New coach Pruitt is catching up quickly at Appling County

All eyes turned to Appling County in late April when the GHSA forced the football program to forfeit all 10 of its victories from the 2024 season. The GHSA found Appling guilty of undue influence because a former coach ran a camp attended by a player who transferred to Appling days later.  

After moving on from their previous coach, Jordan Mullis, the Pirates found their new leader, Tucker Pruitt, in just one week. Pruitt’s Fitzgerald teams won 60 games and one state title over the past five seasons.

Now, two months in, new coach Pruitt is still racing against the clock.

Pruitt arrived at Appling on May 1. He immediately began assembling a staff, but it took a month to find the right people because, as Pruitt puts it, you can’t just bring in any assistant; each must be the right fit for the kids.

“My message to the team when we first started summer was, ‘We’re behind,’” Pruitt said.

Pruitt brought over four assistants from his Fitzgerald staff and one previous Fitzgerald coach. Pruitt will be the offensive coordinator. Zack Griffis, an Appling County assistant for 11 years and the head baseball coach, will be the defensive coordinator.

Pruitt’s Fitzgerald offenses were largely run-based. He said he’s still evaluating the talent and figuring out the best approach for Appling but said the offense would be multiple.

Pruitt says offseason attendance has been strong, with about 50-55 players showing up consistently, with the Pirates taking the old cliché “Make every day count” to heart. Pruitt is focused on building discipline and toughness — hallmarks of his teams. Even as time starts to work against them, he believes relationships shouldn’t be forced, preferring bonds to form organically.

“It's still really new,” Pruitt said. “But those relationships are being formed and being nurtured, and we're getting to know them and they're getting to know us and I do feel like it's been powerful, each and every day.”

Despite an official 0-14 record, playing 14 games and reaching the Class A Division I semifinals in Georgia is no small feat. Ten of those games were victories on the scoreboard and a feeling that the returning players won’t forget. Pruitt says they’re not looking back, but those experiences still matter.

“The kids are resilient,” Pruitt said. “I mean it (the GHSA ruling) is definitely unfortunate. But they played on the field, and I think they know they had a good team and got a chance to have another good team this year. So, we just really focused on where we're going, not where we’ve been.”

Just as the players put last year’s record behind them, they must do the same with depth chart. From day one, Pruitt gave everyone a clean slate — each player would have to earn it. In the meantime, Pruitt completed his background checks.

“Last year, when I was at Fitzgerald, we played them,” Pruitt said, recalling a Week 11 matchup — originally set for Week 5 but postponed by Hurricane Helene — when his team beat Appling County 21–16.

Appling County had 15 players make first- or second-team all-region in Region 3-2A last season. Seven are back.

“I was familiar with the roster. I was familiar with a lot of their players, knew what kids were graduating and what kids were coming back,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt notes that many of the players who started last year on defense will return, including the entire defensive line. On offense, five starters from last season graduated. Fans can expect two returners on the offensive line and two running backs.

One player Pruitt expects to be the starter is sophomore quarterback Harrison Hickox. Pruitt is excited about Hickox’s future, for one, because he started as a freshman, and secondly, they’ll have three more years together. Hickox is 6 feet, 3 inches, 200 pounds, and throws shot put and discus in track and field and plays pitcher and first base in baseball.

“There are really good players here, and there are some holes, and some guys who haven’t played are going to have to step up,” Pruitt said. “But we talked to them about ‘If you play against yourself (from) last year, you want to dominate who you were last year.”’

Pruitt’s off-the-field time has been sped up as well. The balance of moving a family and making sure new coaches have teaching positions takes time away from football. And dragging that out, he says, is in no one’s best interest.

Pruitt will return to Fitzgerald on Sept. 26 for a non-non region game.

Since arriving in Baxley, the community has supported him and his family. He’s received countless Facebook messages since his arrival, and it feels like he’s been invited to every church in Baxley, an invitation he doesn’t take lightly.

“That's something that doesn't happen everywhere,” Pruitt said.

Fans will get an early or late preview of the team, depending on how you look at it. On Monday, July 28, the Pirates will begin their first practice of the fall at midnight. There will be music, food, activities — and, of course, fans will finally get to see the team everyone’s been talking about.

2025 schedule:

8/15      at Ware County

8/29      at Wayne County

9/5        Swainsboro

9/12      Deland (Fla.)

9/19      Miller County

9/26      at Fitzgerald

10/10   at Crisp County

10/17   Tattnall County

10/24   Cook

10/31   at Pierce County