Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets
Becoming A Legend
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The air on Friday nights gets a little cooler…time change makes the sun set a little earlier; it must mean it’s time for postseason football in South Georgia.
Although the GISA has gotten a jump on the postseason party a few weeks prior to the GHSA, Southeast Bulloch Football is poised to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021.
Although there’s a ton of factors in the success for the Jackets in 2024, there’s one that seems we have said over the airwaves repeatedly and has racked up a historic season in Brooklet…Colby Smith.
On the first weekend in November, Colby Smith eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season becoming the first Jacket in seven years to run for more than 1K in a year.
With a 36 yard second quarter rush against Beach, the junior running back became the first SEB rusher since Chase Walker in 2017 to reach the 1,000-yard echelon, which lends itself to pretty good company.
Chase Walker is one of the most decorated players to come through Brooklet with a stellar high school career from 2014-2017 playing under three head coaches in his four-year span of Pat Collins, Steve Pennington, and Barrett Davis.
Walker not only surpassed 1,000 rushing yards as a senior in 2017 but did it in all four years as a Yellow Jacket and racked up 6,100 career yards on the ground with 28 career 100-yard rushing games.
Walker also found the endzone 91 times for rushing touchdowns, which still ranks top 15 on the all-time state of Georgia record book. To put it in perspective, Herschel Walker (regarded as one of the best players out of the state) sits 3 spots behind Walker on the all-time career rushing touchdowns list with 86.
Colby Smith has been a massive impact for Southeast Bulloch on both sides of the ball virtually his entire career. He will wrap the 2024 regular season with his 27th game played and 25th career game started.
Smith was thrust on the scene as a freshman in 2022 and started the back half of the season as a linebacker for the Jackets.
Over the last four years, Smith has seen considerable action at linebacker, safety, nickel, running back and was the backup quarterback last season and was thrown in the fire after Will Nelson’s injury.
“He’s just a hard-nosed kid,” said SEB Head Coach Jared Zito. “He physical and he’s super smart, but what gets overlooked is his athleticism and the kind of athlete he is. He’s got incredible balance, great vision, tremendous feet and is MUCH faster than people think.”
Smith has the old school football player feeling around him, and a lot of that comes from his family.
His family is one that loves the Jackets and is the picture of what a football family is.
There is not a game or event that goes by that doesn’t have his dad Cameron (who is part of the chain crew on the sidelines for the home games), his mom, Christy, and sister Courtney.
It goes beyond that too. Colby’s cousins Matt Bowen played, and Jason Bowen plays for the Jackets on the field with his Uncle Mark Bowen in the booth as an analyst on SEB’s radio broadcast on 106.5, the Boro and Aunt Christy Bowen who serves with the SEB Athletic Booster Club as the treasurer.
If that group isn’t enough, the icons of the squad that show up no matter where or the weather are his grandparents Larry and Charlotte Bowen, and when you hear someone yelling and cheering above everyone else…. it’s probably Mr. Larry.
It’s been a blast this year for me to get a front row seat to watch a historic season that Colby Smith has been putting up on the field, but the real root of high school football is the people that you get to spend each Friday night with, and it’s an absolute honor to get to see the person that Colby is and has around him.
Making The Grade?
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Hard to believe already but the regular season for high school football in Georgia is at the halfway point of the year.
Today we’ll take a look at the report card for the four Bulloch County high school football teams; Southeast Bulloch, Statesboro, Bulloch Academy, and Portal.
Southeast Bulloch (4-1; 3-1 Reg3-3A) | A-
Southeast Bulloch has been off to a great start to the season with the only blemish on the card being the road loss at Calvary Day School.
The Jackets offense has been steadily growing despite a couple of injuries and culminated three 100 yard rushing performances so far.
Jacket Country saw Jayden Murphy rush for 160 yards and two scores against the Atom Smashers and Colby Smith following up with 130 yards and a score in the contest against Johnson. Smith followed the Johnson game up with 124 rushing yards against Windsor Forest last weekend.
Sophomore Quarterback Rhett Morgan is growing up before Head Coach Jared Zito’s eyes with two passing scores on the year and 5 explosive plays the past two weeks thru the air.
