Ryan Herring, Pierce County head coach
Today’s interviewee is Pierce County coach Ryan Herring, whose team won Class 2A last season with a 48-45 victory in three overtimes against Rockmart. Herring’s five-season record in Blackshear is 61-8 with state titles in 2023 and 2020. Herring is an Alabama native who was head coach for 12 seasons in his home state before coming back to Pierce County, where began his coaching career 23 years ago and met his wife, Maggie, a Pierce County native.
1. With some time to let the 2023 season sink in, what was the legacy or storyline of last year's team? “It may sound cliché-ish, but we had great kids. We had guys that cared about each other, guys that picked each other up. You’re not going to win a state championship without really good players, but the biggest thing was they were good teammates. That’s what we’ve got to preach again this year. We can still be a great team, and it’s not about height, weight and speed. It’s about caring about each other. When everybody matters, everything works better.” Herring added: “We had more talent in 2020, but, man, those guys last year gelled and got better each week and played as one.”
2. The GHSA changed the overtime rules based partly on your grueling game against Rockmart last year. What was that game like for your team, and how do you feel about the new “expedited” OT rules that call for two-point tries after touchdowns starting with the second possession and single-play possessions from the 3-yard line starting with the third overtime? “That was a long, long game last year. We kept saying, ‘One more play, just one more time, keep fighting.’ It’s hard to say right now whether I like the change. We’re going to see how it works. You have to experience it to know if it’s better. I don’t have a problem with overtime. We’ve won two state championships having to win in overtime. Sometimes when it’s evenly matched, that’s what’s just going to happen.” [Pierce beat Oconee County 13-7 in a single overtime in 2020.]
3. What's the scouting report on this year's team? Will your offense be similar to last year’s that depended so heavily on quarterback Caden McGatha? “There are so many new faces on the offensive and defensive lines. That’s the question mark. We’ll just have to get better every day and week. But I think we have enough skill players back to keep us afloat early. On offense, it’s going to be a game-by-game deal where whatever is working on Friday is what you’re going to see, whether it’s a four-wide-type formation or two tight ends. This year we have skill in the perimeter to spread you out, but we also want to be able to win a fight in a phone booth if we have to.” [In 2023, McGatha rushed for 2,160 yards, passed for 2,011 yards and had a hand in 53 of his team’s 80 touchdowns from scrimmage. He’s back along with two other offensive starters and six defensive starters.]
4. What are your impressions of the new Class 2A and your new region, and how do you feel about the GHSA’s decision to make Class 2A a public-only state playoff bracket this year? “I think double-A got a little tougher because we added some from triple-A like Crisp County, Carver-Columbus and Burke County. Our region is going to be extremely tough even though it’s small with Appling, Crisp and Cook in it. They’ve all been to the semifinals or finals the last few years. I don’t think the private thing was a big deal in 2A and 3A the last few years. I think everybody was pretty even, but in the big A class [Class A Division I], you had Prince Avenue playing some playoff games that were mercy killings. Nothing against them, they do a great job, but I think that’s good [having public-only playoffs] for single-A. It’s tough on those small single-A’s, some of them that don’t have 4,000 people in their whole county, to have to go play against privates in metro Atlanta. That’s apples and oranges. Something about that doesn’t seem right.”
