Brookwood begins spring practice

William Huff
The Brookwood Warriors kicked off their spring football practice on a sweltering Monday afternoon. As the sun bared down on them, the Warriors took the field, helmets on and ready to hit something. And that’s what they did. The Warriors took to the pads immediately, chasing down tackles and bursting through tackling dummies.

“We want to start by just creating a tempo, but in doing that we certainly want to build competition,” said Brookwood Head Coach Shane Boggs. “We graduated some good players and have a lot of good ones coming back, but we want to use competition to create depth.”

Through out this spring, Boggs and the Warriors will be looking to fill positions that they’ve lost, namely on the offensive line and at tight end. They will also be looking at the defensive side of the ball as they need some defensive backs and linemen.

“There’s just so many, really too many to name at this point,” Boggs said. “But, I am excited about the group we have out here and the work they’ve put in from January to today, but we have a lot of work in front of us too.”

Brookwood will be returning two offensive juggernauts in quarterback Rodge Waldrop and receiver TJ Thomas. Both players were named All State last season. Waldrop is a rising senior and will be looking to add to his already impressive stats of 6,700 passing yards and 70 touchdowns.

“I don’t know that those stats really do justice to how competitive he is and how hungry he is and what a good job he’s done leading,” Boggs said. Thomas is the reigning regional player of the year for Brookwood, in addition to being an all-state selection. According to Boggs, if Thomas had not missed a game last season he would have likely recorded over 1,000 yards receiving and rushing.

“One of the rare four year starters that I’ve coached,” said Boggs. “He made a ton of plays as a freshman and I think he continues to get better every year. I think we will see a way faster version of a kid who was already running at a pretty good pace.”

The Warriors finished last season with an 8-4 record and went undefeated in their region. They advanced to the semi finals of the state tournament where they fell to Deerfield- Windsor. Boggs will be looking to whip this team into shape as they march toward fall and, hopefully, a run at the state title.
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Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.