The Jackets defense led by Senior Kyle O’Brien, and Sophomore Brant Horst at the linebacker spots have held their own only allowing just over 100 rushing yards per game on the year and forcing 12 turnovers in the first five games.
Statesboro (2-3; 1-2 Reg1-5A) | C+
Second year Head Coach Matt Dobson has had a tough go at through the first half of the year.
After falling to cross town rival SEB in the opener, the Blue Devils picked up their first victory against Veterans 21-10 in week 2.
SHS then dropped their first two region matchups against Greenbrier and Glynn Academy but picked up their first region win against Bradwell Institute last week 41-36.
Quarterback Beckham Jarrard has taken the boro by storm in his freshman season already with over 800 passing yards and completing 62% of his passes with Keon Childers the favorite target racking up 298 receiving yards and two scores.
Statesboro has a tough road ahead down the back stretch but look to build off an impressive game against Bradwell Institute.
Bulloch Academy (6-0) | A+
The Gators have come out hot as ever in 2024 ranking #1 in the GIAA rankings after the 6-0 start.
Head Coach Aaron Phillips builds off the state semifinal appearance last season with a march to continue the winning ways in 2024.
Shamar Jenkins has been a huge boost for the Gators on the offensive side both at running back and receiver while the BA Defense has been the huge linchpin for the Gators success.
BA looks poised to enter region play then take a march deep into the GIAA state playoffs that culminate at the end of November at Allen E. Paulson Stadium for the GIAA State Championships.
Portal (2-3; 1-2 Reg 3-1Ad2) | C
The Portal Panthers continue to find the new identity after losing a number of players from a year ago to graduation and are now playing on Saturdays.
A couple of those that have stepped up is senior running back Jaylon Strickland and Brian McQueen.
Strickland recorded his first 100+ rushing yard game in the victory over Byran County last week and has racked up 360 on the year with 2 scores.
McQueen who has made the shift from quarterback to receiver is accountable for five touchdowns on the year (2 rushing, 2 receiving, 1 passing).
Portal seems to be rounding into shape and looking to get back to the success they’ve shown in the past few years.
Chasing Perfection
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The “buzz” (pun intended) around Brooklet is palpable heading into the 2024 season.
Although the 4-6 finish in 2023 for the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets wasn’t the wins and losses numbers that Jackets Country was hoping for, SEB was in the running for a playoff spot until the final horn of the season in arguably the most difficult region in the GHSA.
Entering 2024, SEB seems poised to make a huge jump in the win column and looks to hold Head Coach Jared Zito’s 2024 slogan true and be “Chasing Perfection.”
GHSA reclassification and restructuring greatly impacts the Jackets schedule in a few different ways.
First off, SEB won’t be running through the gauntlet of the former region 3 in the 4A ranks. Reclassified to 3A, SEB enters region 3 with high hopes in 2024.
The other significant impact of the state restructuring is the sheer size of the new region. Region 3 consists of ten teams and with that Southeast Bulloch’s schedule will feature nine region contests and only non-region affair.
Although there is only one non-region contest on the regular season schedule for SEB, it’s a big one! The Jackets will host nearby rival Statesboro at Fred Shaver field to kick off the season on August 16th.
The two rekindled the rivalry back in 2022 after not playing for just shy of 20 years. After the past two years took place as part of the Erk Russell Classic at Allen E. Paulson Stadium, this year’s matchup will head back to campus in Brooklet.
The past two years have gone the Blue Devil’s way with 2022 meeting going sideways to the tune of 55-14 Statesboro. That said, SEB was a late fumble away from upsetting the 5A Blue Devils while driving inside of two minutes left in the game, but fell 12-7
After starting the season 4-2 in 2023, SEB fell in their final four games last season, but learned a lot about what the future holds.
The most notable lesson learned is what the quarterback position looks like (hopefully) for the next couple of years. Former quarterback Will Nelson missed the final two games of the regular season with an injury and allowed the Jacket faithful to see then freshman Rhett Morgan.
Morgan split time with Colby Smith as signal caller against Wayne County then started his first varsity game against Burke in the finale.
Between the two, Morgan rushed for over 100 yards combined, which doesn’t jump off the page, but the way he commanded the offense as a freshman was impressive. All indications coming from Brooklet say that Morgan has physically made huge jumps and look to have a big year as a sophomore for the blue and gold.
