By Stan Veitch/Sports Correspondent
Welcome home, Russell “Rusty” Davis.
At Thursday’s special called meeting of the Etowah County Board of Education, Davis was confirmed as the new head football coach at Glencoe High.
A 1985 graduate of Hokes Bluff, Davis has spent the last 24 years in various assistant coaching jobs at Smiths Station – a Class 7A school in Lee County, near Auburn. He also coached for two seasons at Woodward Academy, near Atlanta, Ga.
“I’ve been away from Etowah County for a long time, but I still consider it home,” Davis said. “I’ve always referred to Etowah County as home. Now I hope to give back what it’s given to me all these years.”
Glencoe principal Charlton Giles said that he received a large number of resumes.
“At first, it was a monumental task to go through them,” Giles said. “We thinned them out again and again, and by the end, it was obvious that Coach Davis was a perfect fit. He’s everything we wanted in a coach – not just x’s and o’s, but in integrity, character and Godliness.”
Davis has a Master’s Degree in mathematics.
“I’ve been influenced by so many coaches,” Davis said. “Coach (Mike) Estes – now retired from coaching baseball at Hokes Bluff – guided me through how to teach math and coach.”
Davis played quarterback for coach Danny Payne at Hokes Bluff. He spent two years at East Central (Mississippi) Community College, then played three seasons at Millsaps. He also played basketball and ran track.
Davis plans to start at Glencoe right after spring break.
His wife’s name is Melanie and they have a son, Evan, who is currently an eighth-grader.
Davis replaces Lee Ozmint, who resigned after 10 seasons. The 2015 Yellow Jackets went 9-2 and made the state playoffs for the seventh straight season.