AHSAA schools continue to name their new head football coaches as spring practice time approaches. Schools which lost their football leaders to other teams have had to work fast to name their coaches.
Prattville has named former assistant J.B. Wallace as their new head football coach. Wallace most recently was the head coach at Marbury, where he led his 5A squad to a pair of 6-5 seasons and two playoff berths.
Wallace had served as an assistant for Prattville from 2004-2011 and followed former Prattville coach Jamey Dubose to Florence. He was named the Florence head coach when Dubose left, and spent four seasons there. Wallace then returned to Prattville as defensive coordinator before taking the Marbury job. Coach Wallace is a 1998 graduate of Prattville.
Wallace had served as an assistant for Prattville from 2004-2011 and followed former Prattville coach Jamey Dubose to Florence. He was named the Florence head coach when Dubose left, and sent four seasons there. Wallace then returned to Prattville as defensive coordinator before taking the Marbury job. Coach Wallace is a 1998 graduate of Prattville.
Prattville has revived their 7A program under Caleb Ross, going 23-11 on the last three years.
Jamie Mitchell has left Shades Valley to become the new head football coach at Hillcrest Tuscaloosa. Mitchell left after one season with the Mounties, going 4-8 and making it to the second round of the 6A playoffs. Before coming to Alabama prior to the 2020 season, Mitchell lead the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats to six Arkansas Class 7A championship game appearances, taking home a state title in 2017. Before accepting the top job at North Little Rock, Mitchell spent time as the head coach and athletic director at Mississippi’s Starkville High School. His overall coaching record stands at 219-80.
The new coach at Lawrence County High School is Trent Walker. Walker come to the Red Devils from Cullman. A graduate of Cullman, Walker served as a student assistant and quality control coach at Auburn under Tommy Tuberville and Gene Chizik. After a year at VMI in Virginia and Gadsden City as an assistant, Walker then returned to his alma mater to work with his former high school coach Mark Britton. He has spent the last five seasons with the Bearcats in various positions, having been offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator throughout his tenure there. "I've donned a lot of hats and I feel like I've been preparing for this moment for a long time," Walker said of his hiring at Lawrence County. "One thing we're going to do here is not beat ourselves. I believe that's how you win games. We're going to work hard, execute and run the ball to establish a physical identity."