Rush Propst: Transferring can be ‘best interest of kid’
Leanne Propst, a cheerleader at Hoover (Ala.) High School, wanted to cheer for her daddy. So she moved out of state, 265 miles to Moultrie and tried out for the Colquitt County cheerleading team.
She didn’t make the squad.
“You want to talk about tough?” said disappointed dad and Colquitt head football coach Rush Propst. “That’s tough. I went through the same thing a parent would. I got mad. I was upset, mad at the world.”
After an illustrious and controversial nine-year run at Hoover, Propst is entering his fifth season at Colquitt. He recalled the talk he had with his dejected daughter in a recent phone interview and compared it to discussions he has had with players who lost their starting spot.
Those talks can be especially challenging, when they involve a local kid who has been in the system his whole life, only to lose his position to a player who transfers in.
Two of Propst’s starters on last season’s state semifinal team were transfers from Alabama. They were kids who had run out of eligibility in Alabama due to their age, but were eligible to play their senior years in Georgia. He’s had four players from Alabama come over because of age issues during his tenure at Colquitt.
To be eligible in Georgia, a student-athlete must not turn 19 prior to May 1, before the school year. In Alabama, however, a student-athlete is ineligible if he/she turns 19 prior to Aug. 1.
The GHSA approved the Colquitt transfers, but there were still grumblings across ultra-competitive Region 1-AAAAAA.
–David Purdum, dpurdum@ajc.com
Rush Propst is entering his fifth season as head coach at Colquitt County. Photo: Jason Getz / jgetz@ajc.com
‘The best interest of the kids’
By Rush Propst
It started with a phone call from an Alabama high school head coach.
The coach said, “We have a kid who’s not going to be able to play in our state because he’s too old. We’re going to tell the parents to move to Georgia so he can play.”
It was nothing more than that. We didn’t recruit the kids. I didn’t know them. I wouldn’t have known they existed, unless the high school coach in Alabama had called me.
And these weren’t five-star, blue chippers. They were two-star kids, who wouldn’t have received a scholarship if they hadn’t been allowed to play their senior years. Each of them went on to college with assistance.
Our protocol in that situation is to tell the parents they’ve got to make a legitimate, bona fide move. They’ve got to come over here, meet with the school administration and know the protocol required to transfer in and play immediately. And that’s what they did.
Colquitt County is not the only school they called, either. And this has been happening for years and years and years among border states.
People get bent out of shape about transfers, but if I’m a parent and my son is not going to be able to play his senior year, and I have the ability to move to a near-by state where he does have the ability to play, I’m going to move my son.
These parents are only doing what they think is best for their child. The Alabama coach was only doing what he thought was the best interest of the kid.
The other side, of course, is the player who loses his spot to a transfer student. It’s tough, but that’s part of life. If we’re in the business world and somebody can do our job better, they are going to take our spot. This is a game of playing the best players, regardless of who their moms and dads are.
I’m the head football coach, and my daughter and step-daughter didn’t make the cheerleading team. Life does not bring fairness to you because of who your parents are.
A town wants their football team to be good, and they want the best players on the field. Now, if you talk from the parents’ perspective, they want their son and the next 21 best players on the field. It’s been that way now for the 32 years I’ve been in coaching.
We’re all going to fight for our child, but that does not give them the right to play, whether they’ve been in the program from the beginning or move in from out of state.
–As told to David Purdum
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72 comments Add your comment
Plowboy - Viking
August 21st, 2012
8:15 am
He’s lying, some of those kids lived in his poolhouse …… But whatever, his team will be good but won’t win state!!!
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
8:29 am
None of those kids lived in his pool house. The parents of all 4 still reside in Moultrie!
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
8:31 am
True he may not win state. BUT I guarantee he will be much closer to winning it than Lowndes
Plowboy - Viking
August 21st, 2012
8:33 am
So “gopackgo” , did woodyard graduate?
