Today’s interviewee is GHSA associate director Jay Russell, whose most visible duty is coordinating football. He took over that role from Kevin Giddens this year. Russell was a longtime football coach and school administrator who worked previously for the GHSA before stepping away in 2018. He is a son of former Georgia and Georgia Southern football coach Erk Russell.
1. What made you decide to rejoin the GHSA? “I really enjoyed my time at GHSA from 2014 to 2017. I had the opportunity to reconnect with a lot of people I had not communicated with in years. It was a challenging position, but at the same time I had a lot of fun. Also, I loved all the people I worked with in the office. They were and still are all as good as gold.”
2. What are your responsibilities in the football part of your job? “I am a work in progress and still trying to figure some things out. My predecessor, Kevin Giddens, has been extremely helpful. I guess you could say I have my hands in a little bit of everything – officials, coaches, rules, scheduling, playoffs, sportsmanship, game management, heat policies, video review, etc. So far, I have focused more on the officials component through attending camps, being on Zooms and so forth. I have never dealt with this aspect at GHSA, so it is a learning process, and believe me, I have learned a lot. I have apologized to many an official since being back for my behavior or lack of when I was a coach many years ago. I have a tremendous new-found appreciation for the job they do. Coaching has changed so much in the last 10 years. It has become an 18-hour, 365-day job. I wish they could be awarded some relief. I have so much respect for the noble profession.”
3. One stressor is always having officials at every game, and we’ve been told of a couple of games this week moved to Thursday this week because of the officials shortage. What can you say to educate fans as well as coaches and school officials about where things stand with officials? “From all indications, interest in officiating is progressing in the right direction for football. Hopefully, the return to six classifications in the next reclassification cycle will enable the GHSA to play all of our playoff games on Fridays once again. Officiating took a hard hit during COVID, but numbers are trending up, which is great news. Sometimes we do have to make changes in order to cover all of the games, as is the case for this weekend. Opening week is stressful but more so exciting.”
4. Is there a frequent question that you get regarding how football operates, or something you’d like to let coaches or fans know? “Not really. As I said before, the game has really evolved, and for the most part the evolution is a positive. Football is still the ultimate team contest, in my mind, with all of its moving parts. I look forward to visiting lots of different venues this season and enjoying the fierce competition. I feel extremely blessed to be back at GHSA in my current position.”
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