The past couple of years, many folks around the SEB football program have said that the 2024 season will be one to watch.
A huge core of Jackets will hit their senior years in 2024 led by linebacker Kyle O’Brien who finished 2023 with 98 tackles and 6 TFLs.
A few other names that will be playing their final season in Brooklet are wide receiver Easton Phillips, tight end/defensive lineman Forest Fretwell along with linemen Jotavion Gaines, Deacon Craig, and Michael Dixon.
Through spring football and summer workouts a number of players have made a huge jump and are expected to make an impact in 2024.
Tyrone McGee is a junior wide receiver standing 6’2” and just shy of 200 pounds and has burst onto the scene. While a couple of receivers have looked good, the success of SEB looks to stay in the backfield as Jayden Murphy, Colby Smith, Quentin Reed, Chase Douglas, and Rhett Morgan seem to be the names to look for running the football in 2024.
The last few years, you have seen flashes from the Jackets, but 2024 seems to be the season that SEB puts those flashes and pieces together. Less than a month away from kickoff and the Brooklet community can’t wait to get back into Fred Shaver Field and “Chase Perfection”!
Buzzing About The Future
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
While 2023 didn’t yield the win totals that those in Jackets Country would have wanted, but there is a lot that shines a light from 2023 in the direction of the future.
Finishing up the season with a 4-6 mark overall and dropping the final 4 games of the year doesn’t sound positive, but the fact remains that Southeast Bulloch still held control of their postseason possibilities until the final horn of the season.
It’s no question that Region 3 in the 4A classification is one of (if not the single most) difficult region in the state. Benedictine, Wayne County, Burke County were all mainstays in the top 10 rankings for most of the season while New Hampstead, who earned the two seed in the region, many say (including myself) should have been in the top 10. SEB dropped all those contests but showed positives in all the games for Coach Jared Zito’s squad.
Nothing shows this more than the New Hampstead game.
The Phoenix jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but SEB answered with conviction.
After a 26-yard Cole Snyder field goal got the Jackets on the board, he then executed a perfectly placed onside kick for the blue and gold to recover.
One play later Will Nelson found Kyon Taylor on a throw back screen for the 36-yard touchdown. After the ensuing kickoff died at the 1-yard line, SEB forced New Hampstead to a three and out.
With the Phoenix punter standing in his own endzone, Kyle O’Brien burst through the line to block the punt that fluttered out of bounds at the 13-yard line. Yet again, one play later, Kyon Taylor took it in for a score. Just that fast (2:07 to be exact) SEB had gone from 14-0 down to up 17-14.
One week later, on the Yellow Jackets’ senior night against the #1 team in the state, Benedictine jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Southeast Bulloch’s Special Teams Coordinator Randy Lee had another trick up his sleeve. A fake punt saw Colby Smith scamper 48 yards and set up the first Jackets touchdown five plays later.
Individually, there was a lot of growth for the Jackets this year. Entering the season, the linebacking core was the focus on the defense, and they didn’t disappoint.
Kyle O’Brien led the way for SEB in the stats sheet and on the field anchoring the middle of the defense.
Colby Smith continued to be a terror to offenses in his sophomore season. That combination also helped bring along younger players, most notably freshman Brant Horst, who played a big role in the back half of the season and earned a start in the season finale against Burke County.
The biggest future phenom that showed in 2023 was one that the Jackets would have rather not had to find this year. With senior quarterback Will Nelson sidelined with injury the last 2 weeks of the year, Brooklet was introduced to Rhett Morgan (at least at the varsity level).
His first drive as a varsity signal caller resulted in a 9 play 70-yard scoring drive, and while the results were 0-2, the process looked promising.
With the GHSA reclassification having Southeast Bulloch return to the 3A classification, it only adds to the positivity moving forward in Brooklet.
While 4-6 isn’t the standard expected for SEB, what you saw in this season proves it won’t be the norm moving forward.
Busy Bee
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In the off-season, it was well thought that rising senior Will Nelson would be the heir apparent to take over as QB1 for the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets.
After excelling as a two-year starter at safety for the Jackets, Nelson was tasked with learning and leading a completely revamped offense for SEB that made the move back to the split-back veer.
