Joey Sanders has been working in the Greater Golden Triangle area for more than a year.
On Monday, though, he officially will get approved to return home.
That”s when the Noxubee County School Board is expected to approve Sanders” hiring as an assistant football coach at Noxubee County High School.
“To bring someone back like Joey, who has a lot of energy, the kids will be able to relate to him” Noxubee County High football coach Tyrone Shorter said. “He is a young guy with college experience who will be able to help the wide receivers.”
The addition of Sanders will finalize a coaching staff that includes seven paid assistants and three volunteers. Sanders and former East Mississippi Community College coach Ed Square are the latest arrivals for the Tigers, who went 13-2 and lost to Lafayette in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A North State title game last season.
Born in Columbus, Sanders graduated from Noxubee County High in 2003 and went on to play at Mississippi State. He redshirted in ”03 and saw action in 30 games for MSU from 2004-2006.
“It feels pretty good (to come back home),” said Sanders, who worked for former head coach M.C. Miller as an assistant coach at Noxubee County High when he was in graduate school at MSU. “I am going to get to work with some of my old coaches, and I am going to get to work with some great athletes.”
Sanders is putting his degree in fitness management to use working at the Fitness Factor, a gym in Columbus. He said he didn”t anticipate working as a coach until he learned of the opening at Noxubee County High. He called the school to find out more about the position and it didn”t take long before he was on the road to returning to the school where he earned All-State honors as a senior.
“It brings back a lot of memories of being on the field and playing with my teammates and getting balls throw to me from (quarterback) Omarr (Conner),” Sanders said. “It is a great feeling to know I am going back and that I am going to get a chance to share the knowledge I got from coach Miller, from coach (James) Patterson, and coach Shorter and everything I learned at Mississippi State. That is the most important thing, giving back.”
Sanders looks forward to getting a chance to relate his experiences to the Tigers. He said he was an underrated played in high school who matured into a college prospect. He remembers the ins and outs of the recruiting process and feels he can be someone who motivates the players to realize their goals, just like he did.
Square was an assistant coach /defensive backs at EMCC for four years through the 2007 season. Buddy Stephens didn”t retain Square when he was hired later that year. Square remained at EMCC as a TRIO program counselor and evening/weekend supervisor of students and facilities in 2008 and 2009 before that program was dissolved in 2010.
Square”s wife, Coranette, work for EMCC in Scooba as director of eLearning and Blackboard administration.
“For him to join our staff with the experience he has, it is like adding another defensive coordinator,” Shorter said. “It is a blessing to get someone like him who has his playing experience and his college experience. I am really pleased with the way the defense is going right now. The coaches are really working the kids, and it is making my job a lot easier.”
Square, 38, attended Brookhaven High and went on to play football at Pearl River C.C. and to receive a bachelor”s degree from Henderson State in 1997. He earned a master”s degree in sports administration from the school in 2003.
After playing at Henderson State for two years, Square played for the Canadian Football League”s Saskatchewan Roughriders (1999) and the Arena Football League”s Grand Rapids Rampage and the Arkansas Twisters (2002-03).
At EMCC, he was in charge of recruiting for Noxubee and Tippah counties and Meridian, which is why he was excited when he discovered a coaching position was open in Macon.
“They have a tradition when it comes to football and producing athletes,” Square said. “My wife is from Macon, I go to church in Macon, and I have in-laws in Macon.”
Square is anxious to make the adjustment from working in college to high school. He said the need to be more hands on with players and to demonstrate technique fits well with his style and his personality. He also feels his wealth of playing experience and his age will make it even easier for him to relate to the players.
“I think I can be an asset to the defense with my experience,” Square said. “Our experience together (on the defensive side of the ball), I think it is a good thing.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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