Sumrall has hired Drew Granger to be its next football coach.
Granger is coming off his first head coaching stint at Taylorsville, where he led the Tartars to a 6-6 record and an appearance in the third round of the Class 1A playoffs.
Despite coaching in Taylorsville, Granger has actually lived in Sumrall for the last six years.
“I live in Sumrall,” Granger told The Pine Belt News. “My wife and I got married in 2019, and a couple of months later, we bought our house here. We’ve lived here for going on six years.
“It was a great year at Taylorsville. I had a blast. I thought I would be there a little longer, but God’s timing happens for a reason…(Sumrall) is where I want to raise my family. Sumrall is such a great school. They are competitive in a lot of sports.”
Prior to Taylorsville, Granger spent the 2023 season as the defensive coordinator at Stone High School. Granger also spent four years at Columbia where he helped the Wildcats win the state championship in 2021.
Granger takes over after previous head coach Shannon White led the program for 14 years.
“I have all the respect in the world for Coach White,” Granger said. “That’s what you want at the end of it with having a long career. He won a lot of ball games.”
Sumrall finished 1-9 this past season but played in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
“I know last season they kind of underachieved, and they didn’t get to where they wanted to be,” Granger said. “They still have that competitive culture and add that. There are kids there that want to compete. We want to try and get the most out of them and do the best we can in our community.
“I want them to be young men in this community. That’s one thing you can’t have too much of, with making this a better place. That gives back 10 to 15 years down the road.”
Granger plans to run spread offense while staying multiple on defense.
“I want to get on campus and meet the kids,” Granger said. “Ideally, we want to spread it out a little bit and still run the football. On defense, we want to have a multiple look.
“It’s really flexible on defense, but more importantly instilling a toughness to that team and program.”
Along with having a new coach, Sumrall will be jumping to Class 5A this upcoming season.
“I think moving to Class 5A is a good thing,” Granger said. “I think it’s something to get excited about Sumrall football and putting a good product on the field that the town will be proud of.”
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