The Indians aren't a scrappy bunch any more. They're a powerhouse with the talent to prove it, and they're gunning to get an elusive state title.
Photo by Dennis Carter
In the highly competitive Georgia high school football landscape, this could be the season that Cobb County breaks through with a football state champion in Georgia's largest classification for the first time since 1967.
Schools from the southern part of the state (Valdosta, Lowndes, Camden County) and Gwinnett County (Parkview, Grayson, Norcross) have had a stranglehold in the state's largest classification (AAAAA and more recently, AAAAAA) for the last two decades. In 2014, with experience and plenty of star power, McEachern will challenge their reign.
Offensively, McEachern brings back a half-dozen starters, led by running back
Taj Griffin, the nation's No. 1 all-purpose back according to the
247Composite. The Oregon commit can do it all, including special teams, and is a huge asset for sophomore quarterback
Bailey Hockman, son of head coach Kyle Hockman.
The younger Hockman came on late last season when the team's previous starter, Ty Clemons, was injured in the team's regular-season finale. As a ninth-grader, he guided the team to three playoff wins and a narrow, season-ending loss to North Gwinnett, 27-21.
Both Hockman and Griffin will have the luxury of
Chuma Edoga on the offensive line. Edoga is a 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive tackle who possesses superb athleticism. At the high school level, he can be downright dominant.
Tremayne Anchrum and
Chandler Jones are also back on the offensive line, meaning Hockman should have plenty of time; Griffin, plenty of lanes.
Julian Rochester, the third of the team's five-star recruits (along with Griffin and Edoga), is only a junior but is already a leader on the McEachern defense. He topped 125 tackles and 11 sacks last fall. An opposing coach likened him to a young Richard Seymour.
He'll need to have an even more productive junior season to help account for the loss of Henry Famurewa (Louisville) and McKenzie Billingslea (Kennesaw State). However,
Andrew Tarver provides additional experience up front. Sophomore
Xavier Reddick, in his varsity debut, could make an immediate impact.
The team's linebackers, including
Fitz Wattley and
Cameron Magee, will be bolstered by junior
Allen Cooper and possibly sophomore
Courtney Johnson. The team's front seven will be young but talented.
Only one starter returns in the secondary, but he's a good one:
Tyler Woodley.
The team's schedule features no shortage of teams that are able and willing to throw the football, including North Cobb and future Auburn quarterback Tyler Queen. Perhaps the team's biggest regular-season challenge comes in Week 1 in the Corky Kell Classic, where it will face North Gwinnett, the team that ended its season a year ago.
Local quote
"McEachern is probably Georgia's most successful program in the highest class that is still looking for a state title. They were Cobb County's dominant program in the '80s and '90s. The old McEachern was known for maximizing the talent it had and out-working people, but the talent coming through there now is the best it's ever been. They are sending lots more kids into college ball now. There are more blue-chippers. Kyle Hockman has fashioned the offense to take advantage of it. I think they're better equipped to win a state title than they've ever been."
- Todd Holcomb, Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Georgia High School Football Daily
Photo by Dennis Carter/IIIustration by Social Recluse Graphx
