You may have heard of Colquitt County High School Football Team. You know? The No. 1 high school football team in the nation. However, that hasn’t always been the case. You know what has attributed to this team’s success? Rush Propst.
Before Propst got to Colquitt County High School, He was the head coach for the Hoover High School Football in Hoover, Alabama. Even before he made his way to Hoover High School, he was the head coach at two other schools in Alabama, Ashville and Eufaula. While in Alabama, he epitomized what it meant to be a head coach and moved his expertise to Colquitt. The season before Propst started at Colquitt, they were 2-8 overall. Last season, the Packers went 15-0. How does a coach of this prestige end up at Colquitt County, and how does he then turn them into national champions?
Propst has twenty-six years of head coaching under his belt and it shows. Hoover High school, who has won 5 AHSAA class 6A Championships; Hoover won in 2000 and 2002 through 2005. Hoover High School football team was even featured on MTV’s “Two-A-Days”. Colquitt County, who has won 2 GHSA Class 6A championships in 2014 and 2015. It appears Propst has a knack for creating back-to-back champion teams.
Concluding last season, Propst coaching record rest at 265-83…which is a .761 winning percentage. Also, he is the second highest paid coach in Georgia. And I ask again, why does a coach of this prestige move to Colquitt County?
Did he want to feel like a “big dawg” by transforming a not-so-great team into the best team in the nation? Was it to prove that he could replicate his success at any school and at any level? Was it something else altogether?
While the answer to that question is largely unknown, what is clearly known is that it turned out to be a great move for not only for the Packer Nation, but for his career. Regardless of his original intention, he has proven that he can coach, lead, and win despite surrounding circumstances.
Propst has been coaching at Colquitt since 2008, and it’s alleged that he wants to seek other opportunities: college level opportunities. His clear talents as a head coach seem to make him a prime candidate for a Division-1 coordinator job or a lower-level head coaching job. His marketability is undeniable.
Aside from the wishful thinking of the Packer faithful, that is likely an inevitable move for such an incredible coach. The exact timeline, however, is unknown. I believe that it can’t be much longer until a big offer comes his way, but I’m sure that Coach Propst still intends on racking up wins and championships until that day comes.
But when that day does in fact come, whether tomorrow or 10 years from now, whether by another job or by retirement, if Coach Propst seems to be the reason for Colquitt County’s success, what will he leave in his wake when he finally does decide to move on? Has he established enough of a culture of winning and a staff of coaches around him that there would be no drop-off?
There aren’t many Rush Propsts running around, so I don’t see his back-to-back champions being champions at that point. His transformative influence will be near impossible to replace or replicate. With the 2016 Packers already having to reload due to the graduation of a giant senior class, it is already going to be a challenge for the Packers to maintain this standard of success. The odds are already against Colquitt County, and Propst hasn’t even left yet.
The short term battle is against their own roster as they prepare for Grayson and other developing powerhouses, but the long-term battle is the sustainability of the culture of the program. Let’s put it this way: I’d hate to be the man that has to follow in the giant footsteps of Rush Propst.
Maya Bramletta
In The Game Sports Network/June 2016
The Rush to Colquitt
GHSA
Photos by: footballscoop.com
