Miles Coach Reggie Ruffin has stolen one of south Alabama's best coaches with the hire of Clinton Smith of Hillcrest Evergreen. Coach Smith will be working with quarterbacks and serve as offensive coordinator for the purple and gold Golden Bears.
Smith has had a great run at Hillcrest, taking them to a consistency the school had not known before. In the previous 26 seasons since Conecuh County consolidated all of their high schools in 1989, the Jaguars had only 8 winning seasons and had only 2 winning campaigns in the last 12 years.
Smith changed that, with five winning seasons out of his six years and winning the 2017 3A State Championship. The Jaguars defeated Randolph County 26-14, setting school records for wins and points scored.
Defensive Coordinator Mike Dean will be the new Jaguar head coach. Dean is a veteran coach with head coaching stops at Daleville, McGill Toolen, Valley, Charles Henderson, Mary Montgomery and Stanhope Elmore.
"The crazy thing is that Mike Dean was my defensive coordinator the year we won the championship," Smith said on al.com. "He left after that and I got him back right before spring training this year. He has worked his butt off and done everything I've asked him to do.
"So late in the game, there's 36 days before the first game, you won't find anyone from outside. The kids love him. The community loves him. They already know how he is, he's a big disciplinarian and he grinds toward perfection. The things that guy and me have accomplished have been phenomenal. He's going to do great things."
Hillcrest opens the season August 20th at home against Greenville.