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Coach Traylor is still excited

More than nine years after he became head football coach of the Gilmer Buckeyes, Jeff Traylor is still excited about the prospects of a new season. But one thing has changed: the job has become so big he has lost contact with the players, “the kids.”
He reminisced about those years as well as looking at this year’s prospects Tuesday when he spoke to the Gilmer Rotary Club.
He was introduced by Rotarian Larry Cowan, who expressed pride in both the Gilmer High football program and the character of the man who heads it.
Traylor said he sometimes has parents who threaten to remove a son from the football squad because he doesn’t see enough action. He said he tells them two things: “One kid doesn’t make the program,” and, their son will be deprived of the chance to be around “15 of the most incredible men on the planet.”
He was referring to his “unbelievable” staff.
“If you don’t like football you can still be glad of the people these kids are around,” Traylor said.
The coach gave his assistants credit for the fact that Buckeye football has made college possible for a number of Gilmer graduates who would not otherwise have continued their educations.
He said that players going on to schools such as UT-Austin, Oklahoma U. and Missouri U. get more attention, but the Gilmer program also sends many athletes to smaller 4-year colleges and junior colleges. In his decade, he has counted up a total of 60.
Traylor said that of the seven players who had their college paid for last year, five would not have gone on without the help.
A lot of work goes into this record, the impact of which may not be clear for years, he commented.
His staff works with the finest cameras and computers, and an assistant coach is in charge of each academic subject. At a time when many entering junior college students are not qualified to do the school work, Buckeye athletes do not have that problem, Traylor said.
When so many students go off and do well it creates a sort of virtuous circle that attracts recruiters and students alike, in his view.
“We have so many players, and that is why we are so successful,” the coach said.
Looking toward the new season, Traylor said, “We’re reaching for No. 1.”
Carthage, though, should be rated No. 1 in the state, he added.
If Chapel Hill does not make it to the playoffs and Gilmer is designated a big school (aka Division I), the Buckeyes will improve their chances, he asserted.
The Buckeyes have lost only six games in seven years, winning the state championship in 2004. But the 2003 team was the best in his 10 years, he said. The coach said he has been “proud of how we lost,” explaining that his teams never quit.
“It’s the way our kids play the game that has me excited,” he said.
Speaking of Quarterback Stump Godfrey, Traylor said he has grown up, adding, “you’ll see him come into his own.” Part of his new maturity and leadership was shown by his decision on his own to attend Stephen F. Austin State football camp for a week, the coach said.
This year’s team has lost some great receivers to graduation but will have a number of good ones, he observed, and running back positions are solid. He predicted the Buckeyes will be pretty good on offense, not great, but they have a chance to be great on defense.
Asked to comment on players who had gone on to succeed past high school, he chose to single out one, Manuel Johnson, who is now a Dallas Cowboy after finishing OU. Aside from his athletic skill, Traylor said, “He will always try to do the right thing.”
Each year a theme is posted in the dressing room and has meaning for all members of the squad. This year’s theme, Traylor said, is Code Red, which encompasses the importance of faith as carried out three ways: think it, say it, act it.


Mirror Photo
COACH JEFF TRAYLOR talks about the coming Buckeye football season in a program he gave for the Gilmer Rotary Club Tuesday.

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