MOULTRIE – Sean Calhoun’s first Colquitt County football staff is beginning to take shape after the Colquitt County Board of Education on Monday approved the hiring of several coaches.

And three of those joining the varsity staff will be familiar to Packer football fans.

Former Colquitt County players Bryce Giddens and Kiel Pollard are being added to the offensive staff and ex-assistant coach Jeremy Rowell will return to coach on the defensive side of the football.

Longtime Georgia high school coach Stan Luttrell will take over the strength and conditioning program and coach the linebackers.

Several more new assistants on the 2022 staff are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Three holdovers from former coach Justin Rogers’ final staff will remain with longtime assistant Dextra Polite staying to coach the cornerbacks, David Hill again working with the receivers and John Cooper coming back to become the offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Four former Packer assistant coaches — Byron Slack, Joe Thornton, Ashley Anders and Buck Hansen — have resigned.

Slack has been named head coach at Cook High; Thornton has rejoined Rogers at Thomas County Central; and Anders is heading to Lowndes.

The status of Dave Windon, Chad Wheeler and Alan Rodemaker has not been announced.

Calhoun, named the Packers 20th head coach last month, said the most important hire on the offensive staff is the line coach and he chose one of Colquitt County’s finest.

Giddens started four seasons at center for the Packers, earning All-State honors.

He started as a freshman at Arkansas State, but his career there was cut short by injuries.

He then chose the career path that his father, former Packer assistant and current Georgia High School Association associate director Kevin Giddens, took.

In 2017, Bryce joined the Packers staff helping Joey Bennett with the offensive lineman.

The following year, he took a job as a graduate assistant at Auburn before returning to south Georgia to become the offensive line coach at Valdosta.

The last two seasons, he was the offensive line coach at Lowndes.

“Obviously, he’s played and coached in college and he knows this region,” Calhoun said. “Plus, he lives here, he’s a great person and a great family man.”

Pollard, who will coach the tight ends, is the Packers all-time leading receiver with 199 catches during his outstanding high school tenure.

He went on to play tight end at South Carolina before a neck injury ended his career.

In addition to coaching with the tight ends, Pollard will join Hill in working at both the high school and Charlie A. Gray Junior High, where they will help monitor the weight room and the ninth-grade players.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to hire someone I have coached,” said Calhoun, who ran the offense the final two years Pollard played for the Packers.

“He will be able to relate to these kids and give them his personal testimony. He is a great example for the youth here.”

Rowell was a member of the Colquitt County defensive staff from 2013-2015 and was part of back-to-back 15-0 state championship teams.

He played at Troy from 1991-1995 and later served as the Trojans defensive coordinator.

After leaving Colquitt County, Rowell, who will be the Packers defensive coordinator, was on the staff at Georgia Southern for six seasons.

He did not return to Statesboro after Clay Helton was named the Eagles coach after the 3-9 2021 season.

Calhoun said he was pleased to get a coach who has a long resume at both the college level and high school level.

“For us to be successful, we have to play defense,” Calhoun said. “He knows what it takes to be successful and he knows 7A football in Georgia.

“He can teach football, plus he can make our players better students and better citizens.”

Calhoun called Luttrell “fantastic, one of the very best at what he does,” and that is run a strength and conditioning program.

“To get to where we want to be, it has to start in the weight room,” Calhoun said.

“We have got to get these kids’ bodies and minds right for 15 games. And while he is tough and hard-nosed, he also brings the scientific side to it.”

The last two seasons, Luttrell was the head coach at Hebron Christian Academy.

He also was the head coach at Chestatee from 2006-2013 and led the program at Johnson High of Gainesville in 2019.

Luttrell also has served as an assistant at Buford, Gainesville and Habersham Central.

“He was very instrumental in the Buford program,” Calhoun said. “He’s been around some really good football.

Plus, his is a Christian family. He is big into FCA and is big in his church community.”

Coming to Moultrie with Luttrell will be a daughter in the ninth-grade who plays soccer and a son Jack who is a safety/wide receiver who is one of the state’s top football recruits.

Jack Luttrell, who will be senior this fall, has committed to Tennessee.

Calhoun said he is pleased with his hires, both as coaches and as men.

“This is an A-level program,” he said. “And I think we’ve got some A-level people.”