Lee County hires Bull Barge as defensive coordinator

Wayne Grandy of the Moultrie Observer contributed to this article.

LEESBURG — Lee County head football coach Dean Fabrizio didn’t have to look far to find the Trojans’ next defensive coordinator.

Fabrizio turned to one of the hottest young defensive minds in Georgia — hiring Bull Barge, who helped lead Worth County to an undefeated state championship last season.

Barge will take over the Lee County defense this fall, replacing Logan Rebstock, who has stepped away from coaching. Barge’s hiring represents the only change to the Trojans’ coaching staff heading into the 2026 season.

“We’re excited to welcome Coach Barge to the staff and to continue the tradition of great defense at Lee County,” Fabrizio said. “Coach Barge is one of the top young coaches in the state, in my opinion. He has great knowledge and brings great energy. Very excited for him to join Lee County and continue the tradition of great defense.”

Barge will arrive in Leesburg after coordinating one of the most dominant defenses in Georgia last fall.

In his second season running the defense under Worth County head coach Jeff Hammond, Barge’s Rams shut out five opponents and allowed just 12.2 points per game while marching to the Class A Division I state championship with a perfect season.

The performance caught the attention of Fabrizio, who is looking to help the Trojans return to their defensive dominance.

Lee County finished 8-4 last season. Since 2017, the Trojans have established themselves as one of the state’s premier programs, winning six region championships and two state titles while averaging 11 wins per season.

Though still early in his coaching career, Barge brings a strong football pedigree.

A standout linebacker at Colquitt County, Barge was a key leader of the Packers’ 15-0 state championship team in 2014, helping Colquitt capture the first of back-to-back undefeated state titles. He left Moultrie as the school’s career tackles leader, a record he still holds.

Despite being considered undersized at 5-foot-10, Barge went on to start at linebacker at the University of South Alabama, where he became one of the program’s top tacklers. In 2018, he earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors, and Street & Smith’s Football Magazine named him the league’s hardest hitter.

After his playing career ended, Barge moved quickly into coaching.

Former Colquitt County coach Rush Propst, who once called Barge one of the five most impactful players he had ever coached, hired him in 2020 to coach safeties at Valdosta. Barge later coached cornerbacks at Thomasville before returning to Colquitt County to coach inside linebackers under Sean Calhoun in 2022 and 2023.

During that two-year stretch, the Packers went 25-2 and reached the state semifinals and quarterfinals. Among the players Barge helped develop were Kamal Bonner, now at the University of Miami, and Jerron Blakely, currently starting at Carson-Newman.