By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
SAND ROCK – Just a couple of hours after officially being hired as Sand Rock’s new head football coach on Monday, Tanner Nelson was already on the job. He attended the Wildcats’ sports banquet, his first official opportunity to meet several of his new players and community members.
“It went well,” Nelson said. “It’s a great community with great support. There are great traditions at Sand Rock, a great administration. All of that makes it a really good job to be part of. I’m excited to get going, excited to win a lot of football games, and be able to compete for a championship every year. That’s what we’re working toward.”
Nelson comes to the Wildcats after leading Class 3A Sylvania to a 9-3 record last season, which included a berth in the second round of the state playoffs.
Prior to becoming Sylvania’s head coach, Nelson, a 2015 Collinsville graduate, was the Panthers’ offensive coordinator for three seasons.
Nelson replaces former Sand Rock football coach Alan Heath, who led the Wildcats to a combined 21-31 record the past five seasons. The Class 2A Wildcats finished 5-6 in 2024.
“Coach Heath has helped me out a lot already, trying to get everything where it needs to be, trying to get everything scheduled,” Nelson said. “It’s like anything else. It just takes a lot of work to get everything where you want it to be. I’m just excited to get going, get a plan in place and get busy with it.”
A big part of the plan Nelson envisions for Sand Rock includes “the small details and accountability.”
“All of that goes into doing what it takes to win, and that’s what we’re going to build on,” he said. “There is no detail too small. In order to beat the teams we have to beat, that’s what it’s going to take.”
Nelson is quite familiar with not only his new team, but several of those in the Wildcats’ region: Class 2A, Region 7.
As a quarterback in high school at Collinsville, he played against the likes of region rivals Cedar Bluff, Gaston and Section. As head coach at Sylvania last year, Nelson led the Rams past 2A, Region 7 champion Pisgah 24-22 in their 2024 regular-season finale.
The Wildcats open the 2025 season on Aug. 22 at home against Spring Garden. Nelson’s alma mater Collinsville pays a visit to Sand Rock on Sept. 26.
“This is something you really don’t have a lot of time to get settled into. You’ve got to get straight to work,” Nelson said. “Part of football and part of wanting to be one of the top teams around is working in the weight room, the practice field, film. Whatever we do, we’ve got to do everything to almost perfection. That’s what we’re looking for, to hold everybody accountable and continue to improve each week. Hopefully by the end of the year that’s where we’ll be, but right now, we’ve got to get ready for Spring Garden. That’s where our focus is right now.”
Nelson and his wife Aubrey have a son, Grayson, and daughter, Ruthie.
