“I’m really excited about this team.”
That’s how head football coach Cam Jones feels about his 2024 Duluth High School football team. And he’s got good reason to feel that way. Since becoming head coach in 2019, the Wildcats have been on a steady upward trajectory on the field, both as a team and as individual players.
Success building success
Jones told me that one of the mantras the team has — both for their athletic and personal lives — is to always be improving and always striving to be the best version of themselves. They’ve certainly been doing that on the football field.
In his first season in 2019, the team finished with a 1-9 record, but Jones was laying a foundation. The improvement began showing up the very next season.
“In 2020,” Jones said, “we went six and four, which was the first winning season in 25 years. Then the following year we made the playoffs.”
The Wildcats have made another playoff appearance since then, and their seven wins last year was the team’s best record since 1985.
Jones thinks the Wildcats will continue to build on that success. “We’ll definitely have some stout competition on Friday nights,” he said, “but I feel like this team is as good, if not better, than the year before.”
Year-round program
We talked with Coach Jones near the end of pre-season practice. The coaches and players were putting on the final touches in their preparation for the season to begin, but Jones said, “like everyone we’re a year-round program.”
The team has been practicing throughout June and July. When we spoke, they had just started practicing in full pads, which Jones called “refreshing.” Refreshing from a football point of view perhaps, but not so much with regard to the climate. It’s hot in Duluth in August. But Jones and his coaching staff are careful with the players. And he’s got a reason for that.
“One thing I’m adamant about,” he explained, “is that I think it’s important to keep your players fresh. Fast and fresh is something we always talk about.”
Even though Duluth had to modify their practices due to the summer heat, Jones feels good about the preparation they’ve gone through.
“We’re still getting after it,” he said. “I think the players and the coaches have responded. I don’t feel like we’ve lost any time because our kids are playing with so much energy and effort and flying around.”
Coaching all the details
The heat may require some shorter practices, but Jones and his staff have also incorporated some very sophisticated methods in the team’s preparation.
Walkthroughs in the team weight room include video reviews on multiple screens of specific plays. After review and explanation by the staff, the players immediately rehearse the plays with the coaches right there guiding them. The level of detail goes right down to the footwork required to properly execute the plays.
The degree of detail required for each player is just one of the many challenges the coaching staff works through. At the high school level, they also deal with a wide range of players’ experience.
“It’s really interesting,” Jones said, “how we get such a wide range — from kids that have never played before to kids that have played since they were four years old. And it’s funny that a lot of the kids probably learn a lot about football from playing video games.”
But no matter the player’s experience, Jones and his staff work with everyone on the critically important details of the game.
“We’re still adjusting their stance and making sure their first step is right,” he explained. “Everything starts with a great base and a great stance.”
First-class facilities
That weight room where the Wildcats were doing their walkthroughs is just a small part of the outstanding facilities at Duluth High School. Jones is proud of the team’s facilities and he’s proud of the help they’ve gotten from the community.
“The community has really started to pour back into the program again with our field house, team room and weight room renovation,” he said. “It’s like a whole new facility compared to when I got here.”
Players succeeding at the college level
The Wildcats rising success as a team has also translated into individual success for the players, as several of the recent graduates have received college football scholarships.
DeMarco Ward, who is playing at Florida State, and Anthony Miller at Tulane, are two recent graduates representing Duluth at the college level. Jones thinks their success provides motivation for the current players.
“Seeing those guys make it to the next level, definitely provides excitement,” he said. “The current players see that they can make it. Success on the field and putting kids in school makes for a pretty good recipe.”
The 2024 team has already added to the success. Four-star OT Damola Ajidahun has committed to Georgia Tech after offers from several other top schools. Cornerback Peyton Dyer and defensive lineman Jordyn Washington already have multiple scholarship offers, and Jones thinks more are coming.
And that’s not an accident. Jones and his coaching staff work very hard at promoting and supporting their players, sending the Wildcat’s prospect list out to every college coach they can. That, along with the team’s recent success, have resulted in more and more college coaches visiting Duluth.
There was a time when the coaches would skip Duluth. That’s not the case anymore.
2024 season includes five home games
The Wildcats’ regular season kicks off in August with a game at Dacula and continues through November 1, including five home games. Jones is excited about the support the team will be getting.
“I’m excited for more people to come out to a game,” he said, “and see how hard our kids play, how great our student section is and how great our community is. I think Duluth is a really special place.”
For more information about the team, visit their website at duluthathletics.com.
*All photos courtesy of Glenn Boylan
