Roswell first-year coach says school’s ‘commitment to being elite’ is key
Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Roswell coach Jonathan Thompson, whose team defeated Gainesville 37-35 in a game between top-10 Class 5A teams for first place in Region 7. The game turned on a fourth-and-goal stop at the 1-yard line followed by a 99-yard touchdown drive that put Roswell ahead 37-28 with 2:33 left. Roswell is 8-1 overall and 5-0 in region play in Thompson’s first season as head coach. He was Lee County’s offensive coordinator last season, when the Trojans scored 745 points, third-most in GHSA history.
1. It looks like the key play was fourth-and-goal from the 1. What happened on the play, and who were the principal characters?
“The entire sequence started after a mishap on a punt from our own 41-yard line with 10:49 left in the fourth quarter, which gave them the ball on our 37. They were able to get the ball to the 9 and were sitting on first-and-goal. Defensive end Josh Emerson had a huge tackle on that first-down play to not allow them to get in, which put them second-and-goal from the 3. On second down, they had zone read dialed up, and their quarterback (Kharim Hughley, committed to Clemson) pulled it, but the effort of our safety Ian Foust to not allow him to get in was huge. Third-and-goal then occurred from the 1, and we were able to get some penetration from our backers Jake Smith and Vasean Casey to hold them out. Gainesville then ran the field goal unit out, but we had an injury, which sent everyone to the sideline. This is what set up ‘The Stop.’ They came out in a two tight double-wing formation and essentially ran wedge from gun, but fortunately for us our leader and Mike backer, Brody Duffy, did not allow a huge push in B gap. This then led our outside linebacker Vasean Casey to get through the backside C gap and he hit the runner first, but this was followed by our outside linebacker Jake Smith and free safety Kaiden Perry not allowing him (1,000-yard rusher Nigel Newkirk) to get in. It was a special moment for our defense, our team and our program, which occurred because of relentless effort.”
2. What did your team do well for the game as a whole that spelled the difference?
“I thought the resiliency of our kids was the difference. They stayed connected through the good and the bad and just took a next-play mentality. We had a lot of things that went right for us, and we had things that didn’t go right — failed two-point conversion, failed fourth-down attempt and a mishap on a punt. This is a testament again to this special senior class, the coaches and all the Hornets who came before Team 76 who set the standard.”
Note: Roswell’s first team was in 1950, making this one the 76th.
3. Quarterback Trey Smith had a big game for you with 275 passing yards and 84 rushing yards. Contrast and compare him to the quarterback you had last season at Lee County, Weston Bryan, who had 29 TD passes and 34 TD runs last season. Smith is also a dual-threat player with 41 career TD passes and 34 TD runs as a two-year starter. Do you use them the same in the offense?
“I have been asked this question a lot, and there are a lot of similarities between the two, but the ones that stand out the most are the way they both carry themselves, prepare and lead/impact others. They are both truly great young men who have an ability to impact and inspire those around them, and they truly only care about winning no matter how that looks. Both quarterbacks have the ability to beat you with both their legs and their arm, which is why they are so hard to prepare for. From a schematic standpoint, you have to own up in the box when playing them, but you know this can cause some one-on-one situations for the wide receivers and defensive backs. I think my job as the play caller and organizer of the offense is to find ways to get our players the ball. This sounds simple, but I learned a long time ago at the end of the day it is players, not plays. This is why every year our offense will look different in spots, because no year is the same from a personnel standpoint, and we have to put our kids in the best position possible to be successful. There is definitely carryover schematically from the 2024 Lee offense to the 2025 Roswell offense, but it is also different in areas because there are different skillsets throughout.”
4. This has not exactly been the year of the first-year coach in Georgia, with many struggling or even going backward, whether that’s a good team or a rebuilding one. What were some of the conditions in place that allowed you and staff to keep the ball rolling?
“There are so many factors that go into taking over a program, and every school/program is different. I think one of the biggest things that has led to the success of this team is the commitment to being elite from the administration and athletic department here at RHS. Our principal, Dr. Rako Morrissey, her admin team, athletic director Ben Sutter, assistant AD Mary Desing and the entire faculty here at Roswell are fully bought in to impacting and inspiring all students and athletes. This requires a lot of work and sacrifice from so many, but the number of coaches in the building for all sports here at RHS has truly helped to maximize this team and each student-athlete. Secondly, when you come to a place with tradition like Roswell you know there are things in place that work, and those things you keep in place for the most part. I think my job and this staff’s job is to find the deficiencies or things that were average and raise the bar to make them elite. Whether that is how we practice, how we organize the day to day, how we monitor kids’ grades or how we interact with our peers, they all matter. No stone left unturned.”
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.
