Photo courtesy of Barry Stephenson
Rush Propst is shown in a game against Hoover as Colquitt County's head coach.
Former Hoover High School football coach Rush Propst is back in the news, as he was approved as the new coach at Valdosta High School in Georgia on Tuesday evening.
"Several coaches from different states were interviewed and contacted, but after all meetings and interviews, all boxes were checked by Coach Propst,” said Todd Cason, superintendent of Valdosta City Schools. “We are proud and excited to have a coach of his caliber to lead and guide the Wildcats back to national prominence while always doing the best to prepare our young men to be productive citizens, now and in the future."
Propst inherits a Valdosta program that put together a 10-3 season last fall, advancing to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. He takes over for Alan Rodemaker, whose contract was not renewed in January.
‘’This will be the first time I’ve gone into a job where they’re winning now,’’ Propst told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Is it the level they want? Maybe not, but they’re only four years from a state championship, and they were in the quarterfinals last year. They expect state championships, and that’s OK. I’m fine with that.’’
Propst was approved in a 5-4 vote by the school board on Tuesday, in a meeting shared on Facebook Live.
Propst arrives at Valdosta after just over a month as the head coach at the Ultimate Student Athletes Academy, a new private school located in Coosada. He was introduced as the program’s head coach on Jan. 2 before resigning in late February.
Prior to USA Academy, Propst spent 11 years as the head coach at Colquitt County High School in Georgia, where he posted a 119-35 record and won two state championships. He was fired in March 2019 due to ethics violations.
Propst was the head coach at Hoover for nine years, winning five state championships (2000, 2002-2005). He posted a 110-16 record from 1999-2007.
He has also coached at Ashville, Eufaula, Alba and Alma Bryant. Over a 30-year career, Propst has compiled a 295-96 record as a high school head coach.
