Putnam County football recently wrapped up the month of June with a camp at rival Morgan County.
The War Eagles are now on a short break due to the GHSA-mandated dead week but will start back up July 13, when they host GMC Prep and Brentwood Academy for a 7-on-7 camp.
According to Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin, his team has seen a lot of progress over the summer since scrimmaging against Jefferson County on May 19, to conclude spring camp.
At this point, the first-year head coach said his players are competing at a high level, working hard in the weight room, on the practice field, and competing against other teams at various camps. Plus, the War Eagles have been installing Harvin’s offense and defense.
“I would say slowly, but we’ve progressed and we’re getting a majority of our playbook in,” Harvin said. “We don’t have everything in, but defensively, we’re evolving a little bit and getting our kids in the right position. We have moved a couple of kids around on defense. Offensively, we’ve been creating some competition at every position, so that is what this summer has really been about. It’s trying to create competition and see who helps us out at what spots.”
Going into the fall, Putnam County’s quarterback competition is going to be the most interesting to watch. Sophomore Branan Griffin and junior Jamarion Robertson are the top candidates.
Griffin was the starter under center for most of last season and played in all 12 of Putnam County’s games, in which he completed 62-of-101 pass attempts for 676 yards, two TDs and six picks.
Griffin, a freshman in 2022, was replaced by former teammate and current South Carolina Gamecock Jalon Kilgore in certain situations last season. Meanwhile, Robertson was the JV quarterback.
So, now in Harvin’s new offensive system, each is battling it out for the starting job heading into the fall. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Griffin and Robertson could share the field, too.
Putnam County also has a few questions about its offensive and defensive lines, as well as the skill positions on offense, while the defense on the back end will have some competition in its ranks.
Regardless, Harvin isn’t focused right now on who is going to be the starter at each position. He’s paying more attention to how hard his players work and seeing who wants to be on top in the end.
“Everything is kind of still new to [the players]. This is their first summer under me,” Harvin said. “You know, trying to build a standard and meet those expectations. It’s really been fun.
“We’ve also tried to break up the monotony of the summer of just lifting, working out, and running by doing these padded and 7-on-7 camps. They give us an idea of where we’re at and what we need to work on. There’s been a lot of bright spots at the 7-on-7s and padded camps, too.”
After putting in three days a week throughout June, this month the War Eagles are going to ramp things up by practicing and working out four days a week.
As the heat continues to rise in July, Harvin is hoping to keep his players more involved as well. They’ll be doing some more camps, but also looking to build a bond as the summer comes to an end.
“After this much-deserved week off, we’re going to start July pretty hard and go from there,” he said. “We’re going to Fitzgerald [High School] around the 18th and do another OTA [organized team activity] padded camp. So, that will tell us where we’re at – at this point – after that camp.”