STARKVILLE — Around the Starkville High School football program, the news traveled fast Thursday afternoon.
Former South Panola High and Northwest Mississippi Community College football coach Ricky Woods was coming to town to be the new football coach for the Yellow Jackets.
Confirmation is expected by the Starkville School District school board today. An introductory press conference will be Tuesday.
“I was very excited when I found out,” said Starkville senior defensive lineman Lorenzo Dantzler, a Louisiana Tech University commitment and one of the state’s premier defensive players. “It was really tough because I think everybody on the team really wanted coach (Brooks) Oakley to get it, so there was some disappointment there. But, in the end, everybody on the team is really happy with the decision.”
Jamie Mitchell led Starkville for five seasons. He resigned earlier this month to take the job as football coach at North Little Rock High in Arkansas. Oakley was the defensive coordinator for all of Mitchell’s stint. Sources close to the coaching search indicated he was a finalist for the position.
In the end, the administration went with Woods, who told team members at Peabody High School (Tennessee) on Thursday he was leaving that program to take over at Starkville High.
Woods also confirmed the move to The Jackson Sun newspaper, but he couldn’t be reached for comment by The Dispatch.
“I think we all thought coach Oakley was going to get it,” Starkville senior running back Avery Brown said. “Sometimes you think that because he is around all the time and you don’t want something new. However, everybody is excited. We are going to get a coach who has won state championships. That is really good for us.”
Woods led Ackerman High to Mississippi High School Activities Association state championships in 1997 and 2001, before winning four straight state titles at South Panola High from 2003-06. Woods left South Panola and coached one season at Bainbridge High (Georgia) before a five-year stint as head coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College. Woods won two MACJC North Division championships at Northwest.
At Peabody, Woods was 23-5 in two seasons.
“When we heard the news, we all started looking up the background,” Dantzler said. “He is one of the greatest coaches South Panola has ever had. He really got them going. We know when he gets here, he will put us in a position to win a championship.”
This past season, Starkville finished 13-1, falling to eventual state champion South Panola in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State championship game. The Yellow Jackets let a 13-0 halftime lead slip away in a 36-26 defeat. Mitchell led Starkville to the Class 5A state championship in 2012.
“Starkville football is going to be the same. We are going to do what we do,” Dantzler said. “We are still a state-champion-caliber team this year. A lot of these players played together on last year’s team. We have good chemistry. We knew we were going to be the team that could win back-to-back state championships. Since we didn’t win (the title) last season, we have to make up for it this year.”
Oakley was named interim coach the day after Mitchell’s departure. The Yellow Jackets had just begun their spring workouts. Spring practice concluded with a 7-0 win against South Panola in a scrimmage Friday night at Davis Wade Stadium.
“We did some really good things during the spring,” Brown said. “Everybody was sad when coach Mitchell left. That lasted about a week. Then we knew we had to get back down to business. That business is all about winning a state championship. We got a lot of new faces on offense, so spring practice was really important. I was slowed by an ankle injury, so I really didn’t get to get out there like I wanted. I knew it was important to rest up because my team will need me in the fall, so now we have to learn a new coach and work really hard during the summer.”
There is little question the bulk of the Starkville experience returns on defense. The Yellow Jackets most likely will work on its offense throughout fall camp. Brown said the main question mark after spring practice remains who will play quarterback.
“The best thing about the offense is it is getting to go against the best defensive line in the state every day in practice,” Dantzler said. “It’s pretty much us and South Panola. Nobody else can hold us, so when you are going against a bunch of Division I prospects every day in practice, you are going to only get better. The coaches really wanted us to win the game because they thought it would send a statement. We did our best. Now we have to carry that over into the fall.
“With a new coach, we will have learn some things. Coach Mitchell was great. He made me a great player. Coach Oakley did, too. Now I get to find out what coach Woods can make me become.”
The announcement of a new coach should bring some calm to the program. Starkville, South Panola, and Clinton come to mind when thinking about a loaded Class 6A race this upcoming season. Starkville will open the year Aug. 21 at Noxubee County.
“It just seems like we have dealt with a lot of adversity,” Brown said. “We lost the game to South Panola when were supposed to win. Then we lost our coach. Then one of the assistants we thought would get the job didn’t. And now we have coach Woods, so really we have dealt with a lot. However, we keep getting back up. I think everybody is excited. We are ready to go play for a state title.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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