provides defenders ample opportunity to put pressure on the quarterback through high blitz rates and mixed coverages, which Rowell believes best fits his team’s personnel.
“I’ve always ran the 3-3 before last year, and so we’re going back to what I’ve always ran. I think it creates a lot of negative plays and it puts the offense in a bind as far as some of the reads, some of their blocking schemes, and absolutely personnel wise, this is more what we’re built for.” Rowell explained.
Amidst the recent change within the program remains a few constants.
Having a young team gives returning upperclassmen the opportunity to lead the way on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. Rowell cited seniors Connor Eggleston, Colin Morelle, and Buck Barber, all of whom contribute on both sides of the ball. Morelle was second on the team in receiving yards, while Eggleston led the team in tackles. He was named by Rivals Football as one-of-the-two top returning defensive players for the upcoming season, along with Barber by Rivals football. The two seniors have taken leadership roles for the underclassmen, as they led the team’s offseason workouts and helped younger plates on how to acclimate to a high school environment.
“I think what’s good is like Buck took a lot of our upcoming freshmen before we started winter weights and started working out with them, started showing them the expectations, going through workouts and talking to them about how to act in class. I think Connor’s also done the same thing, so they’ve been examples and trying to teach them the way before they get here, if that makes sense. So it’s been a really positive message,” Rowell proudly said.
After spending several seasons in Class 6A, the Gladiators reclassed to 5A for the 2024 Season. Along with some of the schools the team plays almost annually, such as Lanier and Roswell, the Gladiators will also test themselves against Milton and Prince Avenue Christian, defending State champions for their respective classes in 2023. Rowell believes playing talented teams will allow the team to grow.
“I wanted to play really good teams, that’s part of the reason why I scheduled Prince Avenue,” Rowell mentioned regarding the team’s schedule. “Playing someone who is a defending state champion is going to help you for the region, help you get better, and compete against the tougher teams and teams that have a lot of talented players.”
It’s been an exciting week for Coach Rowell and the Johns Creek program. This week, the team held their annual Junior Gladiator Football camp and will host the annual Gladiator combine which signifies the unofficial start of the season. Rowell views the combine not only as an opportunity to see how his players have improved during the offseason, but also to get the community engaged with the team.
“I think the combine’s a gauge of the players to see how hard they’ve worked,” Rowell stated. ”So it gives you, really, your overall player, and we give them a little belt and everything, you know, they’re the champion and all that. So it brings a little excitement. It gets the families out there, and they get to see how hard their kids have worked and it helps the community as well.”
The coach has worked closely with the attendees of the Junior Gladiator camp and works to have the junior teams engaged as much as possible with the varsity team, in hope of building relationships and a strong culture.
“That’s kind of where it starts. We have an individual running ours, John Hall, and he’s been really good,” Rowell said. “We constantly want the Juniors around, like we have honorary captains, where we bring a player of the week each week out there to be an honorary captain or a game and let them be involved, and I think it grows your community and it helps your overall culture as well.”
The second-year head coach is also excited to have the ardent backing and support of the school’s student body. In 2022, Johns Creek’s Gladiator Army Student Section was ranked fourth in the state by Student Section Report. Rowell believes the support benefits his team and believes that his team will galvanize not just the student body, but the community as a whole.
“I think it helps overall,” Rowell said. “I think there’s some excitement being built with the season and I think from the player and coaches aspect, I think it’ll be more representative of what we can do as a team and as a school.”
The Gladiators will kick off the 2024 season on August 23 at Cambridge against Rowell’s former team.
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