Having an optimistic attitude comes naturally for Jeff Hancock.

The Vidalia High School head coach’s players reflect his sense of positivity, despite a rough start to the season.

After inheriting a Vidalia Viking program that has won five games in the last five years, Hancock expected a two- to three-year process before turning around Vidalia’s program. But going into a matchup against Bolton Friday night, Hancock’s Vikings stood 0-3.

“I hate losing,” Hancock said. “But you can see the progress we’re making. We have 12 seniors, but only three of them have played football before. We have a lot of inexperience, but we’re getting better. People only look at the wins and losses, though.”

A true northerner and college offensive coordinator, Hancock came to Vidalia from Michigan when the Vikings’ head coaching job opened up. The opening allowed him to come with his wife Leigh, who is a Vidalia native, back home with family, which really is his only life outside of football.

He’s adjusted to the south well, but he had no idea high school football was so engrained within the community.

“The biggest difference about the north and south is this — people care a lot more about their high school football down here,” Hancock said.

Sunday

Hancock thinks family first in terms of preparation.

A usual weekend for Hancock typically consists of him watching tape and formulating a game plan to share with the coaches on Monday, but this week was different.

With hopes of adding more wrinkles to the offense and introducing a new formation to his team, he met with offensive line coaches Kejuane Bates and Josh Daniel to go over blocking assignments.

“It was a good opportunity to talk some about some things we need to correct and how to integrate some new things,” Hancock said.

Hancock finished his game plan to introduce to his coaching staff before practice Monday.

 

Monday

The offense is Hancock’s baby.

Because of his offensive expertise, Hancock wanted to bring in a defensive coordinator to oversee the defense, enabling him to spend the majority of his time going over the offense with his players. So Hancock brought in a Viking legend, or as he puts it, “The guy everything is named after.”

Former Vidalia head coach and current defensive coordinator Dee Faircloth stands to the side during an offensive walkthrough.

“Jeff does a good job,” said Faircloth, who coached at Vidalia for 41 years. “He’s good at explaining the offense to the kids.”

Since Hancock took the job in March, he had a plan to install a double-wing offense for a team that is mostly inexperienced and lacking a true pocket passer.

After the rough start offensively, averaging eight points per game in the first three contests, Hancock has decided to open up the offense a little more by inserting the ‘Ace’ formation, which features a running back and wide receivers, as opposed to all running backs and no wide receivers in the double wing.

“If you have any questions, please ask,” said Hancock, lining up his team and using the same terminology in a different set Monday. “That’s what today is for.”

As Hancock lined up and covered a Viking wide receiver on an Ace passing play, long-time assistant coach Denny Hinson acknowledged the depth of Hancock’s offensive knowledge.

“We’ve never gone over routes in this detail before he got here,” Hinson said. “He knows his stuff. He goes over all of the details.”

Before handing the team over to Faircloth to practice defense, Hancock demonstrated the appropriate way to break out of a route before quarterback Cole Cangemi threw a pass his way. Hancock turned and missed the pass, pausing in his route and breaking a smile.

“That’s why I played offensive line in high school,” said Hancock while the players laughed.

Faircloth handled the conditioning after the walkthrough, having the players run 30-yard sprints 20 times.

“I handed the conditioning off to Coach Faircloth because I tend to light,” Hancock said. “Eighty degrees in Michigan is considered hot, so down here, I wasn’t sure how far to push them.”

Tuesday

‘X’ marks the spot.

Some coaches use white boards and markers to illustrate instruction, but Hancock uses spray paint and grass to teach new concepts.

Aerosol spray paint in hand, Hancock builds upon Monday’s walkthrough by adding tiny, tedious details in Tuesday’s full pads practice. Those tiny details that include proper drop backs and the correct angle and distance quarterbacks should take to hand the ball off are aided by lines spray painted on the field.

Before going over those instructions with his skill players, Hancock met with his offensive line, a group Hancock can speak to from first-hand experience.

