Abrams hired for job as new Bulldogs HC
♦ The former Lamar County head coach and Mceachern defensive coordinator ready to take the reins.
It was just for a second that new Cedartown head football coach Jamie Abrams interrupted his new team’s time in the weight room Wednesday morning.
“I gave them an idea of what to expect and let them get to work,” Abrams said. “That’s the biggest thing we can be doing in January, is working in the weight room. They’ve done an excellent job of that.”
Now it’s his turn to get to work leading the Bulldogs onto the football field for the 2020 season and putting his multiple years of coaching experience — both as a head coach and a coordinator — to use.
Abrams was approved by the Polk County Board of Education during a special session Tuesday to take over as the head football coach at Cedartown High School, ending a hiring process that began in early December when Doyle Kelley was let go following three seasons.
The Woodland, Alabama, native spent last season as the defensive coordinator at Class 7A Mceachern in Powder Springs and was the head coach at Lamar County in 2014-2015 after serving as the defensive coordinator under head coach Franklin Stephens.
His other coaching stops have been at Ware County, Woodland (Ala.), East Paulding, South Paulding, and Wadley (Ala.).
“I’ve been around the state of Georgia for quite some time,” Abrams said.
Abrams finished his time as the head coach at Lamar County with a 15-7-1 record, including making the second round of the Class AA state playoffs in his first year and the first round in his second. His one year at Wadley saw him put up a 5-6 record with a playoff appearance in the first round. He was also part of the staff at Lamar when the Trojans finished as the Class AA state runners-up in 2013.
Abrams said he’s always been familiar with Cedartown having grown up an hour away across the state line.
“I know that it is a good football place, and a good family-oriented community,” he said.
Though a native of Woodland, Abrams moved around and ended up playing high school football in Arkansas as a linebacker. He later played safety at the University of Arkansas-monticello and later with Minnesota State. He holds a bachelor’s in physical education from Minnesota State, and a master’s and educational specialist degree in physical education from Jacksonville State.
“I’m looking forward to this opportunity. It is something I’ve been praying about with my wife and family for a long time,” Abrams said. “I’m ready to get in here and get going.”
His said his philosophy is “it’s not what you do, but how you do it” when it comes to his new team.
“It’s all about the personnel. That’s the big thing, to evaluate the personnel and figure out what we need to do,” Abrams said.
While he will not have running back and Clemson commit Kobe Pryor this fall,
Abrams will have several returning starters this fall, including quarterback Jayden Johnson and running back/ defensive end CJ Washington.
“Offensively, I think you’ve got to evaluate your personnel and put them in the best position to move the ball and score points, so we’ll evaluate that,” Abrams said. “Defensively, we’ve been multiple on defense too. There have been times and years where we were supposed to be a three-man front, but we’ve been a four man front 40% of the time . ... It’s all about what we’ve got to do to move the ball and stop people. We’ll be multiple probably on both sides of the ball.”
He is excited about the level of talent the Bulldogs have as they look forward to the 2020 season.
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t excited about that,” Abrams said. “I see tremendous potential.”
His first official outing as the new head coach of the Bulldogs will come Aug. 21 when the team faces Carrollton in the Corky Kell Classic at Barron Stadium in Rome. They will then face Polk County rival Rockmart. Cedartown will then play in the newly realigned Region 7-4A that includes Centralcarroll, Heritage-catoosa, Northwest Whitfield, Pickens, Ridgeland and Southeast Whitfield.