MORGAN COUNTY
Morgan County football assistant coach Brett Bell is taking on a new role heading into the 2023 season.
Bell was previously the defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs during the past few years but is now taking over the offensive coordinator position.
He is replacing Loren Purvis, who spent the past two years at MCHS, but recently accepted the head coaching job at South Effingham High School.
Bell told the Lake Oconee News he is excited about to opportunity to return to the offensive side of the ball, especially after playing quarterback and previously coaching the position at Morgan County.
“In coaching, my path originally started on offense,” Bell said. “It’s so cool to see it come full circle.”
Bell’s coaching career started at Henderson Middle School in Butts County, where he was in charge of the offensive and defensive lines, linebackers and running backs.
He then received a promotion to coach the varsity team at Jackson High School, but after that spring, he came back to MCHS.
Under former Bulldogs’ longtime head coach Bill Malone, Bell served in many roles on offense and defense, but now he’s back where he started working for current MCHS head coach Clint Jenkins.
“I was living close to Morgan [County] when I got the offer from coach Malone and I couldn’t turn it down,” Bell said. “My family was in Madison, where I was from, so I had always wanted to coach here. And it was the perfect job at the time. I actually got to play and work under coach Malone.”
Funny enough, Bell also played for Jenkins when he was previously with the Bulldogs. However, heading into his third season under him as an assistant coach, he’s going to be in a brand-new role.
“He was my JV football coach when I was the quarterback in ninth and tenth grade,” Bell added. “I feel like he [Jenkins] is the exact same guy as he was back then. It’s been great the past few years.”
Bell has learned a lot from both Malone and Jenkins and he applies that knowledge when he’s on the field.
“They’re both big on accountability, discipline and doing things the right way,” he said. “When [coach] Jenkins got this job [two years ago], I already knew the vision he was going to bring here.
“I have always had a good relationship with both of them, especially coach Jenkins, though. My dad actually coached with him, they were on the same staff. …I have taken what I’ve learned from them and used it when I am on the field. They’ve both been fantastic mentors for me over the years.”
Bell is now taking over an offense that set program records in 2022 under the direction of Purvis. The Bulldogs also return a lot of their weapons on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Talan Fuller, running back Jay Dorsey and tight end Antavious Elder.
Bell is hoping Morgan County’s offense will set even more records and raise the bar in 2023 as well.
He’s also not going to change much about the offense as he and Purvis are very similar in a lot of ways.
“Coach Purvis and I have similar verbiage in our football terms. So, what made the process a smooth transition is everything formational, and the plays that he called, is exactly on defense of how I tagged the data for opposing offenses,” Bell said. “So, we’re going to have the same terminology in our offense. You’re going to see similar personnel groups and formations, but coach Jenkins has given me the authority to have my own style and plays within the confines of the system.”
Bell is going to run some of the same concepts but wants to add his own twist on the offense, too.
Even so, he also thanks his predecessor for setting him up for success as he transitions into this role.
“I do want to say that coach Purvis did a very good job and left me in a great situation on how we developed the players in the offense,” Bell said. “Everyone is very in tune, especially our quarterback, with what they’re supposed to do. So, it has definitely made my job a whole lot easier.”
Under Purvis, MCHS scored a total of 372 points (33.8 points per game) in 2022, which was a new program record. Also, several Bulldogs’ skill players broke single-season player records this season.
Morgan County running back Jacere Cooper broke the single-season rushing yards record. The senior rushed for 1,470 yards during his senior campaign at Morgan County. He averaged 133.0 yards per contest and tied for a team’s second-best 6.9 yards per rush. Cooper also scored 16 TDs in 2022.
Bulldogs’ wide receiver TJ Thompson also had himself a record-setting senior season. He hauled in team-highs in receptions (36), receiving yards (824) and TDs (14), respectively. Thompson’s 16 receiving TDs set a single-season record, previously held by Georgia basketball’s Jailyn Ingram.
“After losing Jacere and TJ, my expectations are still high,” Bell said. “They are to be efficient at what we do, especially at running the football, and to grow a little bit in the passing game.”
As Bell takes over the offense, Jenkins will work with the defense, while also being the head coach.
“It’s pretty cool when one of your former players becomes a coach on your staff. So, having him on defense for the past couple of years, he did an unbelievable job,” Jenkins said. “He’s a smart coach. When coach Purvis left, I told Brett that I had tremendous confidence in him taking over that role. He really dove at the opportunity and did an amazing job with the offense this past spring.”