Newly hired Fitzgerald High School head football coach Wes Tankersley spoke with ITG Next’s Phil Jones about the expectations of being the head coach at a successful program like Fitzgerald and what Purple Hurricane fans can expect to see from the team offensively and defensively in 2025 and beyond. He also talked about the coaching staff and what his plans are for assembling his assistants.
Tankerlsley comes from Stephens County High School, where he has served as the head football coach for the last seven years. In 2024, Tankersley led Stephens County to a 9-4 finish, advancing to the Class 2A quarterfinals.
Q: Coach, congratulations on being named as the new head football coach at Fitzgerald. I know the past few days have been crazy, but I wanted to give you a chance to address the Fitzgerald football fans and what they can expect to see from you as far as your philosophy is concerned on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
A: I like to play a physical brand of football on both sides. We’ll be a run-first type of offense, but we’ll develop into a passing offense when we need to. We’ll throw it over the top and do what it takes to put points on the board.
As far as the defense, I’m a defensive guy, so we’re going to play a very physical style of football and get after people.
We are going to be very physical up front on both sides of the ball.
There will be three main things I will expect from our team: effort, attitude, and toughness.
Q: How bout assembling the staff you want?
A: I’m going to get started on that right away on day one. I’m going to sit down and speak to the guys that are here and get to know them a little bit.
I will tell you that we’re going to move pretty quickly on that as well as a lot of other things. We have to get a lot done in a short amount of time just because of where we are at this point of the offseason.
Q: There are going to be pretty high expectations from the fans at Fitzgerald because of the success that the program has enjoyed. What is your message to the Fitzgerald fans about expectations for the upcoming season?
A: That is one of the reasons I wanted to come here. Any coach wants to be at a place where the expectations are high, and Fitzgerald High School is definitely one of those places. But you also know that we’re going to get the resources here that will allow our program to be successful, and Fitzgerald has proven that they’ll provide what we need to be successful.
Q: What about future scheduling? You’ll have a chance to make your own schedule beginning with the 2026 season. What type of non-region opponents can fans expect to see in the future?
A: I prefer to play neighboring schools as that is a great way to build on and develop great rivalries between communities, but, at the same time, I’m not opposed to playing out-of-state teams or any team that fits with what we are looking to accomplish from a competitive standpoint. Last year at Stephens County, our non-region opponents included Oconee County, Jefferson, and Elbert County. Those are three tough teams, but if playing those types of schools makes us better, that’s what we’re going to do.
