Johnson era at Clay County High School underway
By THOMAS P. WEAVER
HORIZON Editor
“I’ve hit the ground running, but I can’t come in and promise the world or anything else. But I can tell you the kids are going to be taken care of, they are going to work, and they will see improvements.
“I’m not going to say we are going to come in and win the state championship, but we will be better at the end of the season than we are right now.”
Monday evening practice marked the first time Johnson met with his team as their new leader, but it wasn’t his opening introduction to the squad.
He was hired as Bates’ defensive coordinator last spring and spent the entire offseason with the program, before making the decision to accept the Macon County Jr. High head coaching job and become an assistant under new Macon County High School head coach Kyle Shoulders.
“It’s a unique circumstance because of the fact, outside of less than two months, I might as well have been an in-staff hire,” Johnson said. “I’ve got that prior relationship with these kids. They know who I am, what I’m about, and they know what to expect from me.
“It’s unusual for somebody from another system to come in under these circumstances, because usually if a move is made, it is done from within, but I’m not very far removed from that.”
When asked about the transition of coming in midseason, Johnson explained he was familiar with the current system and would “have to” keep it in place for the time being.
“Everybody wants to come in and make their mark, but that’s something you have to do in the offseason,” he said. “I can’t come in and change the world, but I can come in and try to make what is there better.
“That’s how we’re going to approach it, because it’s too late in the game to change everything. We may tweak something here or there, but the foundation that is put in place is what it’s going to have to be.”
Johnson said his “dream has always been to become a high school head football coach,” which played into his decision to accept the position despite the circumstances, but he also credited the community support and the players for luring him here.
“In the short time I was here before, I was always treated with respect and felt welcomed and wanted,” he said. “People were very involved and there’s a lot of support here.
“They kids were also a big factor. They want it and they are hungry for success,” Johnson continued. “Clay County football used to be something to be reckoned with and there’s a lot of tradition here.
“It was just an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Johnson explained current assistants Isaiah Walker and John Woodlee would stay on with him, because “their hearts are in the right place—with the kids,” but he did say there could also be “potential for others” to join the staff.
The new coach described himself as “no stranger to football,” after playing at Monterey during high school and beginning his coaching career upon graduation from Tennessee Tech at York under head coach Derwin Wright.
After marrying his wife Mercedes, with whom he now has a daughter about to turn two, and moving to Cookeville, Johnson then became an assistant for three years at Jackson County under head coach Sean Loftis. He left the Blue Devils for his short offseason stint here earlier this year.
For more on coach Johnson, tune into the Carquest Pregame Show at www.dalehollowhorizon.com Friday night beginning at 6 p.m. for his first interview on the Horizon Sports Network.
HORIZON Editor
CELINA-The Jake Johnson era here at Clay County High School is already underway, just days after the Bulldog football team’s former coach left the program (see related story).
The 29-year-old Monterey native was named the new Bulldog head coach concurrently with the announcement of Matt Bates’ resignation, and Johnson wasted no time diving into his new responsibilities.
“This is a very unique situation, but I am excited about the opportunity we have to succeed here,” Johnson said with his first game looming this Friday night at home versus Republic. “Make no mistake about it, the stakes are high, because people know what is here with these kids.
New coach Jake Johnson on the job at Clay County High School.
“I’m not going to say we are going to come in and win the state championship, but we will be better at the end of the season than we are right now.”
Monday evening practice marked the first time Johnson met with his team as their new leader, but it wasn’t his opening introduction to the squad.
He was hired as Bates’ defensive coordinator last spring and spent the entire offseason with the program, before making the decision to accept the Macon County Jr. High head coaching job and become an assistant under new Macon County High School head coach Kyle Shoulders.
“It’s a unique circumstance because of the fact, outside of less than two months, I might as well have been an in-staff hire,” Johnson said. “I’ve got that prior relationship with these kids. They know who I am, what I’m about, and they know what to expect from me.
“It’s unusual for somebody from another system to come in under these circumstances, because usually if a move is made, it is done from within, but I’m not very far removed from that.”
When asked about the transition of coming in midseason, Johnson explained he was familiar with the current system and would “have to” keep it in place for the time being.
“Everybody wants to come in and make their mark, but that’s something you have to do in the offseason,” he said. “I can’t come in and change the world, but I can come in and try to make what is there better.
“That’s how we’re going to approach it, because it’s too late in the game to change everything. We may tweak something here or there, but the foundation that is put in place is what it’s going to have to be.”
Johnson said his “dream has always been to become a high school head football coach,” which played into his decision to accept the position despite the circumstances, but he also credited the community support and the players for luring him here.
“In the short time I was here before, I was always treated with respect and felt welcomed and wanted,” he said. “People were very involved and there’s a lot of support here.
“They kids were also a big factor. They want it and they are hungry for success,” Johnson continued. “Clay County football used to be something to be reckoned with and there’s a lot of tradition here.
“It was just an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Johnson explained current assistants Isaiah Walker and John Woodlee would stay on with him, because “their hearts are in the right place—with the kids,” but he did say there could also be “potential for others” to join the staff.
The new coach described himself as “no stranger to football,” after playing at Monterey during high school and beginning his coaching career upon graduation from Tennessee Tech at York under head coach Derwin Wright.
After marrying his wife Mercedes, with whom he now has a daughter about to turn two, and moving to Cookeville, Johnson then became an assistant for three years at Jackson County under head coach Sean Loftis. He left the Blue Devils for his short offseason stint here earlier this year.
For more on coach Johnson, tune into the Carquest Pregame Show at www.dalehollowhorizon.com Friday night beginning at 6 p.m. for his first interview on the Horizon Sports Network.