Gray Collegiate makes hire of new football coach, athletic director
Gray Collegiate has found its next football coach.
Silver Bluff’s De’Angelo Bryant has been chosen to lead the War Eagles program after a successful run at his alma mater. Bryant was introduced at a press conference Tuesday, along with new athletic director Kevin Heise.
Bryant replaces Adam Holmes, who resigned in December after leading the War Eagles to two championship appearances and the 2021 state title. Holmes was Gray’s first and only head football coach and athletic director since the public charter school in West Columbia opened in 2014.
Heise will remain the boys soccer coach, a job he’s held since 2017. He is one of the winningest coaches in state history and has led the War Eagles to a pair of state championship appearances.
“We feel like we hit a home run with both,” Gray principal Brian Newsome said. “.... “We are here to celebrate a new era in Gray Collegiate.”
Bryant has been at his alma mater Silver Bluff since 2018. He was a standout player there and part of the school’s state championship teams in 2000-01 before playing in college at Wake Forest.
As a coach at Silver Bluff, Bryant went 38-24 in six seasons with one losing year. He led Silver Bluff to the 2021 Class 2A championship game before losing to Gray Collegiate.
Silver Bluff went 9-4 this year and lost in the third round of the playoffs to Abbeville.
Before Silver Bluff, Bryant was an assistant at White Knoll.
Gray Collegiate went 15-4, which includes wins over forfeited teams in the region that refused to play the school. The War Eagles made it to the Class 2A championship game before losing to Oceanside Collegiate in the final minutes.
The War Eagles are losing several key players from the 2023 roster, including college signees JR Sowell (Appalachian State), Zai Offord (S.C. State) and Jamarious Lockett (Newberry).
But Gray Collegiate has several key pieces coming back in quarterback Tyler Waller, running back BJ Montgomery, linebacker Michael Boulware, receiver Zion Job and linebacker Zeb Taylor. Montgomery and Boulware have Division I offers.
Gray Collegiate will be moving up from Class 2A to 4A for the next two years as part of the S.C. High School League’s new realignment. The War Eagles will be in Region 4-4A with Aiken, Airport, Brookland-Cayce, Gilbert, Midland Valley, North Augusta and South Aiken.
The hire of Bryant gives the Midlands with two job openings — Gilbert and Lugoff-Elgin. Both schools plan to bring the names of new coaches to their districts’ board meetings on Feb. 20.
SC High School Football openings
School — Former Coach — New Coach
Bishop England — John Cantey — TBA
Fort Dorchester — Josh Smith (interim) — Shaun Lorenzano
Gilbert — Chad Leaphart — TBA
Gray Collegiate — Adam Holmes — De’Angelo Bryant
Great Falls — Brian Kane — Syvelle Newton
Greenville — Greg Porter — Jaybo Shaw
Heathwood Hall — Rick Reetz — Tymere Zimmerman
Hilton Head Prep — Dustin Etheridge — Doug McFadden
Laurens — Darryl Smith — Greg Porter
Lugoff-Elgin — Matt Campbell — TBA
Marlboro County — Quinn McCollum — TBA
Rock Hill — Bubba Pittman — TBA
Stall — Benjamin Lailson — Ken Freeman
Scott’s Branch — Randall State — Patrick Fleming
Silver Bluff — De’Angelo Bryant — TBA
St. John’s — Mike Howard — TBA
Swansea — Brent Wilder — Willie Fox
Union County — Brian Thompson — Quinnon Isom
Wagener-Salley — Willie Fox — TBA
Wando — Rocco Adrian — Isaiah Perrin
Wilson — Rodney Mooney — Glenwood Ferebee
