Hurricanes Excel at Reinhardt
Have you ever heard of Reinhardt University? If you read these pages, you should be familiar with that name by now even though it is not as “household,” as Georgia or Georgia Tech. Reinhardt is steadily becoming increasingly more “at home,” here in Monticello as there are four recent graduates of Jasper County High School that are active with its football program.
Head Coach Drew Cronic told me that he is excited to see such quality come out of Monticello and told me a bit about how he came to this opinion citing all of the recent Monticello additions to that program.
Football standout, A.J. Thomas was the pioneer signee with the Reinhardt football program and is currently a senior starting linebacker for the Cherokee County University’s Eagles. A.J. was a top performer as a Hurricane, but has “steadily increased in both talent and ability, all while becoming more athletic and one of the better linebacker’s in the conference,” according to Drew Cronic, Reinhardt University’s Head Football Coach.
Coach Cronic also said “A.J. is smart. He is a good student and he comes from a good family. We are super proud of him and like what he is doing in our program.”
The coach also mentioned in speaking of family, that there is now a second Thomas, Lane, that has joined the football program at Reinhardt. Coach Cronic said, “now we’ve got Lane. He has been injured a lot and we are trying to get him well….His injured leg is healing and that boy can run. We are excited about what he is going to bring to this team once he is healthy,” said the coach.
Another key success at Reinhardt is Quincy Standifer. Quincy was one of the three 2015 graduates of Jasper County High School recruited by Reinhardt, and has been playing some special teams and defense. Coach Cronic told me that “Quincy is the guy with the most success as a new guy. He’s the second team guy and the go to on the ‘outside,’ being used as a rover guy.” The coach told me that Quincy is a great kid with a great family and that he has a solid foundation.
Garrison Williams, another 2015 JCHS graduate is a part of the program this year as a “redshirt” freshman. The coach said that Garrison has a good motor and he is working with recruiting some currently. “Garrison is such a special kid. He pleases the staff and will do anything he can to help out.”
And lastly (but not least, at all) is Brandi McMichael. Brandi is a team manager and, according to Coach Cronic, “she’s actually the most valuable. She is sweet and quiet and comes in and smiles but gets to work. Brandi doesn’t care if she is placing and taking care of equipment or doing laundry. She is a huge asset.” Brandi is also a 2015 graduate of JCHS.
When asked about the future, Coach Cronic was very complimentary of JCHS Football Head Coach Doug Huff stating “I know Doug well and we played together at Georgia. I know what kind of program he runs down there and I think that he does a great job. I know that with the increase in familiarity we will see some quality players from that program come in and do an outstanding job for us.”
The coach was quick to tell me that the Reinhardt Eagles are currently 4-0 for the season. He said that he as a coach is “excited,” and that they “have started something fresh and new in our program and we’re currently 14th in the country.”
He told me that the university in general is growing and diversifying. He said that the university has a new president and things have really begun to take off. He encouraged high school students to visit and consider Reinhardt for both academics and athletics after high school stating, “we are in a great location. It’s beautiful and convenient to Atlanta. Reinhardt is becoming more and more popular. The school is growing and is moving in a positive direction,” he said. “I am excited and look forward to the future and getting more caliber athletes like those four.”