PruittTrojan
August 21st, 2012
8:38 am
My cousin and his family live in Moultrie and are their neighbors and ,no one, other than his wife and their children live there. They don’t even have a pool house. You got whooped and are pissed.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
8:46 am
You tell me? You seem to know. I know his mother works for my father and she is still employed….so….just don’t call someone a liar when you have NO CLUE!
5-Time
August 21st, 2012
8:53 am
LOL….
yo
August 21st, 2012
9:07 am
Alabama coach, “you need to move to Georgia so your kids can play”. But coach what about jobs to support my kids? Don’t worry, I know some one named GoPackGo who has a father and we got you covered. In the NCAAs that would be illegal.
yo
August 21st, 2012
9:11 am
http://colquittcounty.walb.com/news/news/unemployment-rate-colquitt-county/45051
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
9:13 am
September of 2011 was the start date. The dead horse was beaten enough. Let’s move on and play football. Or we could discuss the 3 Madison County football players who showed up the first year Randy Mac coached at Lowndes
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
9:17 am
It sucks when your program is spiraling downward. Trust me…we have been there.
jmo72
August 21st, 2012
9:21 am
Regardless of how the transfers transpired (I mean how do you really prove that)…my question (about at least one of the transfers from AL) has been … and has yet to be answered: how many total semesters/years had they already played football when they transferred to Colquitt? According to GHSA: “A student has eight (8) consecutive semesters or four (4) consecutive years of eligibility from the date of entry into the ninth grade to be eligible for interscholastic competition. There are no provisions to allow for a student to participate beyond eight (8) semesters”.
Now…is this keeping me up at night? Nope. You Moultrie fans keep harping about that win…as flat as we were that night, and with all the “experimenting” we were going through from one week to the next… I’m surprised the score wasn’t more even more lopsided. You had a good team last year (even without the 2 transfers) and you beat us. End of story. This is a new year.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
9:25 am
The Lowndes/Colquitt series has always been streaky. You beat us what 11 times in a row. We had a 9 game win streak in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It’s similar to UGA/UF. Usually decent football games. I am just glad that our team is competitive again and that we don’t have some pansy (Tim Cokely) for a head coach. Like Propst or not….he gets results. I tend to pull for all of our Region teams when we don’t play them but Lowndes makes it hard
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
9:28 am
As a person from Moultrie now living in Atlanta, I would love to see all of the south Georgia teams pulling for each other. They talk so much smack up here about how redneck south Georgia is and how we marry our cousins. I am proud to drive to every Colquitt County game and support my team. I am also happy when I can say a south Georgia team took a north Georgia team out back and opened up a can on them.
Laugh Out Loud
August 21st, 2012
9:49 am
Sounds la-ik sum Hatfields n McCoys bouta kick up sum dust!!! HEEE…HAWWW!!! Git’m fellas!!! (banjo starts to play)
Wildcat Fan
August 21st, 2012
10:13 am
Once a liar and cheat always a liar and a cheat. He is a terrible person. Parents called him, they may have, he cheats and that’s why he was called .
jmo72
August 21st, 2012
10:41 am
@gopackgo…regarding the “talk [in Atlanta] about how redneck south Georgia is”, etc….frankly, folks that do that are obviously prejudice and ignorant. Generally … name calling is simply a lazy person’s attempt to devalue another. I wouldn’t dignify their comments with a response…
BTW…the majority of south GA fans do support one another … unless we’re playing each other.
Gamer
August 21st, 2012
11:45 am
Moulrie is not a big city so I wonder about employment for the parents. I am sure some must have invested many years in jobs back home. Just saying without knowing.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
12:19 pm
Wildcat Fan: How is it cheating? They transferred legally. Legal is legal. Like it or not.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
12:25 pm
I am glad God forgives people. Too bad humans don’t. It’s also sad that people talk about someone who they have never met.
Bubba Weldon
August 21st, 2012
12:51 pm
as a scoreboard operater in the press box for wilcox co high, i meet a lot of referees who will tell you their ain’t nothing like south ga football on friday nite.
