If you ask people for the characteristics of a successful football program, you might get answers such as good athletes, team chemistry, a strategic game plan and an experienced coaching staff. Brookwood football coach Mark Crews says the winning formula is a team with leadership and character. Crews has the results to back his philosophy up – in his nine years with the Brookwood football program he’s made the state playoffs all nine seasons, accumulated an overall record of 97-29 and even won a state championship title.
“It helps having good players, but the leadership and character have to fall into place,” Crews said. “Our guys have to work hard and understand that leadership and character go hand in hand with having a good year.”
To Crews’ liking, one of the takeaways from spring practice was that he believes this year’s team has a solid group of leaders. He will be looking to the veterans to help develop the younger players. Crews also hopes to foster the inexperienced players by taking the summer to focus on the fundamentals, through 7 on 7 scrimmages and passing leagues. Crews said these drills are beneficial to players on both sides of the ball.
“The 7 on 7 and passing leagues are good because they give us the opportunity to tune up route-running and work on our timing,” Crews said. “This season we’re young on defense, and these drills will be good for getting people dropping in the right places, communicating with each other and concentrating on fundamentals and schemes.”
After winning the state championship in 2010, Brookwood had high expectations entering the 2011 season. The Broncos came up short, however, losing in the second round of the playoffs. Some key returners played on the 2010 team and know what it takes to get to a state championship. Senior offensive lineman Adam Ledford started on the 2010 championship team and will continue to pave the way upfront. Ledford will look to create running lanes for the two-headed attack of running backs Jamaal Cole and Josh Brown. The Brookwood offense will also get some help at the receiver position this season from Orlando area transfer Kyrin Priester. Priester is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior receiver committed to UGA who is known for his athleticism and ability to make defenders miss in the open field. The return of key players on offense and the addition of Priester make Crews excited about the explosiveness of his offense.
“It’s always a plus when you’ve got a strong running game and a big-play threat on the outside,” Crews said. “It puts pressure on the defense by spreading the field and will add some firepower to our offense.”
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive end/linebacker Shaun McGee will look to disrupt opposing offenses with his athleticism and ability to create pressure on the quarterback. The 6-foot-3, 236-pound senior is collecting interest from FBS schools, including offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Louisville and Kentucky.
Crews says his team always begins the season with the ultimate goal being to win the state championship. He believes it’s not going to be solely great players or a smart game plan that’s going to get the Broncos to their goal. It helps to have a handful of highly-touted recruits and an experienced coaching staff, but that only gets you so far. According to Crews, he’s going to need his players to step up and display leadership and character if they want to win it all.
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