By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – As the 2023 season looms, few schools can exceed the excitement that is being displayed on Highway 411, specifically at Moody High School. Last year, the Blue Devils got a new coaching staff, a new Astro turf field, new energy and set multiple school records in Jake Ganus’ historic first season at the helm of the “411 Boys.”
2023 comes with heightened excitement as Ganus returns for his second season and continues to grow the program with a new jumbo tron and a remodeled field house. Along with these things, Ganus has brought in former Alabama and Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Andre Smith to serve as an offensive assistant for the Blue Devils.
Coach Ganus said of the hire, “He lives locally, kind of near me, out toward Chelsea. We first met at Godspeed when I was with the Vikings and he was with the Bengals. We trained together, so there was the initial connection. Coach Slade have known each other much longer and they trained together at Godspeed way longer than I did because they played in the league longer than I did. They started talking and they were doing some extra training on the side. Chad brought him around and I hadn’t seen him since 2016. We started talking and he kept coming around. About two weeks ago, we went to Clay Chalkville for OTA and he came and observed. After that, I think the opportunity to come and help full time was attractive. I wanted him, but I didn’t want to take away from his busy life. A week ago he told me he was going to come help out full time.”
Ganus spoke of what Smith’s role would be with the team, “We have 18, maybe 19 or 20 offensive linemen. But we didn’t have two coaches at that position. Linebackers, you’ve got inside and outside linebackers’ coaches. Defensive back, you’ve got safety coach and corner coach. We didn’t have that on the offensive line. Now Slade has some help. He brought Andre in and I can’t be more excited. Not just his name, but he’s a super nice guy. He’s the only offensive line to ever win Mr. Alabama. He played at Bama and in the league. Now, he wants to pour into these kids and this community and he doesn’t need this but he wants to do it. He and Chad both do this to just help. We now have 21 years of NFL experience in our offensive line coaches, so that’s a big deal.”
Already on the staff is Chad Slade, who is also a former offensive lineman, but he played for Smith’s rivals, the Auburn Tigers and made it to the NFL with the New York Giants. Smith will work with tackles while Slade will work with interior linemen.
Coach Slade had the following to say, “We trained for 6 years together at Godspeed. Once we got done with football, we wanted to go out and do training and decided to collaborate and then he started coming out here and one day I had a great idea. I said, ‘Why don’t you come help me coach o-line at Moody.’ He thought it was a good idea and he has been a big help for us since. With him having 13 years in the league and me having 7, it gives the kids so much knowledge of this game from a professional level. We are close. We get along. Our families are close. It’s a blessing to have him on the staff now. I can worry about interior line and he worries about the tackles. You’re not going to get much better as a coach than Andre Smith at those outside positions. This is his first time coaching and I’ve told him that there are going to be tough days and you are going to get mad at things. But we have each other to fall back on. It’s just a good blessing to have him around. We now have over 20 years of experience in this building. The kids are loving it.”
Smith was two-time All-state at Huffman High School and won Alabama’s Mr. Football as a senior, the only offensive lineman in over 40 years to win the award.
He was a two-time All-SEC player at Alabama and a unanimous All-American in 2008, winning the Outland Trophy in the same season.
In the 2009 NFL Draft, Smith was selected sixth overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. He also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and Baltimore Ravens over his 13-year career.
The Blue Devils kick off the season on August 25 in what is being billed as the “Battle of I20” against Rush Propst and the Pell City Panthers.