“We’re going to keep things real simple as we start to introduce pass play,” said Hancock, using lines in the grass to help linemen know how far they need to be from the next lineman in the Ace formation.

Hancock demonstrated pass-blocking technique before he had his linemen enforce it.

“I’ve got my feet turned out, allowing me to get all of my cleats into the ground, my chest is out and elbows are in,” Hancock said.

The players took turns mirroring Hancock’s form, forcing Hancock to stop them and make slight critiques.

“Look, watch how I get in my stance,” Hancock said. “I look pretty good in my pass set too, don’t I?”

Working with the quarterbacks and running backs, Hancock drilled timing into the heads of his players.

“I want you to work like a clock, with me?” Hancock asked. “Bring me one of those (spray paint) cans, Christian (Wroten).”

Hancock sprayed a line stemming from the center to running back, and then followed that line up with another line to show where the quarterbacks should be on a play-action.

“That’s perfect,” said Hancock, after quarterback Landon Seyfarth executed the play-action and threw from the back of the pocket. “It’s almost like you were following a line drawn up.”

“It’s like playing Madden, Coach,” said fullback Nathan Knapp at the next station Hancock visited. “It’s like hitting that joystick to see what the play is.”

“I guess being an art major for a year paid off,” Hancock answered.

 

Wednesday

The Vidalia head coach was late to practice Wednesday. He had other obligations to attend.

Hancock was present at a mandatory meeting against bullying with other notable faculty in Concordia Parish.

This allowed Faircloth to use most of practice time to go over the defense.

Despite the Vikings’ 0-3 start, the players maintained positive attitudes.

“(Hancock) has a good balance of getting us fired up, but he also shows us what we did wrong too,” Cangemi said.

Immediately following his meeting, Hancock rejoined his team at 5:10 p.m., an hour into practice.

Thursday

Mental exercise dominates Thursdays, and not just on the practice field. Because of an arrangement Hancock has made with teachers, his players meet with certain faculty members in classes they are struggling with after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“We call it study table,” Hancock said. “The teachers have really been receptive and cooperative with us.”

After the tutor session, the players hit the field and go over last-minute details before Friday’s homecoming contest against Bolton.

Friday

“I’ve really never had to deal with homecoming before, well at a high school level,” said Hancock, who has 18 years college of coaching experience.

So Hancock avoided it as first year head coach of the Vikings.

Instead of hanging around during homecoming festivities, Hancock put his team on a bus and had them warm up at Cathedral High School before putting them back on the bus and bringing them over right before the game began.

As the game commenced, the Vikings’ double-wing formation led to a three-and-out series, which led to Hancock changing over to the ace formation on the second series.

Despite Vidalia’s ability to pick up first downs and get into the red zone twice, Bolton kept Vidalia from punching it in. The Vikings went into halftime down 7-0.

Before the second half began, Hancock walked around and patted each player on the helmet, pumping them up for the second half.

After the Bears took a 14-0 lead, Hancock remained positive, pacing up and down the sidelines clapping his hands.

“Let’s go,” he repeated to his team.

The Vikings responded with a 50-yard drive, but the drive was stalled when Hancock’s trick play was spoiled by a Bolton defensive player holding the Vikings’ intended target. A flag wasn’t thrown.

Hancock raced onto the field and confronted a referee, demanding to know why a flag wasn’t called, but his words fell on deaf ears.

As Bolton picked off Vidalia quarterback Landon Seyfarth in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Hancock approached the referee.

“Mr. Ref, did he catch that in bounds?”

“You only need one foot to catch it in bounds in high school,” the referee answered.

“I know that,” said Hancock, growing impatient with the questionable calls of the referees. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

As the game ended, Hancock met with his team in the end zone, giving them a pep talk that was fueled by love and intensity.

“It’s my fault for tolerating a lot of (these mistakes), but it’s not going to happen anymore,” Hancock said afterward. “We’re changing things around here. Our guys are still learning how to win.”