'A different culture': Milton football brings 'old-school' physicality during spring practices
It’s year three for Milton football head coach Kelly Gillis.
That means it’s “stage three,” as he called it, of leading the Panthers and trying to right the ship. In both seasons under Gillis, so far, Milton has gone 3-7. But Gillis isn’t calling it a “rebuild” anymore.
All of Milton’s players have all been coached by Gillis now.
“It’s knowing that whatever my vision has been since Day 1, these guys, that’s all they’ve known: what the standard is we want to accomplish,” Gillis said. “It has been a little easier, and it’s a good feeling to know that.”
The Panthers have a young team, but a lot of those younger players – Gillis highlighted the sophomore class, which will be juniors in the fall – made some big impacts for Milton in 2023. At the end of the season, after Milton defeated Godby in Week 11, Gillis noted that eight sophomores started in that game; six or seven had been starting throughout the season already.
And now, that entire class is back as a cohesive unit at the varsity level.
“We are where we are. There’s no rebuilding process anymore. It’s just full go,” Gillis said. “A key with all those guys, too, is they’re very confident. … They’re a close-knit group on the field, off the field and in the locker room. They all play with a ton of confidence. It makes it real easy.”
Gillis noted that a lot of Milton’s returners are on the offensive side of the ball. That includes quarterback Tate Williams, who appears to be the man for the job. He was part of a dual-threat quarterback system last year along with Ethan Diamond, who graduated.
Williams threw for 924 yards on 126 attempts, adding six touchdowns in the process. He also ran for 66 yards and a touchdown. Gillis said there was an increased maturity in Williams’ play during the spring, especially after a good “learning lesson” season in 2023.
“We’ve spent a lot of time talking, shoring up a lot of his mistakes. Ball security is where he’d get in trouble, or taking chances late in the play instead of taking what they give or just playing for another down,” Gillis said. “We’ve had our focus on that this spring. Tate’s done a good job of that.”
“I learned so much, just getting a feel for the timing, how fast the varsity level moves,” Williams said. “I learned a lot about my reads from Coach Gillis and Ethan.”
Williams will also have a few key targets to potentially throw to, including returners like Kaiden Hall – who will be a junior – after 414 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns in 2023. He’s just one of the several members of the class of 2026 that Gillis is excited about.
“It’s through the roof with guys like KD (Kaiden Hall) and Bryson Brown,” Williams said of the team’s confidence with that group of players. “They’re all on it, like blocking, everything. It really makes me happy.”
With some other departures on offense, like running backs Malik Cobb (390 yards, 7 touchdowns) and Drake Densman (337 yards, 2 touchdowns), Gillis said he expects a “platoon” of three to four players to fill the shoes of the two running backs that graduated.
“We restock by pressing on those guys when they were seniors, to make sure they live by example. What the expectation was. … When you leave, can you come back to watch a game and go, ‘Hey, they’re still carrying on what we tried to start?’ They’ve done that,” Gillis said. “But this group has taken an ownership of their own, which has made us feel really good as a coaching staff.”
Panthers' defense reminds Gillis of 'old Milton'
Last season was the first time in awhile that Gillis hadn’t been heavily involved with the offensive side of the ball. He noted Milton was “short on coaches” last year, and had to help out on defense.
With a new defensive coordinator on staff, Gillis has more time to spend with the offense. Gillis is already noticing a change in the way the players are reacting on the field.
Even with younger defensive players, Gillis noted there are some players up front “with some good size.” And the returning players are more physical than they were last year. After graduating players like Kaden French (115 tackles, 5 sacks), there are a few top returning defenders.
They include Aiden Spratt (76 tackles) and Hall (64 tackles, 1 interception), among others.
“As a team, this is as physical as I’ve been around in awhile. It excites me. It reminds me of old Milton,” said Gillis, a 1991 alum of Milton. “These damn kids will get after your butt, on both sides of the football. Defensively, that really makes me feel good.”
Gillis attributes the increased physicality to not only some “old-school” players, who are just “naturally tough” when they come on the field, but also the success of the boys weightlifting team in the offseason. The Panthers finished in a tie for second place in Olympic scoring at the Class 3A state weightlifting meet, while tying for third in traditional scoring with Navarre.
“After awhile, when a majority of the kids you have are physical and you’re in the minority, if you want to play, you learn to play physical or get out,” Gillis said. “We’ve had quite a few that have just flipped a switch and become very physical.”
“The energy is good. Everyone’s bought in. It’s a different culture now,” said Jaylin Kirtley, a rising senior. “New coach, new system and we’re all ready.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton football has 'old-school' physicality, coach Kelly Gillis says
