MOULTRIE — Colquitt County head football coach Rush Propst has one more vacancy to fill on his staff following the decision of linebackers coach Granger Shook to head back to Alabama.

And while he did not announce any hirings on Thursday, he did say he has made three promotions.

Steve Figueroa and Evan McKissick, both of whom worked primarily on the ninth-grade staff last season in their first years in Moultrie, have moved up to varsity positions.

Figueroa, who played for Propst at Hoover High School and was an assistant at Jones County before coming to Colquitt County last year, will coach the safeties.

He is taking the position vacated by Jeremy Rowell, who also was the Packers defensive coordinator.

Rowell has taken the job as the secondary coach at Georgia Southern.

Bubba Walker, who coached the outside linebackers last season, will be the defensive coordinator and will call the defenses for the Packers next fall.

Walker had been the defensive coordinator at Valdosta State before joining the Packers staff last season.

Propst now must find an inside linebackers coach after GrShook left to become the defensive coordinator at Prattville, Ala., High School.

The move is a good one for Shook’s career, Propst said, but it also will allow him to be close to both his and his wife’s families.

Defensive line coach Courtney Sanders  and cornerbacks coach Dextra Polite will return.

The offensive staff has lost offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sean Calhoun, who has become the head coach at Carrollton; inside receivers coach John Cooper, who will leave to become the offensive coordinator under Calhoun at Carrollton; and Josh Crawford, who is going to Morehouse.

“I hated to lose them, but it was good moves for all of them,” Propst said.

McKissick will move up from the ninth-grade staff to coach the  tight ends, inside receivers and H-backs.

Like Figueroa, McKissick played his high school football for Propst at Hoover.

Propst he believed both needed to prove themselves before getting varsity jobs at Colquitt County and both did so last year while working primarily with the ninth-grade team.

“They are both ready,” he said.

Propst has yet to fill the other two openings on the offensive staff. One will be named shortly, while Propst said he has his eye on a coach from the Atlanta area for the other.

Propst would like a coach from the Atlanta area on his staff because it gives him an insight into the area of the state that provides a large majority of the competition for his program.

He said having Calhoun, who came from Collins Hill, on the staff the last two years was invaluable when it came to playing Atlanta area programs during the playoffs.

Propst is looking for experienced coaches to fill the vacancies.

“I don’t want to have a learning curve,” he said. “

Propst also said he would like to add four more ninth-grade coaches to join head coach Danny Blaylock and assistant Ian Smith and Israel Troupe.

“We need seven guys with the ninth grade,” Propst said.

Propst confirmed that the Packers will play American Heritage High School of Plantation, Fla., in the second week of the season. The game will be played at Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium and, unless there are some late problems, the game will be televised on ESPN.

However, the possibility exists that the Packers could play just nine games next season.

Propst said he is still having difficulty finding a 10th opponent after Bessemer City, Ala., backed out of its commitment to play in Moultrie the next two seasons.

He said he hoped to hear something Thursday afternoon on a possible game, but added that “there’s a 50-percent chance of playing nine games.”