Written By: GPB Sports Intern Katie Wilson

From a young age, aspiring football players dream of playing for their varsity football team. The glory of Friday night games, the excitement of huge crowds, and the allure of brotherhood attract many varsity football fans. But what about freshman teams?

The hype of varsity football often leads the media and fans to forget about freshmen football programs. Many people might not think freshman football programs are important at all. But high school head coaches could not disagree more and Colquitt County Head Coach Rush Propst is a great example of this. 

Coach Propst announced he has some major changes in store for his freshman football program: The freshman players will begin to practice with the varsity players. They will be on the same field, practicing the same drills. This is not a common method coaches use to train their players, but with a small freshman staff and a less than impressive record, Coach Propst says this is a crucial change that needs to happen for his freshman players.

“What I’m doing is different. …But we will know these kids better at the end of November or December when we get through the playoffs. These kids will be a lot further ahead than what they would if they were separated out," explained the Packers' head coach.

Colquitt County has lost in the finals or semi-finals for five straight years. Coach Propst says he hopes the revampment of his freshman program will give his team the edge they need to win a state championship.

Like Coach Propst, Head Coach Keith Maloof of Norcross also views his freshman program as high priority. Coach Maloof says he’s spent a large amount of money on the freshman program alone and has more freshman coaches than varsity coaches.

“I think if you don’t pay attention to the ninth-graders, you’re not going to survive at our level in high school. …Our freshman program is the key to our success.” Norcross High School, defending state champs, lost 60 seniors this past year. Although this number seems rather daunting, Coach Maloof isn’t worried. He says his coaching staff is working hard to get the next group of players ready, and with 70 incoming freshman, they have quite a job ahead of them.

So although varsity football teams seem to receive majority of attention from media and fans, they’re not getting special treatment from their coaches. In fact, at times it seems that high school football coaches view freshman football programs as even more important than their varsity programs. Who would’ve thought??