Class AAA football champion Cedar Grove on Thursday promoted defensive coordinator Miguel Patrick to replace Jimmy Smith, who took a job on Georgia State’s staff in March.
Patrick, also the school’s boys basketball coach, has coached at Cedar Grove for 12 years, the past six as defensive coordinator, during which the Saints have gone 67-14-1. Cedar Grove won a state title in 2016 also.
Cedar Grove has had 11 first-team all-state players who were defensive starters during Patrick’s time running the defenses. Those include Rashad Cheney, Dante Walker and Jadon Haselwood from last year’s team.
Patrick has served as interim football coach since March 8, when Smith took the Georgia State job as running backs coach.
Patrick is a native of Dayton, Ohio, where he attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar High. He School. He graduated from Alabama State (BS) and Kennesaw State (MA).
Cedar Grove’s plans for the basketball team has not been determined. The boys team was 20-8 and reached the AAA quarterfinals in February.
