Funeral services set for former Miller coach

Funeral services for Ronnie McNease, the coach who made Miller County a football force in Class A in the 1990s, will be held Tuesday afternoon at Miller County's football field in Colquitt.

McNease, 58, who died Thursday after recently having quadruple heart bypass surgery, had a record of 172-86-1 from 1984 to 2006 at Miller County, a southwest Georgia school.

His 1997 team, starring current NFL defensive end Charles Grant, set a state record with 654 points in a season during a 12-1 finish.

Future NFL players Brandon Miller and Keyon Nash also played for McNease.

"If there was such a thing as an icon, he was an icon in the community," current Miller County coach Frank Killingsworth told the Albany Herald in this story. "He was not only 'Coach McNease' but 'Coach Ron' to everybody. There is so much shock and sadness. He was a good guy."