New Norcross head football coach Corey Richardson inherits an offense that must replace virtually all of its production from the 2024 high school season.
The graduation losses from last year’s team include versatile quarterback Dillon Mohammed (1,993 passing yards, 495 rushing yards, 21 touchdowns), leading rusher Kobe Robinson (952 yards, 10 TDs) and Daily Post Athlete of the Year Jahsaun Clarke (59 catches, 1,015 yards, 8 TDs, 379 rushing yards, 6 TDs along with 2 passing TDs). Also gone are the team’s No. 2 and No. 3 receivers from last season, Jamari Harrold (38-505-8) and Alex Garnett (18-353-2).
“We lost a lot of offensive production, but our strength is in the offensive line and we’ve got a lot of skill players who have stepped up and worked hard,” Richardson said. “I’m just proud of how the offense is progressing. You’ve got guys who you know can do it, but they don’t have the Friday night experience. They’ve done a really good job in practice day in and day out of working hard.”
Senior Julian Wisely is back to anchor the offensive line along with another senior, John Aronstein. They hope to pave the way for a balanced offense with Kendall Edwards leading the way at running back, while another talented group of wide receivers is ready to step up.
“It’s a challenge,” Edwards said of the brand-new lineup on offense. “I like the challenge, though. It makes us work harder. It’s not going to be given to us. You have to work for it.”
P.J. Wolfe has emerged from a quarterback competition to land the starting spot, proving himself after spending time at both Alcovy and Collins Hill earlier in his high school career.
“We started in the spring as a competition and it progressed to the summer and P.J. Wolfe is the leader right now,” Richardson said. “He’s done a good job coming in and earning the respect of the team and his teammates. He’s working hard. He has a good presence in the huddle. I’m excited to have him on our team.”
Wolfe has high hopes at his new school.
“It’s a great group of guys on and off the field,” the 6-foot-4, 180-pounder said. “I love playing with my brothers. (Quarterbacks) Coach (Twoey) Hosch is a great coach. I’ve had to earn it. It hasn’t been given to me. … I’ve gained more respect of the offense and the offense flows better now. This spring, I can admit we were kind of slow in the offense. But now it’s night and day from the spring. It’s way faster.”
DEFENSE
The Blue Devils traditionally field one of the county’s top defenses, and that shouldn’t change this season with a unit that returns more experience than the offense.
“We’ve got a good group of coaches and they’ve done a good job of getting the defense ready,” Richardson said. “At the end of the day, you’ll see a defense that flies around and plays physical and fast.”
Seniors Joshua Burks and Chase Huff are back as starters at safety, part of a talented pack of players in the secondary. Burks had 68 tackles, 4 pass breakups and an interception last season, and Huff had 26 tackles and 3 pass breakups.
“As a defense, we’re trying to create more turnovers,” Huff said. “We’re aiming for at least two a game.”
Much of the defensive experience comes up front, where Georgia commit Carter Luckie (50 tackles, 25 for losses, 9 sacks) and Rah’ja Wisdom (35 tackles, 7 for losses) are proven, three-year starters. Tyler Jackson also has experience, and big things are expected from Antoine Lewis. The linebacker group will have some new starters, though, as the defense must replace standouts like Ezekiel Theodoris (132 tackles, 22 for losses), Esias Tompkins (138 tackles, 28 for losses, 2 interceptions) and Jaymes Reed (90 tackles, 19 for losses).
“Similar to the offense, we have some talented players who just don’t have the Friday night experience,” Richardson said. “For me, early in the season is going to be key to get those guys ready for when we hit region play.”
ETC.
While it was an offseason of change in terms of the Blue Devils’ starters on both sides of the ball, the biggest change came at the top where Richardson was promoted to head coach after serving as a Norcross assistant to longtime coach Keith Maloof for the previous 24 seasons. He was a key defensive assistant as the program won 2012 and 2013 state championships and regularly made deep state playoff runs before assuming the role held by Maloof, who won more games as a head coach than anyone in Gwinnett history.
“When I got promoted, it was, ‘You’ve got some big shoes to fill,’” Richardson said. “When you’re replacing Keith Maloof, the winningest head coach in Gwinnett County and 26 seasons, those are some big shoes. For me, I’ve just tried to put myself around the best people possible. The support we’re getting from our principal, our administration, our faculty, our staff and our whole community is great. We’ve got a great coaching staff. And our seniors, I had a meeting with them and told them about my plan and they’ve all bought in and just worked really hard. Just knowing I’ve got good support around me, the shoes don’t feel as big with the people I’ve got working hard day in and day out with me.”
A large portion of Maloof’s coaching staff remained with Richardson, offering even more continuity for the players.
“The foundation that Coach Maloof has built over the years is in place and I wasn’t looking to change a whole lot,” Richardson said. “I put a little bit more of a focus on some things. Like from our offseason workouts, it’s something we did with the offensive and defensive lines and I just took that same philosophy and did it across the entire team. In January, it was focused in the weight room. In February, it was more team weight room stuff. March was our mat drills and discipline stuff and then April was getting ready for spring practice.
“I put a focus there and a lot of it was ideas I got from the coaches and the players. We’ve been more intentional on the leadership, character side of things across our entire football team. Hopefully, that’s going to benefit us when the season starts.”
The transition has gone well, according to the players.
“(Richardson’s) very enthusiastic with everything he does,” Burks said. “He’s always been like that. For him to become head coach, everybody has gravitated toward him. It’s not just the defense now. It’s the offense and the whole team.”
Another Norcross tradition remains this season with kicker a... Click here to read full article
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