By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The big dog in Glynn County sports currently is the Glynn Academy Red Terror football program. For three straight years the Terrors have advanced three rounds or higher in the playoffs with a state title game appearance in 2015.

I sat down to lunch this week with head football coach Rocky Hidalgo and discussed the upcoming Spring practice which begins on May 3^rd and finishes with the Spring Game against Brunswick on May 19^th at Glynn County Stadium.

Coach Rock enters his 4^th season at Glynn with an outstanding 32-10 record and Glynn’s first outright region football championship since 1972 last fall.

Coach Rock is excited about the upcoming season where he says the Terrors have 7 starters returning from the 2016 season. He doesn’t put much stock about returning starters because what Hidalgo has done better than most is develop depth and talent and believes in the next man up mentality.

Let’s start on offense at the QB position where Randon Jernigan will start in 2017. Jernigan who has put on 10 pounds of muscle this offseason has bulked up to 180 lbs. going into spring practice.

Jernigan is a super talented athlete, who may run a sub 4.4 forty, and is currently holding 20-25 division one football offers. Hidalgo is excited about Jernigan running the offense this fall, and can you imagine the nightmares opposing defensive coordinators in coastal Georgia will have on Glynn Academy week this fall? Jernigan rolling out to one side of the field with a run/pass option is a scary scenario to deal with. Jernigan should be the region offensive player of the year in 2017.

Tyler Grant will be the primary running back who is a human bowling ball and should have well over 1000 yards this fall. Hidalgo feels good about the guys he has on the offensive line, but says they are young but talented.

Hidalgo thinks his WR group could be pretty good as well with hard workers like Judd Wilder and others rounding out a talented position group.

Rocky Hidalgo thinks he has some quality players on the defensive line mentioning names like Marlon Taylor, Isaiah McDonald who had six sacks in 2016, and said Andrew Delaney could also factor in on this talented unit.

At linbacker it all starts with the human tackling machine we all know as Hunter Hall. Hall, a 4-year starter, could end up with over 400 tackles for his Red Terror career once the 2017 season is complete. Hall is the leader of a Terror LB unit that has 225 lb. Cameron McClellan, David Murray, and EJ Thomas. This is a very talented unit. Look for Hunter Hall to be in all state discussions in 2017.

Both safeties return in the secondary and Hidalgo thinks he has more length in the group this year and he is pleased with that.

The thing that Hidalgo really does well is identify quality assistant coaches. Then he lets them coach. Hidalgo is really pleased with his coaching staff and believes he has at least four future head coaches on his current Red Terror staff.

Folks this is a good football program and is currently the best in Southeast Georgia. The schedule is tough with Benedictine and Ware coming in and trips to Tift County before the region slate.

Hidalgo believes Brunswick will be much improved with its huge senior class, Richmond Hill will have great athletes, Effingham will be better, and said Bradwell has had some kids come over from Liberty which will make them better.

How can a team lose Dee Jay Dallas, Kendall Cross, and Zolante Hillery and be better? Buy your season tickets Red Terror nation and find out.

This is still a program on the rise. The SSE editor asked me was I sick when I told him I wanted to write a Glynn story this week. Sometimes you just have to give credit to those that have just been better than your alma mater over the past three years.