By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

PIEDMONT – By his own admission, Jonathan Miller is at the point of his coaching career where he wants to win a state championship. It’s one of the things that attracted him to Piedmont, a program that has won five state titles since 2009.

That’s not to say Miller hasn’t had success of his own at his previous job at Saks. He went 100-32 in 11 years there, including two 13-win seasons and a 12-2 mark in 2021.

With Miller’s hunger for a title, and a program that’s used to winning them, it could be a football match made in heaven.

“I think the main thing I wanted to let them know early on was that expectations will not change. I think that’s something important for them to hear,” Miller said. “We still have the same goals in mind. We’re not going to take a back seat to anybody. The expectations are the same. I think that’s something they wanted to hear.”

“My experience with him is he really wants to win. I can tell that already,” senior running back/defensive back Trevor Pike said. “He’s real laid back. He’s down to earth with everybody. He’s keeping everything pretty much the same, making everybody work hard. If we can work together as a team, we can be back playing for a blue map.”

“He’s a great coach,” senior defensive end Chance Murphy said. “I look forward to playing for him and hopefully winning another state championship.”

“I think for a long time this program has had the mindset that every year the names may change, but the expectations don’t change. We expect to win,” Miller said. “I think that’s huge for any program that reloads every year and competes for championships. The kids here expect to win. That mentality was built long before I got here. We’re just trying to continue that and carry that on. That’s just the way it’s been.”

A smooth transition is the way it’s been for Miller since he was hired to replace Steve Smith at Piedmont back in mid-March. He’s got several holdover coaches from Smith’s staff in Kevin Bedwell, Matt Glover, Patrick Walker and Pruitt.

“Those are guys I have really leaned on. They’ve helped me tremendously,” Miller said at Calhoun County’s media day back in July. “They’re outstanding ambassadors for the Piedmont football program. They’ve made my life a whole lot easier. They do an outstanding job of coaching our kids. Those guys know how to win too. They’ve been a part of a lot of state championships themselves. They know how to get the job done.”

Miller also has several players on this year’s team eager for a chance to prove themselves, including 6-foot-2 junior left-handed quarterback Cole Wilson.

Wilson takes over for Jack Hayes, who set multiple state records throughout his Bulldog career. Miller said Wilson just has to be himself, and so far he has.

“I’ve been really pleased with Cole, how he’s picked everything up,” Miller said. “We ask a lot out of our quarterbacks, and he’s done a great job with that. He’s talented enough to get the job done. He’s got some talent around him. He doesn’t have to be Superman. He won’t run the ball as much as Jack did. We’ll use his arm in the passing game. He’s got receivers to throw it to. He’s just got to be Cole and that will be good enough for us to be successful.”

Among Wilson’s targets at receiver are two starters who return from last season, sophomore Rollie Pinto and junior Ishmael Bethel. Miller notes that senior McClane Mohon will move from defense to be the Bulldogs’ third receiver.

In the backfield, seniors Dontavious Jordan and Trevor Pike, along with Cash Young, will be expected to get their share of carries. Jordan is recovering from injury last season.

“I feel like we’re solid at the skill spots, at every one of them,” Miller said. “We’re good on paper. We’ve just got to do it on Friday nights now.”

Perhaps the positions with the least experience are along the Bulldog offensive front. Miller said there are five new guys up front, but it is an older group.

“It’s not like we’re having to count on freshmen and sophomores. It’s guys who have been in the program. They just haven’t had as many opportunities because they’ve had that big senior class in front of them,” Miller said.

Senior Jonah Pike is at center, while seniors Tanner Curvin and Sam Tolbert are at left guard and left tackle respectively.

“Those are three guys who have done a great job in fall camp and probably guys we’re going to lean on early in the season,” Miller said. “They do have a little bit of experience. We’re going to ask them to do a little bit more this year.”

Junior Chris Parris is at right guard and junior Noah Farmer is at right tackle.

“I’m really excited about this group and their development throughout the season,” Miller said. “I think they can have a chance to be a really good unit in November.”

Seniors Fisher Adams and Murphy anchor the defensive front. Another senior, Luke Rhinehart, leads the Bulldog linebackers.

“Luke is a very good football player. He’s intelligent and plays the game fast. I hope that’s a guy who’s going to have a lot of tackles when we look at the stat sheet at the end of the year,” Miller said. “He’s kind of the brains behind our defense. He knows what everybody is supposed to be doing on every play and can get us lined up, things like that.”

Miller said Trevor Pike is the leader in the Bulldog secondary.

“He’s kind of the quarterback of the secondary for us. He’s also a very good player. He’s got some speed and natural instincts. He’s another guy who plays the game really fast,” Miller said.

Piedmont plays in a jamboree at Fyffe on Friday before beginning the 2023 season at home against longtime rival Cherokee County on Sept. 1. The Bulldogs open Class 3A, Region 6 play at Sylvania on Sept. 8.

“We’re going to know who we are pretty quickly, where we are at that moment and where we need to go,” Miller said. “It’s important for our team to keep perspective, regardless if we start the season 2-0 or 0-2. We’ve got to keep perspective and understand that we’ve got to keep growing as a team. We’re going to be battle tested.

“There’s probably not a whole lot we’re going to see in the playoffs that we’ don’t see during the regular season. In that regard it’s good as long as our kids understand there could be some growing pains along the way. We’re going to be better for it in the end.”

2023 Piedmont Football Schedule

Sept. 1                  Cherokee County
Sept. 8                  at Sylvania
Sept. 15                at Plainview
Sept. 22                Ohatchee
Sept. 28                Anniston
Oct. 6                    Westbrook Christian
Oct. 13                  Glencoe
Oct. 20                  at Geraldine
Oct. 27                  Hokes Bluff
Nov. 3                   Sylacauga