BREMEN, Ala. – There are a lot of names and faces returning from last year’s playoff team at Cold Springs but one thing that’ll be different on the Eagles sideline this season is the head coach. After serving as an assistant coach for three seasons, Justin Cornelius is taking the reigns from former Eagles Head Coach Rod Elliott and taking over as the head man this fall.
Cold Springs is aiming for another playoff berth this season and Cornelius likes the energy his team had this summer and has brought into fall camp.
“It’s gone well so far; the kids have showed up ready to work. Of course, we’ve been taking a bunch of extra precautions with all the coronavirus stuff. But it’s nothing that we haven’t been able to handle and as far as our progress I feel pretty good about where we’re at right now,” Cornelius said. “They’re kind of where we wanted them to be and expected them to be and I’m comfortable with how we look right now. They’re excited, they’re fired up, they’re working hard and that’s all I can ask for.”
Like everyone else preparing for the 2020 season, the Eagles have been fitting within state health and safety guidelines while preparing. Cornelius went over the situation with his coaches and players early on and all of them were ready to do what was necessary to compete this fall.
“Early on when I talked to them about it, I said, ‘Look, we have to do what we have to do to get out there and play some football’ and nobody minded,” Cornelius said. “They all said if that’s what we have to do to play ball then we’re going to do what it takes. Even with all the precautions and everything in place we’ve still been able to progress and get better and I feel very confident in where our guys are.”
There are several seniors from last year’s playoff squad that won’t be easy to replace but there are a handful of returning standouts as well. Cornelius says that having an experienced group of guys to work with has made things easier on the field but also off it during these unorthodox times.
“I think its been great to have some of these veteran guys to lean on. It has allowed us the opportunity to really put trust in our guys and it cuts down on time with a bunch of different things when they already understand what we’re trying to do,” Cornelius said. “We do have a lot of first year guys out this year so we’ll really try to work on building depth and things like that but with guys like Brodi (Williams) and Ayden (Alexander) and Roberto (Ayala) coming back along with pretty much our entire offensive line returning as starters, it allows me to lean on those guys a little bit in these odd times.”
Cornelius has a week to week mindset that he wants to instill in his team this season and he is confident that will help them get the best results on Friday nights but he plans on building up way more than the win column in his time at Cold Springs.
“My expectation is we’re going to be ready for game one and we’ll worry about game two after game one and our focus is that we’ve got a game next week and we just have to work and ensure that we’re getting 1% better every single day along the way,” Cornelius said. “To me, it’s about more than football, it’s about more than wins and losses, it’s about creating something for these kids that they will carry with them forever.”
Cornelius and his staff plan to bring some of their own schematic adjustments to the Eagles this season, but he also plans to work with and build on the returning strengths from last year.
“Coach Elliott and I worked awfully hard on getting that offense the way we wanted it last year but you know with anything else, a new coach comes in and he’s going to put his own spin on it a little bit,” Cornelius said. “So, we’re changing things a little as we go and as far as our personnel, we’re returning an all-state running back and an all-state athlete, so we’ve got to use our dudes.”
The Eagles will open the season by hosting Meek, Cornelius’ own alma mater. That makes this matchup particularly special for the Cold Springs Head Coach, but Cornelius is convinced that after months without sports, Friday night’s showdown will be special for everyone.
“Opening up with Meek usually brings a big crowd and with it being here we’re expecting a big crowd because I think folks are ready to watch some sports. I think people will come out and won’t take it for granted because we don’t know what comes the next day anymore,” Cornelius said. “We saw that during the spring. I’m excited, the kids are excited, and I think people around here will be excited to see some football too.”
The Cold Springs Eagles will open the 2020 season at home against Meek Friday.
2020 Cold Springs Football Schedule (2A Region 5)
8/21: Meek
8/28: @ Holly Pond
9/4: Sulligent*
9/18: @ Aliceville*
9/25: Falkville
10/2: @ Addison*
10/9: Midfield*
10/16: @Winston County*
10/23: Lamar County*
10/29: Vinemont
2020 Cold Springs Football Roster
#1 Brody Peppers
#2 Izaiah Estell
#3 Cameron Nunn
#4 Andrew Weaver
#5 Ayden Alexander
#6 Tanner Kilgo
#7 Brodi Williams
#8 Hank Harrison
#9 Neyemiah Tolbert
#10 Tucker Philbeck
#11 Roberto Ayala
#17 Seth Williams
#20 Landon Bishop
#21 Houston Goodwin
#25 Dylan Smith
#32 Argin Dooley
#44 Ethan Nabors
#45 Josh Winfrey
#51 Gavin Parris
#54 Caleb McClendon
#55 Jagger White
#61 Devon Johnson
#62 Samuel Gable
#63 Sawyer Swann
#64 Caleb Godfrey
#72 Brady Bailey
#74 Cooper Davis
#79 Grayson Phillips
Copyright 2020 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