Taylor Wooten
August 21st, 2012
12:58 pm
He is lying. A leopard doesn’t change his spots. Too bad a journalist wont dig deeper.
SouthFootball
August 21st, 2012
1:00 pm
This man is lying….just dig deeper if you want the truth. Everyone around these parts (South Georgia) knows it. The evidence is everywhere, but the GHSA ignored it. His fellow coaches have little respect for him, as they should. This man should not be coaching/leading high school kids.
MoultrieObserver
August 21st, 2012
1:09 pm
So we are supposed to take the word of this Man as being true, factual, accurate? Lest we not forget his “track record”.
TransferHogwash
August 21st, 2012
1:13 pm
What about those 2 “transfers” from Alabama his very first year? Rushie needed some LBs, so he went and found him 2 in his old stomping grounds. They lived in a booster’s house on his plantation. Their Mommas drove in from Birmingham every Friday nite to watch them play. Where they living now??
Then, there’s the Woodyard kid.
This program stinks. Everyone knows it.
yo
August 21st, 2012
1:16 pm
too bad theres not a journalist out there to dig deeper, instead of taking this man’s word. good lord…his word is hollow. he’s worse than the worst politician
David Purdum
August 21st, 2012
1:17 pm
Feel free to email me any information you feel is relevant to this story or any other questionable transfers. dpurdum@ajc.com.
a viking fan
August 21st, 2012
1:21 pm
how about the facebook comment that the running back from Alabama posted last year, while on his way to play Camden in the quarters. He stated that this would be the first time that he would be away from his family during Thanksgiving and that he really missed his mom. You would think that ole Rushie would keep his illegal players off of the social media sites…makes you go …hmmm
David Purdum
August 21st, 2012
1:48 pm
Appreciate everyone’s feedback on what Coach Propst and I both knew would be a polarizing topic. I thought I’d give him a forum to tell his side. If you have information that you believe contradicts his story, please feel free to email me, dpurdum@ajc.com, and I’ll do my best to look into it. In the meantime, let’s try to limit the allegations and try to take this in a more productive direction — like figuring out how the GHSA, with it’s limited manpower, can more thoroughly investigate illegitimate transfers. Appreciate the feedback,. and, again, I am interested in any information that you’re willing to share.
Crying Towel
August 21st, 2012
2:01 pm
I’m not even a Paker fan but “a viking fan”…you are pathetic. Did you ever think that just maybe the facebook comment was made by a player that had NEVER been playing during Thanksgiving break because of being eliminated prior years? Boy you viking people sure cry alot…Wanna towel?
Crying Towel
August 21st, 2012
2:04 pm
David..it’s a great article. It’s just the same senario as always…People are jealous and constantly throw stones at people at the top. Look at Buford, Calhoun…even Valdosta and Camden. People hate on success because of their own failures.
Colquitt Supporter
August 21st, 2012
2:08 pm
@ a viking fan – The team left on Thanksgiving Day to travel to Camden if that makes any sense to you. Thankfully you are not representative of the other Viking fans or for that matter any other Region 1AAAAAA school. Go Pack and go Region 1.
Like David said, if you have information, send it to him. Somehow, I doubt he hears from you though.
Oldschool Hawg
August 21st, 2012
2:34 pm
Mr. Purdum, I wouldn’t worry about your inbox getting filled with legitimate information. It just shows how many ignorant people we have around that like to talk smack about people that they’ve never met and do not know. If there were any wrongdoings in Colquitt County I would be willing to bet my paycheck that they’d have been found by now. Our program has had a big bullseye on it since Coach Propst came to town, and I can guarantee you that the GHSA would’ve hammered him by now if there were any rules violations.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
4:09 pm
Where do you get this info. Propst has NEVER had a pool. The transfers families still reside in Moultrie. GEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
4:10 pm
We do understand your frustration at Lowndes. Our program is on the rise while yours….well I don’t think it has to be said.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
4:13 pm
It’s a new season. Let’s move on. No wrong doing was found. This year it’s all Moultrie boys. Let’s see what the excuses are for you at the end of the year Lowndes.
