Today's interviewee is Jon Nelson, who has covered high school sports for Georgia Public Broadcasting for more than 20 years. He's a host and correspondent for the "Football Fridays in Georgia" game of the week. GPB will televise the Archer-Buford game tonight.
Jon Nelson, GPB host and correspondent
1. There are a lot of big games this week. Why did you choose Buford-Archer, and what are you looking forward to seeing in that one? "It had been a while since we had been able to do a game involving Buford. And, in a weekend that has a lot of great matchups, it was one we had on our radar since the beginning of the season. When it comes to the game itself, and I know that our play-by-play announcer Matt Stewart will agree, the sheer talent on display should make it a four-quarter game with a lot of student-athletes heading to the next level."
2. Is there anything new to GPB coverage this season? "A lot. And I'll start with an 'anyone' new. Wayne Gandy - War Eagle, Wayne - is joining Matt in the booth this season to bring his all-pro expertise to our broadcast, and Hannah Goodin is hosting our halftime show and hopping on the sidelines as a part of our pre-kickoff activities. During the week, Hannah and I do the 'Countdown to Kickoff' show on the GPB Sports Facebook page live at noon on Wednesday. So, tell us what you're having for lunch!
"On the production side of things, we've added the 'first-and-10' line that you see on college and pro broadcasts in-game, and our social media team is doing some tremendous work turning highlights around and having all sorts of interaction with everyone around the state from the game location on all of our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and the GPB Sports App). Tommy Palmer and I still do the weekly 'Football Fridays' podcast, and, get this: You can now find my top games every week on your Alexa device as well. My wife got a big kick out of that addition. Hannah is also doing a 'Five Questions' segment with top athletes around the state. You can see her blog every Sunday at gpb.org/sports."
3. What's your schedule this year? Is it fully set yet? "This is part of the fun this season. We're flexing our entire schedule to a two-week notice. Coming into the season, we had a list of games on our whiteboards and e-mail chains. We took that as a reference point and are keeping an eye on everything. Our group consisting of Matt Stewart, game producer Steve Graham, myself and director of sports and production Kevin Gerke will get together, talk it out and go to the best matchup that we all can share in on Friday nights. Kevin Gerke makes the final game decision."
4. What storyline to the high school season thus far have you found the most interesting? And is there another subject you want to chat about? "The depth of competition in classes like 2A and 7A. You look at those two classes, and I can say, with a great deal of certainty, that it's more than just a handful of teams that have a chance to win the title. It's a fun watch, for sure.
"As for other subjects, yeah, some of the stories they're letting me chase this year. I've been really fortunate that when I have a story to chase or coaches that I want to catch up with, GPB has been amazing to let me go and tell those stories. From catching up with 40-plus coaches to get their thoughts, to telling a story in Cochran, Clarkston, Hazlehurst or Ocilla, I ask and they let me share with the rest of the state what's going on. I can have a talk with Irwin County coach Buddy Nobles about his fight with cancer, Jeff Davis coach Lance Helton about a loss for an entire community or Clarkston coach Terrance Hughey introducing me to a very special quarterback. To be able to tell those stories with the respect they deserve is awesome."
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