Brock ready to lead Mitchell County back to glory days

CAMILLA —Deshon Brock feels like he just won the lottery, and with good reason.

The newest Mitchell County athletic director and head football coach described his new school as a “gold mine of untapped potential” and said he is excited to lead the program.

“Personally, I think I inherited a gold mine,” he said. “There’s talent at every level, even going down to the middle school you see athletes. At the elementary school and you see athletes. I went to a baseball game and saw kids that were just pure athletic talent. Like I said, I feel like it’s a gold mine.”

Brock spent the past 13 years at Long County High as the head basketball coach and offensive coordinator. When former head football coach Larry Cornelius departed and the search for his replacement began, Brock said he was drawn to the position based on clips of the team he found online.

“When I saw the highlights of the team on MaxPreps, I just clicked on the highlights to take a look, and I saw a tremendous amount of athletes,” he said. “A lot of team speed. I just saw talent at every position, and I said that’s a dream job. That’s a great job to have, so I went for it.”

As far as the football team goes, he said he believes he has a solid foundation and then some, and the Eagles should be able to contend under his first year of tutelage.

“The previous coaching staff was heading in the right direction, 9-3 season, second round in the state playoffs, and I just want to continue in the direction they were going,” he said. “Tweak a few things, make a few adjustments and I think the sky’s the limit for Mitchell County High School.”

With the team achieving such success during the Cornelius era, Brock has big shoes to fill. While the expectations are high, he said he doesn’t feel pressure to produce, only excitement for the task at hand.

“The bar is set high, but I have high standards for myself and nobody hates to lose as much as I do,” he said. “I don’t feel any outside pressure, but the pressure I put on myself to excel motivates me.”

He added that that passion and drive will not only help him guide the football team, but the entire athletic program as well. The girls basketball team is fresh off a season in which they made it to the state tournament, the track & field teams have seen success in previous state meets, and the baseball team is just a game below .500 at 4-5. Brock said much like the football team, the entire athletic program has a lot of potential and is heading in the right direction.

“As a whole, again I’m gonna reiterate, it’s a gold mine in every sport from track & field to basketball to baseball,” he said. “I understand the baseball team hasn’t traditionally been very good, but with the resources that they have collectively, they can turn it around.

“The track team can continue to excel and the basketball program can go back to the glory days of the early to mid 1990s and even in the late 2000s. That’s the direction we want to go back to, winning multiple championship in multiple sports. That’s the goal.”