GAME DAY 2024: Houston County football looks to further establish program under Jeremy Edwards

The Houston County Bears are entering their third year under head coach Jeremy Edwards, and it’s an important one in further establishing the image of the program under his regime.

Under Edwards the Bears have posted a 19-6 record and had as many winning seasons in two years than the previous six. This is also the first time they’ve had back-to-back winning seasons since entering the 6A classification (well, back to 5A now). They’ll look to make it three in a row for the first time since the 2015 season.

All that was with a talented set of juniors and seniors who were there upon Edwards’s arrival. Ricky Johnson, Kale Woodburn, Ryan Taleb and Xavier Ryan are just a few names who’ve shaped this team for the better the last two years.

Obviously Edwards and his staff brought out the best in these players, but what does the team look like without them?

Offense — Through the air

The Bears still have one of the best quarterbacks in the state in Memphis commit Antwann Hill Jr. He has great size at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds to go with arm strength, accuracy and a steady presence in the pocket.

Hill doesn’t make hasty decisions through the air. He allows plays to develop, and displays great accuracy on deep balls. He also navigates the pocket well and doesn’t run into pressure.

Part of what allows him to take that time and let plays develop is the offensive line HoCo has put in front of him.

Peach County transfer and Florida State commit Peyton Joseph will be a big part of that this year. The senior tackle slides well in pass protection and doesn’t allow the defender to turn him sideways. In run blocking he aggressively gets to the second level and stays engaged.

There’s also senior interior lineman Hayes Ellerbee who provides agility at center to get out and block on screen plays or move up to the second level on runs. He’s also solid in pass protection.

There isn’t much tape available on sophomore tackle Braylin Mills, but he’s recently gotten offers from the University of Alabama and University of Georgia.

One of the biggest question marks is who Hill will throw to. The Bears only return a handful of receivers, none of which had double digit receptions last year according to MaxPreps.

Tight end Gavin Kurpis caught the most at seven, and running back Amir Thomas caught the next most at three.

Cornerback convert Derek Henderson is one player Edwards mentioned as having a good spring and summer.

The 6-foot-2 wideout has very good acceleration, which can be dangerous after the catch on curl routes or useful for getting open with hesitations or breaks in his routes.

Junior MJ Mathis isn’t particularly fast but has good hands and a lengthy frame at 6-feet tall.

Dylan Wallace is a junior who you might see in the slot when the Bears are in 10 personnel (one running back, no tight end).

Last, but certainly not least, is Isaiah Mitchell.

Mitchell was academically ineligible at Peach County last year, but Edwards said he’s buckled down in the classroom and will be ready to go for 2024.

There’s no telling what he’ll really look like this year, but his sophomore tape shows a speedy receiver with great route running. Expect to see him attacking all over the field from both the slot and outside.

From what I’ve gathered, HoCo uses their tight ends more as utility players (which I guess is what a lot of them are anyway).

No tight end for the Bears last year caught double digit passes. They did often stay in to block or were used in running plays.

Gavin Kurpis is who you’re most likely to see in all of those situations. Kurpis caught seven passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns, but also ran 10 times for 39 yards and two more touchdowns.

A good amount of his passes on tape came from blasting through the B gap (between the guard and tackle) on a streak. He was very tough to bring down on his handful of runs, and he’s a solid blocker in both pass protection and run blocking.

You may also see Gilmer High School transfer Tyler Wright on the field as a blocking tight end.

Offense — On the ground

Although the Bears’ preferred attack is through the air, their running backs also play an important role.

HoCo has two backs of a similar archetype: Senior Amir Thomas and sophomore Austin Stinson.

Thomas and Stinson stand at 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-7 respectively, which is considered small for the position. But what they lack in size, they certainly make up for in speed.

Thomas ran 69 times for 586 yards and two touchdowns last year, and he is dangerous at top speed if he can find space. He blasts through holes in the line and is surprisingly hard to tackle.

Stinson seems to have the better top speed of the two. If he can find open field just about every run has house call potential. He’s not particularly explosive, but if he can get a running start there’s few that can catch up to him. He’s also shown an ability to make people miss in space, and can be a shifty runner.