AJC
August 21st, 2012
4:19 pm
@Lowndes Pride : Just wanted to let you know that I deleted your comment because I’ve asked all allegations to be emailed to me instead of posted in this forum. Thank you for understanding. dpurdum@ajc.com
bigtiftblue
August 21st, 2012
4:24 pm
Anyone find it odd that Lowndes is whining about this??
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
4:29 pm
Lowndes is on the decline and they know it. They have to have something to take the focus off of their football program and the fact that they are headed to the bottom of Region 1AAAAAA if they don’t turn it around soon.
MightyPack
August 21st, 2012
4:29 pm
It is really funny where folks come up with some of this crap. Players living in a pool house,facebook,etc.
Someone from Lowndes should e-mail David Pardum the results of the private investigation,paid for by Lowndes, of the Alabama players .
Let’s just play football!
Plowboy-Viking
August 21st, 2012
4:48 pm
Colquitt won 1 game against Lowndes in 11 yrs……our program is going down, history says different! We have hardware, colquitt does not, we are 5-0 in the state championship game, colquitt is not, since rush propst arrived your program has moved in the right direction……but you haven’t even won region!!! Pump your fists , pump your chests
jmo72
August 21st, 2012
4:50 pm
Carefaul gopackgo…getting a little full of yourself there … your comment of: “Lowndes is on the decline and they know it” just may come back at you before the season’s out. I realize it felt really good to beat Lowndes after 11 straight losses …but don’t get too sold on the idea that it will continue.
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
5:01 pm
Let’s talk about the past then. You went 0-9 against the Packers in the late 80’s and early 90’s. That’s in the past. Our 11 losses are now in the past. Let’s move on and play ball. No one has knocked Lowndes or their coach. Let’s show each other some respect. I honestly don’t care if we ever win the Region. As long as we get as far as we do each year, sooner or later we will win the Championship again. Remember your 1999 Championship season. We beat you 21-2 and won the Region. You guys won state that year. Which would you rather have? A Region Championship or a State Championship?
GoPackGo
August 21st, 2012
5:38 pm
We respect the Vikings totally. My point was since 2007 (your last Championship, and Cokely leaving Moultrie) how would you assess both programs?
Viking Pride 97
August 21st, 2012
5:52 pm
GoPackGo you have a point. I don’t think Lowndes is the caliber of team we were a few years ago. Another year or so of early playoff exits and Randy McPherson might be unemployed.
truth teller
August 21st, 2012
6:02 pm
Even your own fans thinks the man is a bad guy, but when u win people have the tendency to overlook things. Do you find it strange all of a sudden kids from Alabama transfer to Moultrie the last 5 years. Yes your own fans. How do I know that I have family in Moultrie, families leave good jobs and there lives, to come work at a chicken house, tht don’t even sound accurate.
wildcat fan
August 21st, 2012
6:13 pm
Let history be the judge. Trust me if you do anything long enough you will get caught and he will get caught. Just like in Alabama when the allegations was made, it was denied just like now, the yruth came to light, it always does
Just a Fan
August 21st, 2012
7:12 pm
Colquitt is not the only one with the Alabama connection-Reuben Foster came to Troup for his junior year and returned to Alabama for his senior year when the coach was fired for recruiting from Alabama.How can families be so mobile as to move from state to state so often-looks like permanent residency should be checked more closely.
Plowboy-Viking
August 21st, 2012
7:53 pm
Since 08 Lowndes 40-10
Since 08 colquitt. 35-18
Since 08 Lowndes 126 colquitt 68
truth teller
August 21st, 2012
8:08 pm
Can anyone tell me where Moultrie Alabama, I mean Moultrie Georgia is. So many players from Alabama year in and year out on that team, I get confused