Newly hired Putnam County football coach Joel Harvin literally hit the ground running on Feb. 17, when he and his family arrived in Eatonton.
As the job transition began, the former Early County head coach began meeting with current coaches and players to get settled in at PCHS.
“It takes a little while to get settled but we finally did,” Harvin said. “So, I got to meet the kids and see a little bit of their offseason process. There were already some coaches here that had them lifting weights and working out, plus implementing the things I wanted to do here at Putnam.”
Harvin accepted the job as Putnam County High School’s new head football coach late in January and quickly began the search to find a home in Eatonton and move his family here.
Putnam County then began spring practice two weeks ago, which is the first time Harvin got to see his new team in person. Now, he and his War Eagles are set to take the field together for the first time at 7:30 p.m. Friday as they host Jefferson County at Al Reaves Field for the spring exhibition game.
“In the spring, we installed a basic offense and defense. That’s where we’re at right now,” Harvin said. “After, we will get some new coaches here and start to take the next step heading into the summer.”
Harvin is excited to see what his players can do when they take to the gridiron Friday night. He and the players are both in a transitional period, with a lot of new things being learned.
Friday’s game against former region rival Jefferson County, which will conclude spring practices, will give him a better idea of where his team stands heading into summer workouts.
“I want to challenge [these kids] to take the next step and be even better football players,” Harvin said. “Trying to maximize their potential is a goal for us. Another main goal is getting the numbers up as high as we can get them. Right now, we’ve done that with our eighth-grade group. We’ve got quite a good group of them coming out, so that’s a great base for us to start out. Make sure year in and year out that we’ve got a good quality eighth-grade group coming up to our level.”
Putnam County went 9-3 last season and made it to the second round of the Class AA state playoffs. Unfortunately, for a second straight year, Fitzgerald ended the War Eagles’ playoff hopes.
Harvin hopes to get his team back to that point – and beyond. However, in his first year, Putnam County returns only six seniors in the class of 2024, so this season’s team is young and relatively inexperienced.
“We’re going to have to play a lot of these rising ninth and 10th graders on Friday night. We will be throwing them into the fire,” Harvin said. “It’s going to be a great test for our younger guys. Either way, it’s been a process getting to know the kids and the coaches that are already here.
“I am excited about the types of kids we’ve got. They show up ready to work and ready to practice every day. They also look forward to getting better,” he added.“Obviously, everything is new to them, so they’re eager to learn the system. I am excited to see what we get to do with them.”