'Our program is going to flip Augusta on its head:' Ezzard Horn's plan for Cross Creek football

If you want to see what kind of program new Cross Creek football coach Ezzard Horn wants to build on the gridiron, consult the hardwood first.

On the last day of July, Horn was officially named the Razorbacks’ new head football coach less than three weeks before Cross Creek kicks off its football season on August 19 against Butler. That’s not the kind of timing you’d typically like for installing a new football coach.

But for Horn, who’s also an assistant on two-time defending state champion Cross Creek boys basketball coach Lawrence Kelly’s staff, the timing is perfect.

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Horn’s presence on Kelly’s coaching staff has been instrumental in Cross Creek’s development into a Class AAA state powerhouse. And as far as Horn is concerned, he’s intent on following the basketball team’s blueprint to success in football.

“We want to do the same exact thing for football that we did for basketball,” Horn said. “When I first came on to the basketball staff, I’d go into the barbershop and say we’re gonna win state championships. They would call me crazy. But now when I walk in there, they don’t say that anymore.”

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That’s because, thanks to Kelly, Horn and company, a once-moribund basketball program has flipped to being one of Georgia’s best. And as Horn takes on the arduous task of infusing life into a Cross Creek football team that’s had just three non-losing seasons in 15 years, he says the key to success is bringing that basketball energy to the football field.

“I always said that if I got the chance to coach football, our program is going to flip Augusta on its head,” Horn said. “You’ve gotta bring fresh ideas into a place like this. You’ve got to work these kids hard and develop culture from their freshman year. You’ve gotta get in the middle schools and develop things there. Augusta is primed for a boom in football. But you’ve just gotta have the right kind of leadership in place at these schools.”

For all of Horn’s accomplishments as an assistant basketball coach, he’s also no stranger to the football sidelines. A native of Homestead, Florida, Horn started his college football career as a tight end at Georgia Military College. After earning first-team all-American honors there, he moved on to West Georgia where he lettered all four years and helped the Wolves win a conference championship.

His first soiree into coaching football came at Spirit Creek Middle School where he served as a defensive coordinator before spending time as Glenn Hills Middle’s head coach.

He spent time coaching the offense at Cross Creek as well. Two years ago, some of the players he saw as freshmen and sophomores are now juniors and seniors. They already know what Horn can bring.

“They know I’m crazy. They know I’m wild,” Horn said. “But those kids that have been with me, they also know I’m gonna love them and push them to be the best they can be.”

Once Horn realized he was going to get the Cross Creek football job, he hit the ground running shoring up his staff that includes offensive line coach Tommy Kilpatrick, and coaches Antonio Nabors, Melvin Adams and Jared Williams. Kilpatrick is the only other coach aside from Horn who’s actually in the building as school staff. The rest are community coaches. But he’s excited about what they can bring.

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“I know how the dynamic is different when you’re a head coach versus an assistant,” he said. “Head coach is Daddy. He’s gotta tell you no from time to time. He’s going to be the bad guy — say some things you don’t like. Assistant coaches, the players gravitate to those guys because they can relate to them in a different way. That’s how it is with me on the basketball court. I like the group of guys we have on our sideline. I think they’ll be good for our players.”

Strengthening player personnel is job number one for Ezzard. Before being named as head coach, Cross Creek athletic director Kim Schlein said numbers were hovering “around 30” as far as kids attending practices and workouts. Horn knows that can grow once he begins instilling the culture he believes will turn Cross Creek football into a winner.

“That’s way more important right now than wins and losses,” Horn said. “I don’t care about wins and losses right now. I care about finishing games the right way. I care about going out there and competing. If you lose, lose with your chest out and your head up. Don’t lay down. I don’t care if we’re losing 50-2, if you bring that mentality that you’re gonna get back up and fight every time you get knocked down, that’s gonna mess with your opponent’s mind. That turns into respect.”

Horn says he thinks it’ll take “about two to three years” to start seeing the results on the field he wants to see. He calls himself “a big weight room guy,” so beyond worrying about X’s and O’s minutiae, Horn is chomping at the bit to get his guys bigger and stronger in the weight room.

That said, he said he can pinpoint a number of guys already on the team who he believes can make immediate impact. Among them, senior Bryant Simpson, a four-year starter at defensive back and wide receiver who plays football and basketball, sophomore Christian Robinson who will split duties at quarterback and running back, as will junior Keyshawn Posley.

Tyreek Talbert îs a kid Horn says “can do it all for us.” Denzell Wilcox is a three-year player who can help anchor the defensive and offensive lines. And junior Jonathan Underwood is a kid at defensive end Horn says “can be a hell of a football player if he puts his mind to it.”

That’s about as far as the new coach is willing to go as far as predicting team success, strengths and weaknesses. The rest will become clearer the more time his team spends competing against others on the field.

“How good can we be? Ask me after our scrimmage against Lincoln County next week,” Horn said. “The more our guys play and compete, the better each player naturally gets from game to game and year to year. Then it’s up to the coaching staff to cultivate that natural improvement so you can double that talent. That’s how you build a program.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Ezzard Horn brings energy, familiarity to Cross Creek football