THOMASVILLE — Jeremy Rayburn isn’t wading into the head coaching kiddie pool. He is jumping off the high dive into the deep end.

Rayburn is set to debut as Miller County’s head coach on Friday in Colquitt against Marion County, the defending Class A champion.

Despite the fierce opening challenge, Rayburn isn’t worried. He will rely on what he learned about football and winning in Thomasville. He was a ball boy for coaches Mike Hodges and George Bobo in the late 1980s and early 1990s before becoming a Bulldogs assistant under Tommy Welch for three straight region championship teams beginning in 2002.

Rayburn also coached at Pickens County (2001), Franklin County (2005-06) and Mary Persons 2007-13).

“There have been so many coaches who impacted me,” said Rayburn, a 1996 Thomasville graduate. “I think the thing they all had in common was the instilling of the work ethic and discipline. That really goes all the way back to home, knowing that you have to work and bust your butt everyday to get where you want to go — whether it’s on the field, in the classroom or whatever.

“That’s why I’m trying to get these kids to understand — that they have to be their best everyday at every point.”

Rayburn’s Pirates are a long way from where they want to be. They went 4-6 last year and only have five seniors on their roster.

“I’ve tried to be as positive and upbeat as I can,” Rayburn said. “It’s a definite rebuilding job. Everybody around here says, ‘Coach, we know it is going to take some time. The biggest thing we want to see is improvement, character and discipline and all that stuff that hasn’t been around here in a few years.’ We are working toward that.

“Some days that stuff is really, really good and some days it is a struggle.”

Rayburn, son of Jim and Darlene Rayburn, raised the standards for his players during the summer.

“I was taught that if you set expectations for players, they will meet them,” Rayburn said. “I was told that they were too spread out (in the county) and couldn’t get here for summer workouts. As it turned out, 32 players made 15 workouts (weightlifting and running).

“They joked that we ran 2,000 miles this summer. We didn’t get that much, but we ran a lot. That was different for them.”

Rayburn’s four assistants monitored the rigorous weight training, which caused his roster top drop 12 players to 38.

“That sets the tone for the whole year and your program down the road,” he said. “Trying to put in a new process and a new culture definitely runs some players off.”

In addition to transforming his players’ bodies, he is attempting alter their mental outlook.

“When I watched tapes (from last season), there seemed to be a lot of individualism and that kind of stuff,” Rayburn said. “That was probably the first thing I attacked. I am trying to get them to think 11 as one in every phase of the game. We are trying to be that ‘team’ instead of just 11 individuals out there — that one heartbeat, one team thing.”

Rayburn spent the last seven years at Mary Persons, a perennial powerhouse. He rose to the offensive coordinator position and was content in that role for the last three years.

“Seeing everything (Franklin County head coach Danny Durham) had to do, I had decided I would just settle into a good coordinator position and go to work so I could coach ball,” Rayburn said. “Did I really want to have to answer that phone at nine o’clock at night, sit in parent meetings and explain to a mother why her kid won’t play? Up until the day I took this job, I was still battling that decision. I wanted to be a head coach, but I wanted it to be in a place where football was important. I wasn’t going to take just any job.”

Miller County, beaten 54-0 by Marion County last year, has enjoyed several lengthy successful runs and its fans are rabid. It produced former NFL and Georgia defensive end Charles Grant and Georgia running back Selma Calloway.

“I think there is a lot of potential here and the tradition helped (me decide to accept the job), Rayburn said. “They community loves football and supports it.”

Rayburn, who has picked up a few players since school started, has coached in a variety of offensive systems, including the wing-T, split-back veer, flexbone and the I. Regardless of the formation, he likes to keep things simple, relying on execution and fundamentals.

“We’re not going to run a lot of plays,” he said. “We will give you some different looks when it comes to formations and we are going to line up and play fast. The same thing goes on defense.

“Give kids some basic rules, get them lined up and get them playing fast.”

Implementing his offense and defense has been difficult because of a lack of depth.

“When you look at our first-team offense, you are looking at half of our first-team defense,” he said. “Finding a way to scrimmage is difficult because our freshmen just aren’t ready to do that.”

Rayburn is counting on a few freshmen, however, including two starters at offensive tackle.

“The biggest thing for us is going to be staying healthy and getting better,” he said. “The future looks good, but it’s getting to the future … “

The Pirates’ path to the future is clear.

“Be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there and do what you are supposed to do,” Rayburn said.

“There have been so many coaches who impacted me. I think the thing they all had in common was the instilling of the work ethic and discipline. That really goes all the way back to home, knowing that you have to work and bust your butt everyday to get where you want to go — whether it’s on the field, in the classroom or whatever.”” said Coach Jeremy Rayburn, a 1996 Thomasville graduate