MOULTRIE – Cornerbacks coach Dextra Polite was on the Colquitt County football staff when Tim Cokely replaced Mike Singletary as head coach in 2005. He was there when Rush Propst was hired to follow Cokely in 2008.

So as the Packers transition this spring to Justin Rogers, who was named to replace the fired Propst last month, Polite is not exactly new to this sort of transition.

And he says he is facing the coming season the way he did in the two previous regime changes.

“I tell the kids you’ve just got to keep on working,” Polite said Saturday after Packers completed a scrimmage on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium. “I think Coach Propst is one of the best high school coaches in the country. But we can’t do anything about (his departure) except to keep on working. We’ve got to deal with it. And if we do right and work hard, the sky’s the limit. We’ll be tough to beat.”

Propst, who had a 119-35 record, won two state championships and played for three others, was relieved of his coaching duties on March 14 following an investigation by School Superintendent Doug Howell that found him in violation of five standards of the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators.

The school board hired Rogers away from Jones County to replace him April 15.

Although Propst’s removal has been contentious, Polite said no players have left the program and the team seems to be adjusting to Rogers.

“I think they enjoy Coach Rogers,” Polite said. “He is high-energy. I think they are buying in.”

The Packers went 14-1 last year, losing only to underdog Milton 14-13 in the championship game.

Among the seniors from that team who will need to be replaced is All-State cornerback Jay Ward, who is heading to LSU to play collegiately.

It is clear Ward, who had 11 career interceptions, is one of Polite’s favorites.

“Jay was amazing,” Polite said. “I knew, once he understood what I wanted him to do, he’d be all right. With him, you couldn’t run it, you couldn’t throw it and you couldn’t kick it.”

In addition to outstanding work in the secondary, Ward used his long arms and lean body to great advantage on special teams as well.

Polite said he has no doubts but that Ward will succeed at Baton Rouge.

“He’s a great young man,” he said. “He works hard and he doesn’t take any plays off. And he’s humble. He’s the complete package.”

Jay Ward followed in the footsteps of older brother Johnny Ward, who was a starter in the secondary at South Florida after leaving Colquitt County.

“And Jay was determined to be better than Johnny,” Polite said.

Another Ward cornerback, youngest brother Jahiem, will be a junior next season and got plenty of work in the Packers secondary on Saturday.

“He’s got great knowledge of the game,” Polite said of Jahiem. “Now we need to see if he can be better than Jay.”

While Jahiem Ward got plenty of work in the secondary, three of the team’s top cornerback prospects, including returning starter and rising senior Nyquan Washington, did not suit up.

Washington, T.J. Spradley and Denzell Coates all are recovering from shoulder injuries. Washington’s required surgery, but he is expected to be back at work next month.

A Power 5 prospect like Jay Ward, Washington is “a baller,” Polite said. He played at a high level last season despite dealing with shoulder miseries.

And he is getting some feelers, including one from Clemson.

As many Packers fans know, Polite, after leading the Packers to a 15-0 record and the school’s first state championship in 1994, went on to Georgia Military and then to Clemson, where he was a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference cornerback as a senior.

He proudly wore his orange No. 34 game jersey to a Packers basketball game the night after the Tigers defeated Alabama for the National Championship last winter and he would like nothing better than to see a Packer become part of Dabo Swinney’s program.

“We need someone to represent me over there,” he said with his familiar smile and laugh.

In truth, Polite just wants his players to get a chance to go to college and to take advantage of it.

“A lot of kids lose focus,” he said. “You’ve got to stay focused on what your goal is.

“Even if you don’t play, get your education.”

Another cornerback that Polite has a special interest in might still be a couple years away from being an impact player for the Packers.

The coach expects big things from Dextra Polite Jr., a rising sophomore.

“He’s got it in him,” the older Polite said. “He just hasn’t turned it loose yet.

“He’s got a lot of work to do. He’s still young. And I tell him, ‘You don’t have to be what I was. Just be the best you can.’”

It’s clear Polite is looking forward to coaching his son the next three seasons.

“I told him I’m going to be your coach on the field and your dad at the house,” he said. “And he really seems to be enjoying it.”