‘We ain’t done’: Second-year high school football program gets its first win
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Utopian Academy coach Darius Redman, whose team won its first game in history last week with a 14-12 victory over B.E.S.T. Academy. Utopian lost to the same opponent 49-0 last season, when Utopian finished 0-10 and was outscored 498-18. Utopian is a Clayton County charter school for performing arts. It opened in 2014 and played its first varsity football season in 2024. Redman is a Washington, D.C., native and former Virginia Tech tight end who joined Utopian’s staff out of college in 2018 with no intentions of coaching football until getting the job in 2022.
1. From 0-49 to 14-12, that’s quite a turnaround. What’s different about this year’s team?
“This is the first class I’ve had (that’s been here) since the ninth grade. The biggest difference is just having players who have developed four years in the program. We also have a new coaching staff that has really developed the guys and got them more in shape and better overall fundamentally and mentally. I have four new ones that I brought in. I met all four through other people, and we became family from there. I’m big on being able to demonstrate, and all are fairly young and can get out there and show them visually. They bring a lot of energy and experience as well as different backgrounds. Two were trainers, and two have coached before, but this is their biggest role position.”
Note: The team has 10 coaches overall. Utopian returned all but three starters from the 2024 team.
2. How did the game play out?
“The ending was fairly crazy. They were driving down and got to I want to say was the 3 or 4. The previous play was in bounds, so they didn’t have time to run another play. I was watching the seconds tick off the clock from eight to zero. That’s how the game ended. It was definitely a great game, back and forth, a good crowd (at Clayton County’s Steele Road Stadium). They scored first. We scored two times. Then they scored. But we got a safety (defensive end Carlos Grimes made a tackle in the end zone on a running play for an 8-6 lead.) It was good to get that first win, especially for our players who experienced getting blown out every game last season. That’s like the biggest turnaround ever, and we ain’t done.”
Note: Freshman quarterback Khalif Morgan, who Redman called “the baby Mike Vick,” scored both Utopian touchdowns. Redman noted that a scrimmage-game victory against Rock Springs Christian earlier this month also was big for confidence heading into the opener.
3. What brought you to Georgia and to Utopian?
“I just knew after college that I wasn’t going back to D.C. I came here through a friend of mine who went to Morehouse and was in the same fraternity as the founder (Artesius Miller) here. I started working at the middle school. Dr. Miller told me ‘we’re starting a football team, and here are the keys.’ He didn’t say it like that, but that’s basically how it happened. I wasn’t coaching anywhere. I thought I was done with anything football. I hadn’t thought about coaching, to be honest. At first, I was hesitant. I didn’t know how I was going to start it. I’m not from here. I didn’t know anybody. I took it without understanding all that comes with it. I started calling my (college) teammates. ‘Who wants to move to Atlanta?’ But I grew the passion back for football once I got back into it. This is something I can see myself doing now. My reason for teaching was to help shape the youth, and football is another avenue that prepares the kids for adulthood.”
4. What’s realistic from here for the team?
“We want to make the playoffs. That’s the goal for this year. We’ve got the athletes. We’ve got to get deeper in the trenches. We’ve just been putting it together slowly and keep working every day and don’t get too into the hype. When I was in high school, I only lost one game, so I can guide them and tell them the more you win, the harder it gets. Now everybody wants to dethrone you from your high horse. But we want to make the playoffs. We’re going to make this run.”
Note: Utopian plays in Region 4-A Division I. Five teams from the region made the 2024 playoffs. The region’s defending champion is Social Circle.
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.
