Oconee County football coach Travis Noland, who took the Warriors to Class 3A championship games two of the past three seasons, is the new coach at Jefferson.
Noland told his players Monday morning, and Jefferson announced the news about 2 p.m. Monday.
Noland’s record at Oconee County was 70-27. The Warriors hadn’t had a winning season over the previous nine years until Noland’s first team, which went 8-4 in 2014. Oconee County won region titles in 2015, 2019 and 2020.
Notable players have been quarterback Jake Johnson and tight end Max Johnson, both now with Texas A&M, and West Weeks, who played last season at Virginia, and Whit Weeks, a junior three-star prospect. Noland’s son Zeb had a few starts last season, including one against Georgia, as South Carolina’s quarterback.
Jefferson was 9-2 last season and 49-11 the past five seasons under Gene Cathcart, who took a job in his native South Carolina.
Jefferson was the Class 4A runner-up to Marist in 2020 with five-star recruit Malaki Starks, now at Georgia, as its quarterback. The Dragons are moving up to Class 5A next season. They will return another blue-chip recruit, rising junior Sammy Brown, who plays linebacker and running back.
Noland also has been head coach at Stephens County, where he won three region titles, and Tuscola and Clyde Erwin in North Carolina.
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