Our ITG Next Florida 4 Questions with the Coach guest this week is Wakulla head football coach Scott Klees. His War Eagles are one of the state’s most consistent programs when it comes to winning seasons, having made several trips to the Florida high school regional finals and two trips to the state championship game in 2011 and 2015. They were undefeated in 2019 entering the Class 5A state semifinal game but lost a heartbreaking overtime decision to bring the season to an end. Will 2023 finally be the year when Coach Klees leads his team to the FHSAA state championship? Let’s ask him.
Q. Coach Klees, thank you for joining us. I want to start off by asking you to talk about your history as a head football coach in Florida, including your time at Wakulla. I just mentioned a few parts of your coaching background in the introduction, but what’s the rest of your coaching history?
A. I coached at Munroe for seven years. I was the head basketball and softball coach, as well as the head football coach my last two years there. This is my 21st year at Wakulla and my 17th year as the head football coach. I was also the head weightlifting coach for 10 years. Along with being the head football coach, I am the assistant athletic director.
Q. Coach, lets talk about last season. Your Wakulla football team started off winning seven of your first eight games, including a couple of nailbiters – an overtime win to open the season against Chiles, then again six weeks later against Rickards, another OT win. Then, however, your team went cold at a bad time, dropping your final three games of the season to finish 7-4. What happened there?
A. We were a young football team last year with only five seniors. We were off to a great start, 7-1 and ranked third in the state, then we lost our starting quarterback and ended the season 0-3. I felt like if we could’ve stayed healthy last year, we would’ve made a deep run.
Q. Coach, let’s put the 2022 season in the rear view mirror, so to speak. You must replace some pretty good talent from last year, including Xavier Blake and Todd Williams, to name a couple. But you have a guy who you know pretty well in your quarterback, Haden Klees. I’m a big believer that in high school football, your team is as good as your QB, and your QB is one of Florida’s best. How important is he to your team’s success, and how far do you think he can take the team this season? What about the supporting cast around him on offense and defense this season? Of course, as I mentioned in the introduction: Will 2023 finally be the season for a Wakulla football state championship?
A. All five seniors will definitely be missed this season. There’s no doubt at any level, from Pop Warner to the NFL, you are only going to go as far as your quarterback can take you. We believe Haden is as good as any quarterback in the state. This will be his third year starting, and his experience will be key to us having a chance to play in the state championship. He’s worked really hard this offseason and is getting stronger and faster, and he will be competing this month in the Wilson QBX combine, as well as an Elite 11 Regional in May.
On offense, our strength will be our wide receiver group led by Samron Brinson, who caught a touchdown pass in every game last season. We are replacing two offensive linemen, but we feel that group has a chance to be very good. On defense, we are going to be led by senior linebacker Tanner Lanier and possibly the best secondary in my 21 years here, with lockdown corner Nehemiah Chandler and safeties Jeremiah Thomas and Devontae Roberts. Winning a state championship is our goal every year at Wakulla. If we can stay healthy and develop some young players to fill some holes, we should have a good chance to compete for a state championship.
Q. You and your Wakulla football team are getting ready for spring and summer workouts. What are the main priorities and goals for your team this offseason, Coach Klees? What areas do you hope to get better at this season?
A. Our main priorities this offseason are to create depth, and in order to do that we have to have a great summer in the weight room, as well as in our speed training.
