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WE HAVE IT COVERED IF IT'S PLAYED
tReporter
1C
August 3, 2022
Big things expected at Mercer in '22
Mercer
head foot
ball coach
Drew
Cronic,
left, and
athletic
director
Jim Cole,
right, give
a Mercer
helmet to
Monroe
County
sheriff
Brad Free
man, who
gradu
ated from
Mercer.
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
Coming off arguably its
best season since Mercer
resumed football in 2013,
third-year football coach
Drew Cronic told the
Forsyth-Monroe County
Kiwanis Club he’s building
a successful program with
tough love.
“I’m a culture guy” said
Cronic. “Were building
a championship culture
through our motto: love,
compete and believe.”
Mercer athletic director
Jim Cole, who lives in For
syth, hired Cronic in 2020
from Lenoir-Rhyne, where
he had been 23-5 as head
coach. Introducing Cronic,
Cole said he literally had to
pry Cronic out of the film
room on Tuesday to bring
him to the Kiwanis meeting
because he loves preparing
so much.
“He’s mad at me right
now” joked Cole.
Cole recalled that Cronic
impressed him when he first
resumed football at Mer
cer. For its first game in 75
years, Cole wanted a big win
and so scheduled what he
thought would be one of the
weakest teams he could find,
Rhinehardt. But Cronic was
Rhinehardt’s offensive coor
dinator at the time and took
the Bears to the wire. Mercer
only won on a last-second
field goal.
Cronic told the Forsyth
audience that as the son of
the coach at East Coweta
High School, he remem
bers playing against Mary
Persons in the state playoffs
in 1990 and 1991. He hasn’t
forgotten playing at Mary
Persons, recalling the giant
Bulldog whose eyes lit up at
the stadium. He also recalled
how Coach Dan Pitts’ boys
would break a huddle in
perfect unison and quickly
line up perfectly and then
motion into their stances in
unison.
“You could tell the guys
at Mary Persons practiced
that,” said Cronic. “It was
intimidating.”
East Coweta split with the
Bulldogs in those playoff
games, and then Cronic
walked on at the University
of Georgia. He then went
into coaching and helped
his dad start the program at
Rhinehardt. Cronic said he
learned a lot from his dad
about how to show tough
love to players, picking them
up for practice in some of
the rougher neighborhoods
of Coweta County while
pushing them to get better.
Now at Mercer, Cronic
said he loves coming to
work every day because they
have built a culture based
on love, respect and hard
work. He insists that players
graduate, no easy task at
Mercer, and his coaches
actually personally moni
tor study hall. He said he’s
tough on his players but
that players learn there’s love
behind it.
“They know were trying
to help them be successful,”
said Cronic. “Love is the
highest motivator. Love is a
choice not a feeling. And a
team that loves each other is
hard to beat.”
That culture helped propel
Mercer to a 6-1 conference
record last year heading into
its final game at East Ten
nessee State, which was also
6-1, making it a veritable
conference championship
game. The Bears missed a
field goal as time expired
and lost 38-35 to finish the
season 7-3 overall, 6-2 in
the Southern Conference.
Mercer also impressed many
by competing physically
with No. 1 Alabama in Sep
tember. It was Mercer’s best
record since the first season,
2013, when the Bears were
10-2 but at a lower level of
competition in the Pioneer
League.
With the success of last
season, the Bears are in
the Top 25 in pre-season
FCS polls and are expected
to compete again for the
Southern Conference title.
Cronic said he likes what he
sees so far, including in his
first spring practice since
coming to Mercer due to
COVID. He said players are
getting into fights in prac
tice, which he likes because
it shows they care.
Mercer will open at home
on Aug. 27 against More-
head State. He said he hopes
it’s really hot that day so the
Bears can put some Georgia
heat on the visitors from
Kentucky and whip them.
The next week, Sept. 3, the
Bears head to Auburn to
play against the SEC power
house. Cronic said last year’s
Alabama game showed his
players they could physi
cally hang with anyone in
the nation, and also what
it takes to compete against
great talent.
Among those playing
against Alabama were
former Mary Persons star
offensive lineman Nate
Howard. The 6-foot-7,315
pound Howard is back this
year as a redshirt junior and
expected to compete for
playing time.
Cronic is known for his
entertaining offense, which
he describes as the old Wing
T meets Oregon’s fast-paced
throwing offense.
Tyler Wood of Forsyth
asked Cronic how he finds
recruits. Cronic said due to
tough academics Mercer
does have a smaller pool of
athletes it can recruit, but
said he has 10 coaches and
each takes a part of the state
of Georgia and also an out of
state area.
Asked if the new Name,
Image and Likeness (NIL)
rules allowing players to
make money has affected
Mercer, Cronic joked that he
has one player who gets 50
cents twice per month, and
that his place-
kicker has a hair product
he sells. As for the transfer
portal, Cronic said he briefly
lost his best player to the
portal last year, but that he
came back when he realized
he wouldn’t be moving to a
Power 5 school.
Cronic and Cole encour
aged locals to buy season
tickets for $125 per person,
calling it a great, fun game
day environment. See more
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22 West Main St
Forsyth, Ga 31029
478.993.2061
General Manager:
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FmtForsvth@amail.com
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