While that would be more than enough for many 16–17-year-olds, it’s far from all Nelson was focused on.
He had just completed his junior season for Southeast Bulloch Baseball, while also being an active member of numerous clubs and activities including Beta Club, National Honors Society and Future Business Leaders of America among others.
Was that enough for Nelson? Nope!
Last spring and into the summer, Nelson applied, interviewed, and was named one of two representatives for 4A on the 2023-24 GHSA Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
The GHSA Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) is a 20-person panel made up of student-athletes from all over the state of Georgia that are selected by a group of judges after a rigorous interview process.
Two representatives from each classification along with four at-large members make up the council each year. The SAAC is tasked with creating the connection between student-athletes, the GHSA Office, officials, and everyone that has a hand in high school sports to help promote sportsmanship and leadership.
“We’re just trying to influence a positive attitude and atmosphere around high school sports,” said Nelson. “We also want to push respect referee, and associates that help us, and spend their time to help us play our game and keep us safe during the game.”
The selection process begins with a full application process and must meet the minimum requirements that the applicant must be involved in at-least one club or school organization in addition to playing at-least one sport at the school. After the application, comes the interview process where judges from all across the state that will be making the final decision.
This year, 116 applications were sent in from all corners of the peach state to select the 20-person council with Nelson and Sanaaya Thompson from Rutland High School getting the nod for the 4A classification.
“It defiantly means a lot to me to be able to represent not only SEB, but all of 4A,” said Nelson. “It can be a lot of pressure, but it’s an honor for sure.”
The GHSA SAAC will be voting on a couple yearly awards including the Student Section of the Year, as well as participating in a leadership conference in the winter.
All the off the field accomplishments and responsibilities haven’t taken away from his performance on the field leading Southeast Bulloch to a good start midway through the year.
He is the second leading rusher for the Jackets, behind senior running back Kyon Taylor and scored the first 3 rushing touchdowns of the season.
Multiple coaches around the SEB program have called Nelson a “Gamer Winner”. The confidence he brings on and off the field is incredibly impressive and is just the type of leader you would want for your program.
There are many words that can describe or label Will Nelson. Quarterback. Leader. Student-Athlete. SAAC member. Son. Friend.
And somehow, he finds time to juggle all of them, and do it well. Free time? Who needs it!
No ‘I’ In Team
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
What’s the Difference between a “Program” and a “Team”?
No matter what level sports, or what sport for that matter, the term “good program” gets thrown around as much as NIL.
The problem with this is just because a team is winning or performing well, doesn’t mean that it’s a good program.
Everybody knows what a good team looks like. Impressive stats, good players, and a lot of wins. But what does a good program look like? Is there a standard? Does it have something to do with Nick Saban’s “process”?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you stop hearing the term “program” past the college level. Nobody would say that the Atlanta Falcons are a good “program”. Good Team? So far. Good Organization? Yes. Good Franchise? Yes….most would say yes. It’s mainly college and high school sports entities that people talk about being a “program”.
To me, in order to be labeled as a “good program” it’s about development. Developing young men and women into great athletes, yes, but also developing the whole person.
Since sports fans are looking at how many NFL players that college programs produce, or how many recruiting “stars” come out of a high school program, it gets lost that MAYBE 5% of the teams will be making that jump to the next level. What happens to the other 95%?
That’s where a “good program” comes into play. There are so many programs and resources that are at the hands of the student-athletes now to prepare them for when that inevitable final pitch, last basket, or career ending snap is taken.
Most (not all) college athletic departments have put in incentives in place to prepare student-athletes after sports. One example of these is right here in our own back yard.
Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Jared Benko has put a great emphasis on the APEX program. This is an outreach program that follows a curriculum through the career of the student-athlete that covers everything from financial literacy, teaching about taxes, job interview skills, and much more.
The student-athletes are also involved in community outreach, and sessions of needed skills that nobody thinks about like an emergency car care session to show athletes basic car maintenance, and emergency roadside tips.
This trickles down to the high school level too. Everybody wants to look at schools with a brand-new turf field, or a massive videoboard as good programs, and while that’s great, no discounting it at all, if you’re not invested in the people of your program, you’re just a good team…. if that.
Many times, at the high school level, some of these assets to the student athlete are open to all the students at the school and are spearheaded by coaches.
