Today’s interviewee is John Milledge Academy coach J.T. Wall, whose team defeated Savannah Christian 52-13 last week. John Milledge Academy is the defending Class 3A champion in the Georgia Independent School Association. Wall, a former Georgia and NFL fullback, has been his alma mater’s coach since 2011. His record is 103-14 with two state titles. The only GHSA coaches who got to 100 wins faster were Franklin Stephens (109 games) and Robert Davis (110).
J.T. Wall, John Milledge Academy head coach
1. Is there any extra significance or motivation when you play a quality GHSA team? “Any time you get chance to play a quality opponent, regardless of classification, it’s always a great opportunity for our kids and fans to get excited and jacked up. We just feel blessed to be able to get this game with the crossover rules that they have now, which is great. [The GHSA began allowing inter-association play in 2016.] I don’t know if our players put a lot of emphasis on the game [when playing a GHSA opponent]. I don’t know if there’s any more fuel added to the fire, but they can’t help but hear the noise as far as people looking down on us because of us being in the GISA. We hope some of that is going by the wayside.”
2. For those who aren’t that familiar with John Milledge’s football program, what would you want readers to know about it? “We’re a small private school with a little over 500 kids. That’s K through 12. There are 150 in the high school, and 60 of them play football, so it’s got a great number of football-playing kids in the school. These kids work hard, and we’ve had a lot of success. We’ve got a great fan base. There’s quality football being played everywhere in Georgia, and there’s definitely some quality football being played here in Milledgeville.”
3. You have a running back, Amaad Foston, who is committed to Virginia. You have a recent alumnus, Harrison Bryant, who was drafted in the NFL’s fourth round after winning the John Mackey Award at Florida Atlantic. Is there a message in their stories? [Foston, who rushed for 423 yards in the state-championship game last year against Valwood, didn’t even play against Savannah Christian. He has been injured.] “Amaad is a special kid, to say the least, but we’ve got a lot of good football players. K.J. Jackson was the next guy up Friday, and he had 27 carries for 208 yards. And nothing can be done without the offensive line. Defensively, they play good, sound football and fly to the ball. I think there’s a reason that programs win and a reason that programs don’t. There’s a reason that programs develop high-quality kids who turn into high-quality men and a reason these kids are getting looks and scholarships. It doesn’t matter what classification or association. There’s good football being played everywhere. In this digital age, if you take care of your grades and put stuff on film, you’ll be found. We feel like we’ve proven that.”
4. Several former GISA programs have moved over to the GHSA, including Stratford Academy and Tattnall Square and others in Middle Georgia. Why does John Milledge still prefer the GISA? And might the GHSA be in the school’s future? “Every reclassification cycle we look at it and where we are. It’s smart to reevaluate each time. We looked hard at it, but we feel we’re in a good place that is challenging our kids. For us personally, the GISA is a good place to be. We feel it’s going to grow and get bigger and better.” [Only seven of the GHSA’s 54 Class A Private schools are smaller in enrollment than John Milledge, and none of those seven have football teams.]
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