Due to the caronavirus crisis, Jeremy Packer, the recently named new head football coach at Simmons High School, has not even met his players yet.
But, he said he is hoping that once he meets them sometime this summer, his players will use the current situation to learn a lesson about life.
“This is what life is all about,” he said. “What matters is how you respond to all the obstacles that happen in your life. You have to work through it and find a way to be successful.”
Packer, 33, was a star athlete at Madison Central High School in football, basketball and track. A wide receiver, he then went on to become a Junior College-All American at Holmes Community College. He spent his final two years playing college football at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C.
Before arriving at Simmons, Packer was the offensive coordinator at Velma Jackson High School for four years. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator at Long Beach High School.
Packer replaces former Simmons head coach Timothy Johnson who has left the Blue Devils to become the new head football coach at Humphreys County High School. Johnson went 19-7 over his two seasons at Simmons, including leading the Blue Devils to the MHSAA Class 1A state championship game in his first season.
The Blue Devils won three straight state football championships before Johnson arrived.
Packer said he is well aware of the championship pedigree of the Simmons football program, and he hopes to get the Blue Devils back to more championships in future years.
“Simmons may be a small school, but the tradition is Hollandale is known all throughout the state,” he said. “I feel like it it the perfect fit for me professionally.”
Packer and his wife Jessica have two daughters. Kelsey is 8 years old, and Jordan is two years old.
