HSFT Stop #47: Sulligent
A new classification and a new region bring plenty of change for the Sulligent Blue Devils, but the expectations remain the same. Sulligent went 6-5 last season and finished 4-2 in district play. Now, the Blue Devils are moving down from Class 2A to Class 1A and into a new region. Head coach Brian Gunnels is entering his fourth season at the helm and has guided Sulligent to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons.
“We hold these kids to a high expectation,” Gunnels said. “It’s my fourth year, three years in a row to the playoffs, and we want to keep it going.”
Gunnels is also allowing younger players to contribute as the Blue Devils prepare for the move to Class 1A.
“We tell these kids, get out here and give everything you got,” Gunnels said. “You never know. Especially going into 1A, we need you to give everything you got. That’s going to get everybody better.”
That competition has helped set the tone for a team that believes it has the pieces to make a deep playoff run. Running back Keaton Otts said the work has been about building accountability and bringing the team together.
“We got big expectations and just going hard in the weight room and keeping each other accountable for what we do and just pushing each other,” Otts said. “We got the coaching, we got the players, we just got to bring it all together and become a really good team and make a deep run.”
Offensive tackle Braylon Jordan has seen the offensive line take a step forward this summer, including some new faces.
“I have a lot of confidence in this team, especially my linemen guys,” Jordan said. “They have stepped up a lot this summer. I’ve got a lot of trust and confidence in them. We’ve got a couple of new faces, but for the whole team, I feel like we can make a really deep run in the playoffs this year.”
Tight end Saige Coleman believes Sulligent has the leadership, talent and grit to compete at a high level in its new classification.
“I feel like we have everything we need to do everything we want to do,” Coleman said. “We have the leaders, we have the talent, we have the numbers for 1A. And I think we have the heart and I think we have the grit to go undefeated.”
Coleman also credits the coaching staff with keeping the team grounded while maintaining its focus on the ultimate goal.
“They tell us we can do anything we want, we just got to keep working,” Coleman said. “The job is never finished until December, what, second or third, somewhere in that area. State championship game. I mean, the job’s not over until we reach there.”
Sulligent opens the season Aug. 21 against Tuscaloosa Academy, beginning a new chapter for the Blue Devils with the same goal of making another deep playoff run.
