With his steady tone and candid manner, St. Augustine head coach Brian Braddock embodies the no-nonsense style that’s helped cement the Yellowjackets as a Northeast Florida powerhouse.
The Old City’s gridiron general spoke with The Citizen ahead of tonight’s road showdown with Bolles, sharing his perspective on the matchup and the broader state of the game in St. Johns County.
You’ve got a major matchup against Bolles tonight, one of the area’s perennial powers. What’s the message to the kids ahead of this one?
We play teams like this early so we know where we stand — whether we can go in there and do our job or get exposed. For the kids, the vibe is different when they know they could get their tail kicked. That awareness changes the feeling before the game. But our message to them doesn’t change. Pay attention to the basics, stay disciplined.
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The Yellowjackets are once again included in several significant rankings this year, locally, statewide and even nationally. How much attention do you pay to those assessments?
We don’t ever talk about it. Our program has been fortunate for 25 years to pop up in rankings, but they don’t mean anything week to week. This year’s recognition comes from what we’ve done the past few years — now we have to prove it again.
You’ve got a dynamic squad this year, but it’s a young one. What strengths have you seen on offense so far?
Our offensive line has done a nice job — we’ve got several returning players, so there’s stability. We also brought back two tailbacks from last year. And having one of the best players around in Somourian Wingo has been a big blessing for us.
How would you describe your defense through the first few games?
We only returned one starter on defense. The group is athletic but very young and immature, so they’ll benefit from exposure to games like tonight. We need a lot of growth.
You’ve been at the helm at St. Augustine since 2016. Nearly a decade back at your alma mater. How would you describe the current state of St. Johns County high school football?
Overall it’s strong. But we’ve lost a lot of good people. A lot of quality coaches have gone to places like Georgia, where maybe they are seeing some opportunities and places with more resources. We lost our defensive coordinator there this year. That’s something I hope we can address in the future to avoid the turnover we’re seeing.
And what about the player talent pool in St. Johns County?
That part is outstanding. We’ve seen quality players across positions — quarterbacks, receivers, everywhere. The depth is impressive now across all eight schools. That wasn’t the case when I first got here; some of these programs didn’t even exist yet. Today, there’s talent across the board.
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The Jackets will take the field against Bolles in Jacksonville at Skinner-Barco Stadium at 7 p.m. tonight.
