New Sprayberry coach ready to build on historic 11-2 finish

When hiring coach Pete Fominaya from Hiram, and coming off its best season in 42 years, Sprayberry took a chance that people outside the community may have overlooked. Fominaya is the first coach since 2006 who was not a Sprayberry alumnus.

“There's (a) really rich tradition for people really caring about this place,” Fominaya said. “The previous two head coaches (Brett Vavra and Billy Shackelford) were alumni here, and really good players here, and they did a really good job of surrounding this program with great coaches.”

After leading the program the past eight seasons, Vavra took the Etowah job in December, and Fominaya noticed. Fominaya, a Florida native, had been Hiram’s coach since 2018.

“Sprayberry has always been one that has had my attention because of the great rich alumni, the tradition that they've had here, the stability, you know, coaches traditionally don't leave this place,” Fominaya said. “And when I saw the opportunity to come over here, I jumped at it right away.”

Fominaya has leaned on coaches from the previous staff, such as wide receivers coach Chester Ransom, who has been at Sprayberry since 1985.

Sprayberry, a Cobb County school, was 11-2 last season, won a region title and reached the Class 5A quarterfinals. Although Vavra has moved on from his alma mater, he has been instrumental in helping Fominaya transition into this community.

That’s not generally the case when there’s a coaching change.

“I'm so privileged,” Fominaya said. “The previous head coach and I had a good relationship. I spoke to him before I took the job, and we talk occasionally. I'll just tell him, ‘They had done such a good job here with establishing the culture.’ And the cupboard is not bare, and I'm just really excited that I get this opportunity.”

The cupboard isn’t bare indeed. The Yellow Jackets’ current secondary includes cornerback Jordan Edmonds, a four-star Alabama commit, and safety Kaelan Jones, a three-star Georgia commit.

Of Jones, Fominaya said, “That young man has got such a blue-collar mentality. To be a guy that's going to Georgia, that is just as good as he is. He works his butt off in the weight room, he comes in, sits in the front of all of our meetings. He always asks intelligent questions. He never misses anything, and I've been so impressed with him.”

Though  Fominaya has coached great players, he said that Edmonds stands out as one of, if not the, best he’s coached.

“He just wants to compete,” Fominaya said. “He just wants to get better. He is not about the flash. He is not about the hype. He's kind of, to be honest with you, just a low-key young man, but he just comes in and works.”

Fominaya believes he has his version of Travis Hunter in Edmonds. He plays both ways as a receiver and defensive back, and his conditioning is top-notch, which allows him to rarely come off the field in games.

“He's always trying to get better,” Fominaya said. “He's always trying to sharpen his tools. He's always trying to add another tool to his toolbox. Superstars sometimes get this reputation for sometimes being about themselves. And Jordan's not. Jordan's about the program. Jordan's about this team and his teammates and his brothers on this team.”

Edmonds shocked Fominaya early in spring during one-on-ones (wide receivers vs defensive backs drill). He saw Jordan on the sideline working with a freshman wide receiver who had just been matched against him.

Instead of just talking trash or moving on, Edmonds showed the freshman what was wrong during the rep and showed him different techniques and skills that he could use to improve.

“He took his time to go around and talk to these kids and was like, ‘Hey, man, this is what you need to be doing. This is what you did wrong.’ Which I just think is such an elite characteristic,” Fominaya said.

When it comes to a guy who sets the tone and grabs the team's attention every time he walks through the door, that’s quarterback Jaden Duckett. He’s the alpha of this team, Fominaya said.

Duckett, a three-star quarterback with multiple mid-major offers, is a dual-threat quarterback who exploded onto the scene last season. He passed for 1,969 yards, rushed for 803 yards and totaled 30 touchdowns. That earned him the Region 6-5A offensive player of the year award.

“He has impressed me at every step,” Fominaya said of Duckett. “He comes in and he works really hard. He does what he's asked to do. He's a leader, he's a motivator, and in a room full of high-profile guys, he comes in and really takes charge. He really leads, and he's been a pleasure to coach.”

Fominaya is inheriting a large senior class of more than 25 players, and most have already played a significant role in the program’s success.

The Yellow Jackets will return 13 starters. Fominaya tells fans to expect a disciplined physical team. He said the players have responded well to what he has asked of them, saying things like, “What do you need?” or “How do we need to do it?”

Although he understands that he’ll be judged on wins and losses, Fominaya plans to provide even more to his players at Sprayberry.

“My focus has always been about developing people, Fominaya said. “My job as a coach is to take a bad player, make them good, take a good player, make them great, take a great player, make them elite, but the same thing can be said outside of the field, right?”