SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — Competition has been the name of the game for the Social Circle Redskins this offseason. Head coach Rob Patton has monitored every position group as the players have been vying for starting spots throughout the spring and summer. 

Knowing this made Patton’s choice for the 2023 season’s motto easy. 

“We had an open competition across the whole team, our motto this year was to ‘Compete,’” Patton said. “We wanted everyone competing, best against best.”

After losing seniors such as Logan Cross, Phillip Baynes Jr. and AJ Vinson, Patton knew going into the offseason that his guys were going to need to step up in the right areas.

Seventeen seniors graduated from the program in May. Six of them have gone on to play college football.. A good portion of those players were three-and four-year starters, too. 

The marquee position battle going into the offseason for Social Circle was behind center. Social Circle has been tasked with replacing four-year starter Cross.

Senior Sean Crews took the job in late summer, beating out the Redskins leading receiver from 2022, Jude Nelson.

Another key player returning for the Redskins is senior Kam Durden, who is going into his fourth season as a starter. Durden is a running back and outside linebacker who, like Crews, was named a senior captain for the team going into the year.

“We talk about our core values at Social Circle being toughness, effort, accountability and mindset,” Patton said. “Those are four traits that require zero talent but it is a personal decision you have to make every day to embody those things and [Crews and Durden] do that every day.”

Nelson will accompany both Crews and Durden as the main pieces that will be relied upon for offensive production. Along with being a top option for Crews on offense, Nelson is still expected to be an important player in the Redskins’ secondary.

Like the offense, the defense will be full of new faces but Patton has already seen guys make noticeable progress already. 

Patton mentioned senior DeMascio Bolden and juniors Jaylen Victor and Bristol Evans as three guys on the defensive side who will play crucial roles to the unit’s success in 2023.

Bolden and Evans have solidified themselves in the center of the defense at the inside linebacker positions while Victor provides the needed experience in the secondary alongside Nelson.

One difference that Patton expects from the team in 2023 is the adoption of a tougher style of play. That mentality has shown up in each practice session.

“The last few years we started out practice with 10 minutes of throwing the ball and running out and catching it and it has been fun and laid back,” Patton said. “This year, whether it is raining or if it is 100 degrees outside, we start out tackling to the ground.”

The first task will be on Aug. 18 on the road against Morgan County. Region 5A-Division I play commences on Oct. 10 versus Jasper County. 

Last season, the Redskins finished 8-4 overall and were region runners up. Social Circle defeated Whitefield Academy in the first round of the Class A-Division I playoffs. As a result, the program had its first playoff win since 2005 and just the second ever in school history. 

As the offseason competition flips into in-season competition, Patton wants the program to continue moving forward. 

“Each year we want to do it better than before,” Patton said. “We’ve done a lot of things for the first time at Social Circle in a long time, but now we want to do something that hasn’t been done at Social Circle before. That’s to keep going further and further in the playoffs.”

This article will be included in The Covington News' Preseason Blitz that will be in the Aug. 19-20 print edition.