Barge leaves Packers to become DC at Worth County
Mar. 2—MOULTRIE — One of Colquitt County's finest is leaving the Packers football staff.
Bull Barge, a popular member of the 2014 state championship team and the Packers' inside linebackers coach the last two seasons, has resigned to become the defensive coordinator at Worth County.
"I'm really sad to seem him go," said Packers coach Sean Calhoun, who was on the Colquitt County staff as an assistant when Barge was an outstanding linebacker.
"We are really proud of what he has done for us."
Worth County coach Jeff Hammond also was a Packers assistant when Barge was playing in Moultrie.
When he lost his defensive coordinator after last season, he thought of Barge.
"He was at Colquitt County when they had some successful seasons," said Hammond, who has been the head coach of the Rams the last two years. "That's a comfort for me.
"We need to shore up our defense a little bit. And he'll bring an energy and a toughness that we need."
Worth was 8-3 in 2022 in Hammond's first season as head coach. It was the program's first winning season since 2016.
The Rams had been 11-39 over the five seasons before he arrived.
Worth, which has played in Region 1-AA the last four years, was 5-6 last season.
"I think in the next couple of years we have a chance to do really well," he said.
After leaving Colquitt County as its career tackles leader — a distinction he still holds — he went to South Alabama, where he is still ranked among the school' leaders in total tackles, assisted tackles and solo tackles.
In 2018, he was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second team and Street and Smith's Football Magazine named him as the league's hardest hitter.
He was out of football in 2019, but in 2020 he joined Rush Propst's staff at Valdosta, working with the safeties.
When Propst left after that season, Barge moved to Thomasville to work with the cornerbacks under head coach Zach Grage.
The Bulldogs reached the Class AA state championship game that season.
Barge then accepted a job offered by Calhoun to coach the linebackers back in his hometown and has been a mainstay on a staff that led the Packers to a 25-2 record over the last two seasons.
Among the players he coached the last two seasons are Kamal Bonner, now playing at North Carolina State; Nick Pace, heading to Jacksonville State; and Jerron Blakely, who has signed to play at Carson-Newman.
