ITG Next caught up with the head football coach at Walton High School, Daniel Brunner. Brunner talks about his career path and how it led to the Raiders. The coach also reflects on last year’s success, and gives his outlook on the 2022 Walton team.
Q: Coach, talk about your history as a coach, at Walton and before.
A:I started my coaching career at LaGrange College after I finished playing at Rhodes College. I coached the defensive line for two seasons before moving on to high school. I learned a ton in those two years and experienced how tough it is to start a program from scratch. From LaGrange I went back to Roswell where I played high school ball and coached the defensive line, special teams, strength and conditioning, and finally defensive coordinator. I was at Roswell for five seasons before moving on to Centennial and holding the same positions. I spent one season at Centennial before moving on to Walton High School where I have been since. I worked as a position coach and coordinator until being named head coach for the 2017 season.
Q: What a great season you guys had this past year. Can you talk about who you have returning from that season?
A:We are fortunate to have a good group coming back after such a successful season. We lost a great group of seniors! They were fantastic players and fantastic young men. We will be returning five starters on offense and five on defense.
Q: Of course, the flip side is having to replace those key players who are graduating, like QB Zac Rozsman. Besides Zac, Who are the guys that you’ll be replacing?
A: We will be replacing a ton of talent but more importantly leadership and experience. On the offensive side we will be losing Zak Rozsman (Georgia Southern), Sutton Smith (Memphis), Cason Henry (South Carolina), Ryan Purves (Georgia Tech), Evan Bax (Oklahoma State) and more.
Q: Coach, talk about the schedule for the upcoming season. Is it complete, and what are some of the key matchups you expect this season?
A: We want to make sure we are tested throughout the regular season and prepare ourselves for region play and then the playoffs. This year is no different. We open up in the Corky Kell Classic against Mill Creek who is coming off a tremendous run and returns a ton of talent. We will also see two rematches from the 2021 season with traditional state powers Brookwood and Marietta before we enter region play. We are excited about our new region as it looks to be very competitive. We will see another state power North Cobb and up and coming Kennesaw Mountain that is coming off an outstanding season and also returns a talented group.
