Nease football coach Collin Drafts is excited to finally be practicing with his new team.
Named the new coach of the Panthers in late March, the 33-year-old native of Beaufort, South Carolina, was in Ponte Vedra last week to meet with his team for the second time. As he fulfills his teaching contract in South Carolina, Drafts is traveling to and from the area for spring football.
“I feel at home already,” Drafts said. “I’ve got a great bunch of kids we’ve already been working with.”
Drafts is replacing Tim Krause, who left Nease for the head coaching position at Bishop Kenny High School. The new Panthers coach previously was the head coach of AC Flora High School in Columbia, South Carolina, where he led the Falcons to a 9-3 record in 2018 after they went 0-10 in his first season in 2017. Drafts’ resume also includes a head coaching stint at East River High School and an assistant coaching stint at West Orange High School in Orlando. He played quarterback for seven years in the Arena Football League, and college football at Charleston Southern University.
Drafts told the Recorder his leadership style is consistent with that of a “players’ coach.”
“I tell my players all the time I love them, but I’m going to coach you hard,” Drafts said. “Kind of that tough love. I’m an energetic guy. I like to get out there and get them riled up and get the energy flowing, and I think the players feed off of that.”
As for the X’s and O’s of the game, Drafts said he’s an offensive guy who employs much of what he learned while playing at the college level. That philosophy features a no-huddle, spread offense, which he said will morph around what the team can do at the quarterback position. On defense, Drafts said he plans to employ a 4-2-5 formation.
Nease went 3-7 in 2008, 5-5 in 2017 and 3-6 in 2016. The Panthers will play their spring game versus Palatka on Friday, May 17, at home.
“In the state of Florida, you get 20 practices, a full month, and you get to tee it off and play a real football game,” Drafts said, “and not everybody in the country has it like that, so I’m blessed with the opportunity to be here at Nease.”
