Former Bucs wide receiver has Manatee High School's football team in final four
BRADENTON, Fla. - Jacquez Green remembers his first season as a head coach of Manatee High School’s football team all too well.
"I've coached long enough to know that past success doesn't guarantee future success," explained Green.
Jacquez Green coaching during a Manatee High Schooll football team practice.
That season, back in 2021, the Hurricanes won just two games all season.
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"It was tough," said Green. "It was tough, more so for my players. I felt bad for those guys that they won two games."
Still, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers second-round draft pick knew brighter days lay ahead.
"I was trying to lay the groundwork and trying to structure the program in my vision," said Green.
Green's first season in charge has been his only losing season at Manatee, but his vision is starting to come into focus.
"It feels amazing to win," said senior cornerback and wide receiver Jalen Bryant.
Bryant during an interview with FOX 13 News.
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"It feels like a relief because you get another bye week to come to practice, get back to the drawing board, and figure out what is for the next week."
Green, a former All-American at the University of Florida, now has his Hurricanes doing a lot of winning as the team holds the top seed in the FHSAA Class 5A state semifinals.
"It's a little bit more pressure because we're one game away from states, and we haven't done that since 2014, so it's a big deal," said senior quarterback Andrew Heidel.
Andrew Heidel during an interview with FOX 13 News.
After a decade spent trying to return the program to its mountain top, it is now nearly complete, with the Hurricanes sitting just two wins away from their seventh state title.
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"I wanted to develop the program so we could sustain it year after year and not just be a team good this year and bad for three or four years, then be bad another year," said Green.
It's a winning feeling that has now returned to the program and its players.
"Manatee (football) is a huge legacy here, and it would be great to be a part of that," Heidel said.
On Friday, Dec. 6th, Manatee hosts St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state semifinal for the right to advance to the state title game.
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