New Head Football Coach Neal Posey Will Lead Team in Alabama Class 3A Title Quest
Fresh off their first football state championship in team history, the Saint James Trojans will be looking to repeat in 2023 with a group of familiar faces, including returning starters and a new head coach, who will need no introduction in his first team meeting.
Neal Posey, who has served as the Trojans’ offensive coordinator for the past five years, will take over the reigns from Jimmy Perry, who decided to retire after guiding Saint James School to its historic state title.
For Posey, its the opportunity he’s been waiting for.
“I am looking forward to being in the role as a head coach for the first time,” Posey says.
It’s also a natural next step for Posey to be named a head coach.
“My grandad was a head basketball coach and athletic director at Huntingdon College, and my dad serves as the head basketball coach at Navarre High School in Florida,” the third-generation coach says.
Posey helped his father coach basketball when he was in college, and now he coaches the middle school basketball and baseball teams at Saint James. But Posey says he had no real interest in coaching basketball at the varsity level. Those two years of coaching alongside his dad did convince him of what he wanted to do as a career.
“I was preparing for a completely different field, but those two years convinced me to want to be a coach,” says Posey.
What did his father think about his son following in the family line of career choice?
“He said don’t do it,” Posey recalls, laughing at his father’s attempt to sway him from coaching.
But his mind was made up, and so here he is, ready for his first head coaching job. Other than his first two years out of college, when he served as a position coach at Presbyterian High School, Saint James has been home for Posey for the past eight years. He was hired by Perry and credits his mentor with preparing him for this moment.
“When Coach Perry hired me eight years ago, I told him on that first day that I wanted to be the head coach here one day, and he took me under his wing and told me that he would show me the ropes if you want to know what to do,” Posey remembers. “I have been taking mental notes along the way, and that day finally came true, I guess.”
Now, it’s Posey’s turn to show he’s ready to pick up where Perry left off. In winning their first-ever state championship, the Trojans staged a monumental comeback in which they scored on five of their first 12 plays to start the second half en route to a 45-28 outcome. They finished with a 13-2 record.
According to Posey, there are some key pieces returning to his Saint James Trojans team, as well as a few holes to fill in 2023.
Among the returning starters is quarterback KJ Jackson, a player Posey knows as well as anyone.
“I’ve been working closely with KJ since he was in the sixth grade, and it’s been quite a journey,” Posey says.
Jackson will be a senior, and at 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 215 pounds, he is everything a coach could hope to have at the position.
“He’s got the size, and he can sling it,” Posey says.
How important is it to Posey to have the most important component in the Saint James offense returning in 2023?
“It’s huge,” says Posey. “He’s like having a coach on the field.”
Posey says Jackson is a three-star recruit who is entertaining several college offers.
Two of Jackson’s top receiving targets, Clint Houser and Ziggy Holloway,
“They are big-time players, and I’m delighted to have them back,” Posey says.
Both players were a big part of the second-half comeback in last year’s state title game, hauling in touchdown passes from Jackson, including two for Houser.
“Chris is a big asset for us and Ziggy can run like a deer,” Posey says about the two Division 1-bound receivers. “Those guys always come ready to play, and when they play, they are pretty good.”
Houser and Holloway will also play cornerback again for the Saint James Trojans in 2023, according to Posey.
The head coach says he plans to continue to call plays for the Trojans. As excited as he is about his returning starters, he also understands the nature of the business means having to replace some players who played a major role in Saint James’ first state title.
“One of our biggest skill position losses will be running back Cosner Harrison,” Posey acknowledges. “He will be a huge player to replace.”
The three-year starter rushed for over 5,200 yards and a stunning 70 TDs in his career at Saint James. While his time there is over, his career is far from finished, according to Posey.
“He is planning to play at Huntingdon College,” Posey says.
The Saint James Trojans, who are ranked 25th in our way-too-early 2023 Top 25, will suffer their biggest losses to graduation in the trenches, and that means a lot of big guys to replace on both the offensive and defensive lines.
“We are losing five of our seven interior linemen, and that really affects us because a lot of our guys play both ways,” Posey says.
His hope is that a few promising ninth-graders will be ready to step up and fill a few of the holes, especially on the line.
“We have some younger guys who are ready to make that huge leap from the ninth grade to the 10th grade, where they can hopefully gain some weight,” he says.
Does the Trojans’ new head coach think he has the team to make it back to a state title game?
“I’m not going to say that,” Posey says with a big laugh. “We just need to find our identity and keep moving this thing forward. We just have to build on what we have working here.”
