This isn’t Richard Bush’s first season in football — far from it, actually.
A 2003 North Augusta High graduate, Bush has been around the game his whole life, including playing for the Yellow Jackets during high school and a lengthy stint as an assistant coach at North Augusta. He’s also spent time as a head coach and athletic director at Williston-Elko High in South Carolina.
But if Bush is bouncing around this season with a little extra pep in his step, it’s because, come next Friday, he’ll get the chance to experience a major football first — as in his first time leading his alma mater onto the field for a regular season game as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach.
It’s something Bush says he’s envisioned since he was the age of his current players.
“No doubt, this is the place that, as a kid growing up and wanting to be a high school football coach, this is the job I’ve always wanted,” Bush said.
Bush was tabbed as the program’s leader earlier in the summer after spending most of the spring as interim head coach when Matt Quinn resigned.
When the opportunity presented himself, it was the epitome of a no-brainer decision to take it on — and not just because he’s familiar with the place. Bush believes North Augusta is primed for some next-level greatness.
“We have great community support, great recreation league and feeder programs that do a tremendous job of getting our kids prepared to play at the high school level,” he said. “We’ve got great support from administrators, assistant principals, principals, teachers and great parent support. And one thing that’s always been a constant about North Augusta kids — they’re gonna work hard and show up every night to give their best out of pride for their school. That’s what makes this such a special place.”
Football aside, it’s also a place that’s used to hoisting championship banners into the rafters of its gym.
In all, North Augusta has won 16 South Carolina state championships across seven sports, with the most recent coming last year when the Lady Yellow Jackets basketball team won its fifth state crown in the last seven years. The softball team won it all in 2022 too.
Football’s got three of those state titles, with its most recent one coming in 1989. The other two came in 1957 and 1960.
Bush is taking over one year after North Augusta shook off a 1-5 start to finish atop the Region 4-AAAA standings by sweeping its region slate. The Jackets rode that momentum toward a 26-14 win over Easley in the first round of the playoffs before falling 37-14 to Catawba Ridge in round two.
Bush believes that second-half-of-the-season success has whet the team’s appetite for more W’s in the win column earlier in the season. He says he saw a different fire in his bunch back during the spring.
“Our kids have done a great job from spring practice while I was interim coach until now,” Bush said. “Our numbers are up. The enthusiasm is up. Our kids have come to be coached, they’re working hard in the weight room and doing everything they’ve been asked to do. The work ethic and attitude, those things are at a high point right now, and I always tell them, those are the things that you can control every day, and they give you the best chance to win.”
Through it all, Bush has had to quickly learn to carry the increased weight of being the face of his alma mater’s football program. It’s decidedly different, he says, from simply being a player or even an assistant on another head coach’s staff.
“Now, it’s all eyes are on you,” he said. “You’re at the top of the paper as far as being in charge.”
Bush said he’s managing it well, though, thanks to the experiences he can glean from during his time sitting under the leadership of other head coaches.
“I’ve said it before: Coach (Brian) Thomas, Coach (Dan) Pippin, Coach Quinn and even guys like Coach (Chris) Hughes, these are all guys I’ve been blessed to be around,” Bush said. “I’ve had different roles in coaching with these guys, and I’ve been able to watch and learn the various roles ion being a head coach. Being molded by those guys has helped me.”
While he gets used to a different level of leadership, some things about football are still old hat to him — like being able to evaluate the talent on a team. And he believes this 2023 version of North Augusta football has the potential to be special.
Continuity is the main reason why.
“We’ve got multiple returners on each side of the ball,” he said. “And all of our coaches from last year pretty much stayed with it. That helps us to be able to keep the consistency with our program. We know our coaches, and the coaches and players know the system. It’s made for an easier transition.”
North Augusta will likely see its greatest strength — at least early on — in its run game. That’s because the entire starting offensive line from last year is back, and it’s a line that helped paved the way for a 1,200-plus yard rusher in now-graduated tailback DJ Curry.
Roderick Collins, a 6-foot-3, 330-pound senior, will likely anchor that unit. But other key performers such as Andy Cervantes, Ethan Fitzgerald and Bryce Tillman are poised to have big seasons in 2023.
Bush will be breaking in a new quarterback and several new faces at other skill positions as well. As far as his signal caller goes, he mentioned junior Corey Tillman as “an athletic guy who can throw the ball.”
“Also, we’ve got three running backs we’re excited about in sophomore Mike Doe and seniors Devin Robinson and Beans Hunt,” Bush said. “All of those guys are very talented.”
Hunt, in particular, will be one to keep an eye on as he transferred over to North Augusta after rushing for 1,223 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 10.5 yards per carry as a junior at Thomas Jefferson Academy.
Defensively, linebacker Isaiah Weathersby will be a leader, along with Dante Bell and defensive backs DJ Booker and Ty Burke. But Bush is especially happy about the development of his team’s kicking game — sometimes seen as an afterthought in high school football.
“It’s something we always stress here,” he said. “It’s the third aspect of the game, and I don’t see how you can ignore special teams which is basically saying you’re not worried about a third of the game. We’ve been blessed with talented kickers and punters around here for a while, and we’ve got two this year with Seth Vaughn punting and Jack Stephens in kicking duties.”
Bush also said he’s looking for special things from brothers LJ and Eddie Tillman.
“One’s a sophomore and one’s a junior,” he said. “Whether offense, defense or in the return game, those are two guys who have a chance to make plays every time they touch the ball.”
Those touches will come soon enough as North Augusta is set to open its 2023 season by hosting Evans on Friday, Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. And while no coach or player knows, at this point, what the season will bring to his football team, Bush says he’s ultimately confident in what his team will consistently bring to each game of this season.
“When you look at film of a North Augusta football team, you’re going to see a tough, physical team that plays with great discipline and effort,” Bush said. “That’s not going to change this year. We want to hang our hats on those things every Friday night and see what that brings us.”