Take Southeast Bulloch for example. The last few years, Coaches Brent Osborne and Randy Lee have been building up the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program at SEB that was dormant for over 20 years. Now up to about 65 members (many of them student-athletes for the Jackets), the FBLA hosts events for resume building, job interview skills, and other real-world experiences and skills that prepare the members and student-athletes in ways that many at other programs won’t have.
Don’t get me wrong, the “fancy” facilities don’t mean that a program is focusing more on the looks than the substance.
In addition to Randy Lee being RBs coach and Special teams coordinator for SEB Football, and Brent Osborne stepping away from on-field football coaching and moving to the broadcast booth this year, both Lee and Osborne are the Girls and Boys golf coaches for the Jackets and raised money to buy a state-of-the-art golf simulator for SEB golfers. Both can be done and are done well many places throughout the state.
So, what the heck does all this mean? It is just me going off on a soap box again? (maybe…) Just think next time you or you hear someone say, “man that’s a really good program”. Just think. Is it really a good program? Or is it just a good team?
Brooklet Buzz
By: Colin Lacy
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2023 season welcomes in high hopes for Southeast Bulloch football as they enter year two as a 4A program.
Before reclassification from 3A to 4A prior to the 2022 season, the Jackets spent the previous 6 years (2016-2021) in region 3-3A where they were one of two teams that owned the region with Liberty County.
After the magical 10-2 2021 season where the program recorded their first state playoff victory since the state championship season of 1973, the 2022 campaign was a whole different ballgame in the toughest region of the 4A ranks that saw SEB post a 2-8 record.
That record can be a little misleading, with SEB having an opportunity to sneak into the state playoffs in the final matchup of the season, but a record is what it is. A 2-8 record, however, does light a fire under the Jackets and third year Head Coach Jared Zito.
Year three for Zito, will see his third different starting quarterback taking snaps for the Yellow Jackets. All Region selection, Kristian Clark graduated after the 2021 season and continued his football career at Savannah State.
Gage DiGiovanni then took the reigns in 2022 as a senior and is now headed to South Georgia College on the baseball diamond.
This year, all indications point to one of the key leaders for the Jackets, Will Nelson. Nelson served as the QB-2 last season, as well as anchoring the defense as a safety during his junior year. This year it appears Nelson, a three-sport standout at SEB, will be given the keys to the offense.
Last season, due to injuries and just sheer numbers, the Jackets were forced to play A TON of underclassmen especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Although the Jackets will feel the loss of names like Terry Mikell, Damion Donaldson, and Collin Jackson up front on the D-Line, there is still experience with Michael Dixon, and Jayden Brown.
The back 7, for third year defensive coordinator Jason Anthony, is primed to take a huge step forward because of that underclassman experience.
Colby Smith took the linebacker spot by storm as a freshman racking up 10+ tackles three times even though missing three games with an injury in 2022.
Kyle O’Brien turned into a sophomore beast in the secondary with 5 games of double digit stops including 15 against Wayne County.
These two in addition to rising sophomores like Chase Douglas, Jeremiah Williams are set to have the Jacket defense a huge strength of the squad.
Offensively, there are a lot of questions to be answered of who will step up and fill roles vacated by graduation.
The Jackets will have 6 seniors to replace in the “skill” positions and 3 of the 5 starting offensive linemen, losing Cleve Hart at center, and the McMillian brothers (Quenton and Quintez) on the right side of the line.
Kyon Taylor does return at running back after an injury riddled 2022, while still posting 3 games of 100 yards or more.
Taylor will be likely paired with wide-outs Easton Phillips, and Gage Newsome to reshape the offense.
Finally, not many season previews hit on special teams, but it has been a huge part of the Jackets identity.
Coach Zito has put an emphasis on all parts special teams and shows with the development of kicker Cole Snyder with the help of special teams coordinator Randy Lee.
Snyder, an all-region kicker and punter in 2022, has a big leg that has been a weapon for Southeast Bulloch both flipping the field on punts, and also booming field goals.
So, what’s the outlook for SEB in 2023?
There’s a lot to be excited about in Brooklet. Do we know how many wins that translates to?
No, but being around this program there’s hunger to prove 2-8 is not the norm.
