Wesley Tankersley, Stephens County head coach
Today’s interviewee is Stephens County coach Wesley Tankersley, whose unranked Class 2A team defeated third-ranked Callaway 35-33 in the second round. Stephens County was ranked No. 5 in preseason because of a strong senior class that included star running back Javin Gordon and quarterback Tripp Underwood. The Indians finished 6-4 in the regular season with losses to top-five teams Jefferson, Oconee County, Prince Avenue Christian and Hebron Christian.
1. How does this win rank among your favorites as a coach, and what did you do in the Callaway game that made the difference? “We just played and coached like we try to do every week. Nothing special really. Just tried to execute better than them. It is one of the biggest for me as a coach. My teams at Gilmer, Ridgeland and, up till this point, Stephens County had made it to the second round but had never been able to get to the elite eight, so personally this was a big win. This also is my youngest son Brock’s senior year. I have been around this senior group and watched or coached every game they have played since they were in sixth grade. That makes it even more special. Plus, he had two receiving touchdowns and an interception in the game, so as a dad, that was very special.”
2. We had you ranked No. 5 in preseason and No. 2 for a while, then got blinded by the tough teams you were playing and bounced you out of the rankings. Did you remain very confident in your team all along, or were you concerned? How did your team navigate those losses and remain strong? “I have been telling them since I made the schedule that it was going to be very challenging, that it was going to test our character and test our resolve, and we were going to find out about ourselves as a result. Any time you lose, it is concerning, but we have all stuck together and used it to grow as we have gone through the season.”
3. Javin Gordon, a running back formerly committed to Duke, is probably your best known player. He's having a great postseason. How are you using him differently this year, and what is his skill set that makes him so good? “We have had to use him all over the place this year and move him around to get him the ball in different ways. He is the focus point of any defensive game plan against our team, and we have to be creative to get him the ball in different ways. Luckily, we also have a really good quarterback in Tripp Underwood that can get him the ball in the passing game. Javin has close to 50 receptions this season from the running back position. He can play wide receiver just as easily as he can play running back.” [Gordon has more than 4,000 rushing yards and 5,000 scrimmage yards in his career. He has rushed for 999 yards this season, 636 fewer than last season, but he has 395 more all-purpose yards while playing a tougher schedule than in 2023. Gordon backed off his commitment to Duke last week.]
4. You were the highest-finishing public school in Region 8 but seeded just 14th for the Class 2A playoffs while private schools Hebron Christian and Prince Avenue went into the private playoffs. How do you feel about the setup that has you playing with private schools in the regular season but not the playoffs? “No perfect way I guess, but I felt like our whole region got penalized by having two of the best private schools in our state. I think all region champs should get seeded first, and then all other teams get seeded off the postseason rankings.” [The GHSA does seed region champions first but then allows second-place teams to be higher-seeded than all others.]
