Today’s interviewee is Milton coach Ben Reaves Jr., whose team won Class 7A last season in Reaves’ second year as the Eagles’ coach. Milton will be in Class 5A this season. The Eagles have top-10 preseason national rankings in MaxPreps and High School Football America. They will play Buford in their Aug. 16 opener at home.
1. Having had an offseason to let the 2023 season sink in, what was the legacy and/or storyline of that team? What stood out as most memorable? “There are so many moments from last year’s season that will always stick out as memorable, but I think what sticks out most is also what makes our sport of high school football so special. Last year’s team was overlooked and doubted up until the final second ticked off the clock, and we held that trophy up on the stage. At Milton, we teach three main core values: Brotherhood, Relentless Effort and Competitive Toughness, also known as B.E.T. To see a team doubted and labeled underdogs over and over again, but then see that same team make a decision collectively to buy in to the values we teach and live them daily, made 2023 a season I’ll never forget. And as a coach, it was such a good reminder that not only is high school football the greatest team sport on this planet, but if you truly buy into the concept of TEAM and doing whatever it takes at all costs to not let the guy to the left or to the right down, then seemingly unachievable goals and dreams can become realities.” [Ranked No. 10 entering the playoffs, Milton was a 13-point underdog against No. 3 Colquitt County in the quarterfinals, a four-point underdog against No. 6 Grayson in the semifinals and an eight-point underdog against No. 2 Walton in the final, according to the Maxwell Ratings.]
2. What’s the scouting report on this year’s team? Where do you feel you’ll be pretty good, and what are the question marks? “This team is returning 18 out of 22 starters from last year’s state championship team. But just like I’m preaching to our guys daily, I do not know what the scouting report will read yet because nothing we/they did in 2023 will carry over to 2024. We have to walk back out on the field game one against Buford and prove it. I know what the scouting report should read with the talent and experience we have back, but it starts with us as coaches and then trickles down to the players to make sure the scouting report on us reads the way it should and we become the same team on the field that we are on paper.” [Led by quarterback Luke Nickel (Miami) and wide receiver C.J. Wiley (Florida), Milton has eight seniors who have committed to major Division I programs.]
3. You’ll be in Class 5A this season. Not well known to all is that Milton played up last year despite 6A enrollment. What dictated the decision to take the 5A assignment this time, and how do you feel about that as it pertains to the football team? “We decided collectively as a school that it was best for Milton athletics to play in the classification the GHSA placed us in, so that all sports, not just football and a few other sports, can work to have success and compete for state championships. Our guys do not really get caught up in the 5A vs. 6A debate for two reasons. For one, they know I’m going to load up the schedule and play the best talent I can in the state and nation, so whatever labels are put on them will not be dictated by a class. And secondly, they know Milton is the winningest program in 7A over the last six seasons. The last two seasons we have gone to the state semifinals and won a state championship in 7A as technically a 6A school. So when you use Milton as a baseline and then look at all of the other great teams in 5A, including three state champions from 2023, you realize the gap really isn’t that big when you get down to the top 10 in each class. I would even argue that of those 20 total teams, any team could beat anyone on any given night.” [According to the Maxwell Ratings, the average top-10 Class 6A team is less than three points better than the average top-10 Class 5A team this season. The three reigning champions in 5A are Milton, Thomas County Central and Coffee.]
4. You’re a coach’s son with jobs at various places, starting at the University of Georgia. What or who influenced your coaching philosophy the most? “There are so many great coaches and men that helped mold and shape me and have turned me into the coach I am today. For one, my dad [Ben Sr.], who was a head coach in Georgia for over 20 years, taught me the value of hard work, getting a job done that you start, but more importantly loving and caring for the individual more than you do the football player. Coach Mark Richt, who during my time at UGA taught me the importance of family and balance and winning at home as well as on the field. And most recently coach Adam Clack [Milton’s coach from 2017 to 2021], who not only helped take me to a new level X’s-and-O’s-wise but taught me the importance of having total program vision and making sure all the moving pieces of a team or program are moving in the same and/or right direction. These are all things I believe in today and all things I hope anyone would see if they did a 30-second snapshot into my daily life.”
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