As the Greyhounds’ defensive backs coach a season ago, Reid Ford had a very prominent and visible role on the defensive side of the ball for Jones County.
Now, that status has grown even more.
Among the minor offseason tweaks to the Greyhounds’ coaching staff is the elevation of Ford to defensive coordinator. That means that Ford will not only oversee the defense but also call plays. It also means that head coach Justin Montgomery — a defensive coordinator before becoming the head coach at JCHS — will be able to step back and view things from a broader view for the Greyhounds.
“It’s really allowed me to focus on the big picture of the team and the program,” Montgomery said. “With Coach Ford, he was just owning so many facets of our program already. It just seemed like it was the right time to go ahead and start letting him take the reins. He’s taken that and ran with it and is doing a great job.”
That’s not to say Montgomery will be far away. In fact, he was working with the defensive line position group during spring practice.
“It’s been really good, stepping into the new role. Some things are different, but we also have a great staff that does a really good job of coaching their position group,” Ford said. “It allows me to kind of manage things and set our direction.”
In a way, Ford and his defensive charges are being able to grow in sync.
Last year’s team was heavy on underclassmen, and those younger players were able to gain a wealth of experience on the varsity level. This year’s team, which has minimal losses at the defensive line and linebacker positions, is a group that Ford feels will be able to reap fruits of that gained on-field time.
“You can look at it one of two ways when kids are young. One is that it’s either, ‘they’re young, they’ll make mistakes,’“ Ford said, “but it’s also an investment in their future. We’re looking to cash in some on that investment.”
Ford points to defensive leaders through the end of spring as Thad Smith, Hunter Hardwick, Zaire Jones, Ayjuan Fuller, Machai Bellamy, and Brandon Jones.
“I feel pretty good. We have some guys who are stepping into some new roles for us this year, and we also have some guys returning that are taking that leadership role and running with it. I’ve been pleased with how they’ve been stepping into that new direction,” Ford said. “We’re playing well, but we have a long way to go.”
