5 reasons why Gainesville (GA) will win the AAAAAA state championship under Josh Niblett in 2023

Niblett heads into just his second season with the Red Elephants, but they look ready to take the next step

GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA- One of the first things Josh Niblett said when he took the job at Gainesville High School was a sounding board for what he wanted the community to look forward to: I didn’t come here to win games. I’m coming to win championships. 

Last season, Niblett nearly turned his words into reality when he led the Red Elephants to the AAAAAA state championship game, falling 35-28 to Langston Hughes. Niblett isn’t used to losing when it comes to state championship games. 

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Coming over from his well known time in Alabama at Hoover High School, Niblett led the Buccaneers to six state championships in Class 7A, becoming the standard of winning in the Yellowhammer State. In just one season, Niblett had Gainesville on the cusp of winning it all and knocking on the door isn’t what he signed up for. 

He wants to bust it down. 

We give you five reasons why we believe that door will fall and Gainesville wins the AAAAAA state championship this fall in Atlanta. 

5. The Road to Atlanta prepares Red Elephants 

The 2023 will start with a Marist team that Gainesville started off the Niblett era with a convincing 34-23 win last season. They’ll host this time around and then the rest of the regular season slate isn’t an easy one whatsoever. The Red Elephants will hit the road before taking on a talented Coconut Creek team out of Florida. Matchups against Apalachee, Habersham Central and Jackson County are also on the schedule as well. This team will have faced a bevy of talented teams before the postseason. 

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4. Plenty of skill talent back on offense 

Someone pessimistic ally might take a look at this offense and say there was too much experience that graduated from last season’s bunch. Baloney. The Red Elephants bring back enough and then some to the offensive attack, including wide receivers Travien Watson and Sky Niblett. The running back position is solidified with Hebron Christian transfer Gavin Hall coming in after rushing for over 2,500 yards and nine touchdowns. This offense has plenty of firepower to win it all this fall. 

3. Talented secondary is as good as they come 

Only yielding 16 points per game a year ago, Gainesville’s defense was talented last season and could be even better this time around. The Red Elephants returns a bevy of members back to a secondary unit that recorded 19 interceptions a season ago. One player that’ll be on this unit now is North Carolina commitment Zion Ferguson. Ferguson is ranked one of the top cornerbacks in the Peach State and will lead a very experienced defensive backfield. Safety Nick Taylor, an Appalachian State commitment, also is another key player on this unit. 

2. Baxter Wright’s abilities on offense 

Back for his senior season, there’s a lot to like about the two-sport athlete. Baxter, who also plays on the baseball team, was statistically one of the top passers in Georgia last season. The signal caller completed 223-of-306 (72 percent) passes for 3,343 yards, 40 touchdowns and rushed for an additional 563 with nine scores. Accounting for nearly 50 touchdowns almost 4,000 yards of offense makes Wright one of the most valuable players on this Gainesville team. As Wright goes, so does the Red Elephants. 

1. Niblett’s experience navigating to the state championship 

When you’ve already led a football program to six state championships at your previous stop, you have kind of an idea of how to guide your team through the season, playoffs. Yes, it’s a different state from Alabama to Georgia, but after one year under his belt, Niblett seems to be doing just fine. His Red Elephants have a stockpile of talent coming back and along with his expertise of leading young athletes on the high school level, getting back to the state championship game and winning it all shouldn’t be a if, but more of a when Gainesville wins it all in AAAAAA. 

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.