Milton coach says 2024 championship team ‘was on a mission to be perfect’
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Milton coach Ben Reaves Jr., whose team won state titles in 2023 (Class 7A) and 2024 (Class 5A) in his three seasons as head coach.
1. Looking back at 2024 once more, what was the legacy/story of that team’s season? “It was proof that when you mix elite talent with culture, complete team buy-in and playing for a higher purpose, any and all goals are achievable. The 2024 team was on a mission to be perfect, to not lose anything, all year long. Seeking perfection is a tremendous amount of pressure for anyone, let alone a high schooler, but they verbalized that as a goal, and January-December their actions matched their words. They were perfect.” (With nine seniors who signed major Division I scholarships, Milton went 15-0 and finished No. 2 in most national polls and No. 1 in the final High School Football America Public Schools 100.)
2. What’s the scouting report on this year’s team? What are the strengths/areas of concern? “When I think of this year’s team, several words come to mind: motivated, blue-collar, hungry, focused, dangerous. We’re replacing 17 starters from last year’s team, but many of the guys that will fill those spots have been sitting behind Year 2 and Year 3 starters. They are hungry to get on the field but also fundamentally ready to get on the field. Right now, the biggest area of concern is the lack of overall game experience across the team, but that’s why we make one of the toughest nonregion schedules in the state. By the time we get to region play, our team’s weaknesses have been exposed and addressed, but also any youth that may be on the field has no choice but to grow up fast and in a hurry.” (Milton opens at Buford in an ESPN2 game.)
3. Milton graduated the AJC’s all-class player of the year, Luke Nickel. Who will be your new starter, and what is his skill set? “Derrick Baker (Class of 2027) will start at QB for us the next two seasons. Derrick is an impressive young man on and off the field. He has the physical and mental tools to be a, if not the, top QB in his class when it’s all said and done. He’s a leader and a pace car for us, not just on offense, but for the entire team no matter what setting we’re in. His skill set is definitely ‘dual.’ He can get it done through the air or with his legs. He definitely checks all the right boxes, and I’m excited to see where he can lead this program the next two seasons.”
4. Last season, the message to players was more about living up to potential since you returned so many starters. What is the message to this year’s team? “Each year, we have one ‘on-the-field’ goal, and that goal never changes regardless of what the roster or our returning experience looks like. Every year we want to do everything we can to reach our ceiling as a team. Every team has a ceiling; every team can only accomplish so much or go so far. Whatever that means for this team, Game 15 or not, we want to find that ceiling. It’s hard to know right now what the ceiling is for this team. Every year brings its own unique trials and tribulations, but I do know every year when you walk off of the field for the final game, you know in your heart if you reached it or not.”
About the Author
Todd Holcomb has been a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1985. He is currently co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
