GHSF Daily asked Georgia head coaches to answer these four questions. We'll report from a different head coach each day.
Buddy Nobles, Irwin County
1. Who is/was the most influential person in your coaching career? "Robby Pruitt has left a lasting impact on my life, not just football, but being like a brother. My high school coach George Davis [at Temple Christian in Jacksonville] also had a big impact, especially with how to motivate kids, but with Robby, I worked my way up through him from middle school/JV coach at University Christian to offensive line coach and defensive coordinator at Union County to offensive coordinator at Fitzgerald and then assistant head coach at Coffee for two years. He taught me how to be fair no matter who you're dealing with and to do what's right all the time. And when I was a young coach, probably 22 or 23, I remember I didn't get the job done on something and told him I was doing the best I can. He said my best wasn't good enough. He'd bust my chops back in the day if he had to. He'd say I had to do what I needed to get it done, and if that meant going above and beyond, then that's what I needed to do." [Davis, the high school coach, was the father of former major league pitcher Storm Davis, who remains friends with Nobles. Davis Sr. also adopted former major league first baseman Glenn Davis, who played a season at Georgia.]
2. Who is the best Georgia player you ever faced? "I'd say the best players were probably Travis Henry and John Brantley in Florida. In Georgia, I'm going to tell you the best player on the field in 2008 was Cody Getz for Buford. That kid could run it, catch it. I just thought he was really good." [Getz, only 5 feet, 7 inches and 160 pounds, was the Class AA offensive player of the year in 2008 for Buford.]
3. What is the best team you ever faced as a coach? "I'd probably say the 2008 or 2009 Buford team. We battled them twice in the semifinals [at Fitzgerald]. The 2009 team had two kids off that offensive line that went straight to SEC schools. I think one started as a freshman."
4. If you were Gary Phillips, the new head of the GHSA, what would be the first rule that you would try to change? "I could see small schools not being able to afford the 25-second clock. Too expensive for so many programs of basically really small towns that the support is stretched thin. But I have an idea that I think would help. The official that keeps the time on the field should give a hand-raised signal when there is 10 seconds left. The quarterbacks will be told that he stands as the deepest official on the home side and that he will raise his hand with that time left (10 seconds). You already pay the officials, so this would be an idea to help the small schools out without spending a chunk."
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