The Oglethorpe County football team will try to regroup after going 0-10 last season. The Patriots will rely heavily on senior leaders to push them toward success this fall.
Seniors Brock Barrett, Caden Hartrum, O’Maury Huggs and Clint Graham are among the players on their last ride with the program.
“All of the seniors, they got one more shot,” head coach Michael Holland said. “It could be a great experience for them, or it could be a bad experience for them.”
These seniors choose to make their last year a great experience every day. Holland said this group of players are some of the most consistent and hard working players he has ever coached.
He expects all four of them to exemplify the leadership qualities a senior should have every day on and off the field.
“I’m relying on them to be an extension of me,” he said. “(They need to) exemplify mental toughness, trust, hard work and competitiveness.”
Barrett (6-foot-3, 295 pounds) starts at center and has been nicknamed “Mr. Consistency” by Holland. He never misses a practice.
Barrett said that the Patriots have to go into the season with a winning mindset in order to do better than they did last year.
“We just need to keep our head up,” he said. “When people put their head down, (they) lose confidence and having a shot at winning.”
Hartrum (5-11, 150), will start at quarterback.
“Being the lead of the offense, people look up to me,” he said. “If they see me down, it gets them down, so I try to keep my head up even when I mess up.”
Huggs (6-foot, 194), who will start at running back and on the defensive line, has transformed his body since freshman year due to hard work and dedication. Holland said he lost 90 pounds, going from a “tackle type offensive lineman” to a “ripped up running back.”
“He’s one of those guys that’s going to show up and work his tail off every day,” he said. “So, kids see that and they say, ‘Man he knows how to work hard.’”
Graham (5-8, 130), who will play running back and defensive back, is another dependable player. Although he may not be the most vocal player, Holland said, he “plays so hard and will do anything (you) ask him to do.”
Graham, nicknamed “The Missile” because of his speed and ability to play against bigger guys, “has the biggest heart,” Holland said.
All four of these seniors bring something different to the field, but lead the same in the locker room. They teach the younger players to be respectful, work hard and compete like a winner.
“I want those guys to model that for everybody else, so that we can continue to try to change the culture and turn it into a consistent winning culture,” Holland said.