News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days: George County Rebels
The George County football team had to grow up in a hurry last year, but now the Rebels are ahead of schedule into 2023 led by star quarterback Deuce Knight.
For the county, it all starts at team camp at stop number six on News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 days.
“Offense, defense. It’s a competition all three days.”
Quarterback Deuce Knight said, “It’s really just being competitive, so we all play football, we’re all competitive guys, so just going back and forth with each other. We’ll be out here trying to see who can hit the crossbar, see who can throw the farthest, things like that. It brings you closer together just competing.”
For the third straight year, George County wrapping up summer workouts with a two-night stay at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where the Rebels just went through their fifth practice in three days before catching a bus back to Lucedale.
Competition aside, it’s all about building trust at team camp, leading up to week one. Head Coach James Ray said, “Two things we look for when we come to camp, one, let’s get better. Let’s work on the things that we’re doing. And two, when we leave here, we’re a better team than we were when we got here.”
Defensive back/ wide receiver Kohl Bradley said, “See the temperature, it’s hot out here, we’re on the turf, and we’re coming out here every day and working, so if we can battle through this two or three times a day, we’re going to be able to get through Friday night.”
At times in 2022, Friday nights were a struggle for George County, fresh off the program’s first home playoff game in five years the season before.
The Rebels brought back only eight seniors and started more than a dozen sophomores en route to an overall record of just 2-8 with five of those losses decided by a single possession. “Losing a close game feels worse than getting blown out. Like you’re just right there and you just can’t finish it, that’s a terrible feeling.”
Right tackle Jase Read said, “There were some losses that were really close, like one point. That’s a lot of motivation for me.”
“An old coach told me a long time ago for every sophomore you put on the field you can just count for a loss, so I’m glad we didn’t play 14 games last year. None of them wanted to hear about how we lost those games because of how young we were. We all talked about how we lost those games because they didn’t produce in certain situations, so it was good to see them take ownership of that.”
The 2023 Rebels much more experienced on both sides of the ball, returning seven starters on offense, eight on defense as well as 22 seniors, eager to redefine their legacy. “We’re out to prove we’re better than we were last year, a lot better.”
Defensive end Tyron Coleman said, “We’ve been on a mission since that 2-8 season. Everybody got faster, stronger. We’re ready to compete, and we’re coming this year for real.”
“Nobody remembers losers, not trying to diss us or anything, but we’re coming out, we’re putting the work in to change this around and do something special.”
Adding to George County’s bulk of upperclassman is a junior bunch about 30 deep, including the state’s top quarterback for the class of 2025 Deuce Knight.
The four-star recruit is coming off a 23-touchdown sophomore season and is now in the midst of a pretty hectic summer, having already made college visits to Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama with more scheduled this week for Notre Dame and Ole Miss as well as other trips to Los Angeles for OT7 Nationals and Atlanta for Cam Newton’s seven-on-seven tournament where Knight got to meet his childhood idol.
Despite releasing a top ten list earlier this summer, he says his recruitment is still wide open. “You know you’ve got the best player in the nation back there, you ain’t got too much to worry about on the offensive end. He’s going to come through for sure.”
“First off, none of it would be possible without my teammates and my coaches, my parents, so just to give a little shoutout to them, but yeah, it just feels great knowing your hard work is paying off, and then you’ve got the chance to go fulfill your dreams and go play ball at a big Division I.”
“He’s not the same quarterback he was last year. I mean he’s so much better than he was last year, so much more poised, so much more confident – confidence in himself, confidence in his team, confidence in his coaches in the plays that we’re installing, so yeah, he is going to have that breakout year. He has no choice. He’s put in the work.”
Knight’s teammates have been putting in that same work, setting the stage for an offense that’s ready to explode, headlined by another three-star recruit senior wide receiver Marlin Odom.
On the other side of the ball, leading tackler Layten Hyatt returns as well as other key contributors Tyron Coleman and yet another three-star recruit Kohl Bradley.
Together, the Rebels continue their unfinished quest for immortality under fourth-year Head Coach James Ray. “Our motto is the same every year. We’re on a mission to bring this program back to a championship level of significance.”
“It means do everything right. Do the little things right, everything at home, and running around town and all that, and here, in the weight room and everything, do all the little things right.”
“They want the feeling from two years ago and not the feeling from last year. One thing we talk about is visualize how you want to walk off the field after a game. See that celebration, and remember what it tasted like not to have that celebration.”
George County opens up the new campaign with a home game against East Central on August 25th.