Defense — The front seven

Football is won and lost at the line of scrimmage, so having a sound defensive line and linebackers to go with it is important.

Senior defensive tackle Jayden Brown helps anchor the Bears’ run defense at a stout 6-foot-1 and 295 pounds. Brown is best against the inside run as he closes up holes and sheds blockers to make a play on the runner. He can get outside to help finish a tackle, but don’t expect him to chase anyone down.

Senior defensive tackle Coby Jordan is a solid contributor against the run and passing game, and is quick for a defensive lineman.

Senior Jordan Davis and junior Alston Jordan are both important pieces on the end of the line. Davis, at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds creates pressure on the outside as he powers through smaller tackles. He’s also able to make plays from the weak side of the play with a relatively quick 4.8 40-yard-dash time.

Jordan, a much shorter 5-foot-8 and 205 pounds, is extremely powerful on the end as well. Any tackle that’s unprepared will immediately be forced into a backpedal before Jordan disengages and attempts to make a play on the quarterback or the runner.

While the defensive line battles with the offensive line, HoCo’s outside linebackers help bring more pressure on the quarterback.

Sophomore outside linebacker Zion Paul is a transfer from Northeast-Macon who stands at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds. Paul has good size and frame for the position, and is best if he can match up against a running back or a tight end.

If he does get caught in a block he can struggle to disengage and make a play. But his frame allows for him to reach for tackles and bat passes.

Junior Jase Jordan is a linebacker you could see all over the field. He’s capable of sitting back in coverage, but some of his best moments are as a blitzed in the box and off of the edge at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds.

Anchoring the middle of the field is junior Westen Ard, a 6-foot-2, 220 pound prototypical middle linebacker. He’s good at reading the quarterback and making plays in coverage. He also is good at reading the play and making tackles in the box or in space. He made 45 tackles (28 solo) last year to go along with four tackles for loss, two sacks and four QB hurries.

Defense — The secondary

Pressuring the quarterback is no good if you can’t cover the receivers on the field. The Bears will miss Darius Patterson and the five interceptions and 10 deflected passes he brought last year, but there are still some good players in the secondary.

At cornerback there’s Roswell High School transfer Daniel Battershell. He’s got average size at 5-foot-11 and 177 pounds, but is good at sticking to his assignment in press coverage. He also tracks runners well and doesn’t over pursue when trying to make tackles.

Sentez Johnson is another name you might see out there, along with Trey Leary who you could see switch between corner and safety.

Leary often made plays on the ball as a safety in the Bears’ spring game, and could be a good pairing next to one of, if not the best, players on the defense in safety Jordan Smith.

As a sophomore, Smith tallied a team-high 88 tackles (63 solo), five TFLs and three interceptions. He was also selected to the 2023 Region 1-6A 2nd Team Defense

Smith has great size and speed at the position standing at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, and running a 4.39 40-yard-dash time. He reads the quarterback well, makes plays on the ball and is good in both man and zone. He has good play recognition and knows when to come down into the box, and is productive on blitzes.

The schedule

HoCo is moving into a (kind of) new Region 2-5A, where Tift County was switched out for Coffee. That leaves two defending champions (Thomas County Central being the other) in the same region, with Lee County, Northside and Veterans taking up the other spots.

The Bears finished third last year, and it may be tough to finish higher than that in 2024. One of Coffee, Lee County or Thomas County Central is a must-win just to finish in the same spot.

Their non-region schedule is also significantly tougher than previous years.

Last year they played Sumter County, West Laurens and Locust Grove to win by a combined 167-38.

This year they travel to Atlanta to take on a young Alpharetta team looking to take a step up, a solid Effingham County squad as well as in-county rivals Warner Robins and Perry.

If you could only pick a couple of games to go to, these are the ones I’d choose:

At Perry on Aug. 30 and at home against Thomas County Central on October 25.

The Perry game has been a great one for two years now, and the game against TCC will have serious implications in their toughest stretch of the season. They play Coffee on the road the week before, and travel to Lee County the week after.