Gilmer High football wrapped up the beginning stage of the 2025 season.
Spring practice ended last Wednesday with 82 players on the roster, which include 37 rising freshmen. Head coach Paul Standard said he was “pleased” with the Bobcats’ efforts.
A key to spring practice was finding and observing the leadership of this team’s seniors. Standard believes the camaraderie forged will serve the Bobcats well when they are under the lights on Friday nights.
“They understand that one of those young guys might have to step in at some point during the season,” said Standard, who enters his fifth season as Gilmer’s head coach. “One of the things I tell them all the time, is that ‘The way you handle them, treat them and show them the way is how they’re going to play for you when they have to step in.’”
An area where the Bobcats can use some improvement is with their “knowledge of the game,” according to Standard. He believes more individual film study would be beneficial.
“They’re going to have to take that on and they know that. We’ve talked about it with the seniors,” said Standard. “A team like we have, we’ve got to be on point. We’re not the type of team who can afford mistakes that could have been prevented by film watching.
“Because we’re going to be fairly inexperienced in some places, it’s going to show if we don’t improve our football IQ. I think the kids will take that on. That’s one of the trademarks of the kids in Gilmer County ... they want to do well.”
Devoted strength training is the cornerstone of any successful program, and it continues to be a heavy emphasis for athletes county wide. GHS has continued to excel in this area under strength and defensive coordinator Jeff Nelson.
“We maxed out the last couple days and our strength numbers are really good,” Standard said. “I think that will bode well as we move into the summer. I’ve been impressed with our rising 10th graders and our incoming freshmen. What (middle school head football and weight training) coach Willie Dodaro and his staff have done has been great and it shows.
“If you’re not strong enough to play on Friday it really doesn’t matter how good your talent level is because you’re not going to be able to be productive.”
As practice progressed, the intensity was ramped up and installation of the offense and defense continued.
“We had more physical drills involved and did your typical Oklahoma drills on a couple days and went best versus best the last three days, which was certainly more physical than when we first started,” said Standard.
“Overall, I was really pleased with spring even though we were missing some starters due to injuries. It gave us the opportunity to put some other guys in those places, and I felt like we found some answers to some positions we need and found some guys who will be able to help us.”
Gilmer began to practice more with its first team offense and defense versus “the best of the rest” during the final days of spring. They did on the last day as well, and Standard shared what he took away from the brief scrimmage.
“Defensively, on the last day, we were more physical,” he said. “We ran to the ball even though we didn’t have the best 11 out there at times because of how we had them split up.
“Offensively, we have a pretty good starting backfield with (fullback) Peyton Chancey and (wingbacks) Douglas Callihan and Hunter Britain. The bad thing is, they all start on defense. Guys like McCoy Sutton and Jeremiah Few are going to have to step in and give us some time. Madden Hopkins will have to play some fullback and linebacker for us, and Cheyne Smith will play linebacker and running back.”
GHS will return to the weight room June 2. Players will be on the field June 5 for the first practice.
“Summer is going to be important for installing the rest of the offense we did not get in during spring and continue to work on the execution,” said Standard. “Even though we won’t be in pads, everything will be in place offensively and defensively before we put the pads on July 29.”