Haygood.

ABRAMS You're heading into your fourth season with the Bulldogs.

You made it to the final game of the year last year.

What did you learn from that game and last season as a whole?

Well, I think last season as a whole, we learned, you know, with a group of kids who all pull in the same direction and all have a common goal.

I mean, a lot can be accomplished as far as the game is concerned.

I don't know what I learned in that one.

The way that one turned out.

There's a lot of a lot a lot of things to learn from that game.

So try to try to.

I guess the thing I learned is you have to make decisions with the information that you have at the time.

So let's get into spring and summer practice, getting you ready for the 23 season.

What has it been like out there in Polk County getting ready for this particular year?

Oh, kind of business as usual.

We went through spring ball and then rolled through Summer Road through June.

James seemed like a like a whirlwind, like it was here and gone.

And now we only got just a couple of weeks before we are for four go and and back at it again.

So it's just kind of business as usual coming in in the morning and trying to get them ready to go.

It's a long road to December and taking a look at your schedule and your region schedule, which is region seven for A, what do you see going down the stretch?

Well, I think, you know, we'll be tested again with our schedule.

I think it's a difficult schedule.

You know, when you look at the the number of teams that we play, you know, obviously you got your reads, the schedule that's always difficult within the the non region schedule that we're playing.

You know, I think I think that that helps our guys prepare and understand those playoff type atmospheres.

So when it comes to this particular season and the rising seniors, those that are going to be seniors for you this year, who are some of the names that folks need to kind of keep an eye on when it comes to recruiting out there at Cedar Town and then is there someone or maybe a couple of quick somebodies that would probably qualify and or the make that kid an offer idea and not getting enough looks are not getting the looks you think they deserve.

So we have obviously I think most people that they have social media know we have a player who committed to Georgia a couple of weeks ago.

Just tell you Harris we've got another couple of guys that that do have some offers, which is DeMarcus Gardner.

He's also in the in the 2025 class.

And then Beau Ball who's an offensive lineman in the 2026 class.

So, you know, there's a couple of those guys as far as to make that kid an offer.

We have our quarterback this year, Drew Ledbetter.

He's played wide receiver and playing wide receiver in our offense, sometimes in the most fun thing to do.

But he's done that the last two years, so he'll take over at quarterback runs really well A great student I think he's one of those kids as well as Taji Neal that's been a three year starter for us in the secondary.

So those two guys are our candidates for that.

But those are the the as far as recruiting is concerned, those are kind of those main guys.

You know, we have another player as well thinking about doing that in the 2025 class.

Edgar Martinez.

He would also be a three year starter for us to really, really good leader for us for those who haven't been to your town and haven't been to your stadium, what does football mean there in the community of Cedar Town?

Well, you know, I think football is very important in Cedar Town.

When you go back to the special thing and I talk to our kids about this morning about being here is a lot of the dads played here, a lot of their uncles and cousins and older brothers and whoever everybody that they know have played here.

It's not like, you know, we have these new schools popping up and there are different communities and people moving in or we kind of got what we got.

So I think that that's a big deal.

And it's a big deal, you know, because we have a following of alumni and people who played here that care about it.

So I think that's kind of special in this day and age.

I think, you know, being able to to go out and play on the same field as those guys, I think that should that should mean something to our guys.

And that goes along with our bonus question.

The bonus question is asking you what a good team tradition is on Friday nights there.

All right.

Well, one that we started doing four years ago when I first got here, somebody talked with me and you ask about traditions.

John Hill was the coach here for 24 seasons, the Hall of Fame coach.

And actually right before the dead, we were able to meet up with Coach Hill at one of our padded camps.

He lives.

He doesn't live in town anymore.

And we were close to him.

So he came and talked with the team.

He was able to, you know, see some guys on our staff that he coached and as well as some kids of players that he coast.

So you could ask about it being special that that's one of those things and he had right before he left he had our field that our current fieldhouse built used to they would walk down the bleachers from the gym and I had somebody when I first got the job talk about what a you know, that being one of their great memories.

So we come down the different side, but we walk up the hill from the fieldhouse and walk back down and it's become a big deal, you know, big deals.

The little kids who want to be bulldogs in the future and a big deal to our kids.

They get that last little bit of encouragement as they walk down the bleachers.

So you call it the dog?

Well, it's not not quite the dog walk like like in Athens.

But, you know, them walk down the bleachers and they get to feel like superstars for a few minutes.