North Cobb Christian is coming off their first-ever region title in program history in 2023 and head coach Matt Jones has this team headed in the right direction. The Eagles have won nine or more games in the past two seasons, and the team is headed in the right direction
“For one there is more enthusiasm than we ever had. We have 55 to 60 kids out here which is the most we ever had. I’m actually trying to tell them nothing from the past matters,” said Jones. “We are starting fresh. The message to them is last year’s team is last year, this is a whole new team. Let’s get them to get that and move on. That is kind of the attitude right now we have and to earn everything we get.
The Eagles are on Day four of their spring practice and coach Jones likes the way the team is progressing and how the coaching has been thus far.
“So much teaching. Day 1 is always the worst day of football, but after that, it is just a lot of teaching. You walk through and see a lot of coaching and teaching because we assume they don’t know anything, so we can build and expect a lot from July and August,” said Jones. “It’s been good. The number one challenge for the older kids was to pick up the speed of play. And we’ve been able to do that for the most part. We still have a long way to go.”
A key player is quarterback Teddy Jarrard who has grown two or three inches since last seen at the Georgia Elite Classic and is about 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds. A thing that is impressive about Teddy is he has a great arm and good velocity when it comes out of his hand. What is going to separate him is his mental and his elite processing of the game. You can see he has a mastery of the game and often teaches his teammates different concepts and what he is seeing on the field. Jarrard also has that it factor and constantly pushes himself to be better. After practice concluded, he was throwing the ball for about 20 minutes with his playmakers and this is something he does every day. Those types of things separate good from great.
“Teddy Jarrard has grown immensely. He has grown physically by 2-3 inches since November. His processing and speed of the game are better; it’s like he’s gotten better in the offseason. He has done an exceptional job. He knows exactly what we are trying to get to and where we are going. That has been awesome,” said Jones.
North Cobb Christian Head coach Matt Jones talks building off of last season and spring practice for the Eagles
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Physicality is something that caught my eye. It was on full display during practice and you can tell the players want to be great. There were a few scuffles but very controlled with players pushing each other to be great. The linebackers and defensive linemen were very aggressive and were flying to the ball.
Defense will be a position of strength for the Eagles next year as a lot of starters will return on that side of the ball. Marquee players to watch next season on defense will be DE Ray Dixon, DE Beedjy Guerrier, DB Turner Davis, and LB Thomas Hale. Dixon and Guerrier are problems off the edge. Guerrier finished 2023 with 81 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. Dixon had 66 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks. They combined for 20 sacks last season and are constant fixtures in the backfield. Dixon is currently a hot name in the recruiting field and is up to six offers, a number that can easily reach double-digits this summer.
“Ray Dixon, Beedjy Guerrier, Turner Davis, and Thomas Hale are all names to know in the 2025 class. Our two EDGE Guys BG and Ray I am so excited to see them eat. They are getting after it. They have fun in practice,” said Jones. “Big, physical and fast. We have linebacker Spears Martin who is not with us. He’s playing baseball but he’s going to be a big name to know. We return almost everybody on defense. We already know what we are doing which is great.”
The offense has an elite quarterback in Jarrad but the young prospects will be a big determinant of how successful the offense is in 2024. Some names to know are WR DJ Huggins and WR Brodie Archie. They didn’t have big roles last but will be key pieces to the offense. Huggins’ name was buzzing throughout practice as multiple coaches pointed him out and his talent. I was impressed with his route running and ability to separate at the top of routes. Archie had a nice grab at the end of practice hauling in the pass in tight coverage showing his deep-threat ability. Both receivers have high potential and will be key components of the North Cobb Christian offense.
“In 2026 and 2027 there will be a lot of young kids. We only lost five starters out of 22, so we returned 17. A lot of 2027 names are led by a lot of receivers and skill players like DJ Huggins and some younger kids that are in the mix that are going to be names to know in a couple of years,” said Jones.
The talent is certainly there and the coaching is also top-notch in the Eagles program. North Cobb Christian will be a team to watch in 2024 and beyond as their eyes are set on getting better every day.
“It’s just like raising the level. Raising the level of every single player on the field from a ninth grader who’s never played before to Teddy Jarrard to Ray Dixon. Raising the level of every kid in our program,” said Jones. “We have more linemen than we’ve ever had on offense and defense, which is huge for a small school. To have depth and to have competition in practice makes us that much better. Really, it’s focusing on the process every day and not even worrying about the end goal yet.”
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