This winter SJR football started a new era re-hiring former state championship winning head coach, Augie Hoffmann. Since leaving SJR Coach Hoffmann served as a running backs and offensive line coach at Rutgers and tight ends coach at Columbia. During Hoffmann's first tenure with the Green Knights, his teams made 4 State championship appearances, winning 2 State Championships with an impressive 50-19 record. Now back for his second time as head coach I had the chance to sit and talk with him about the current team, goals and future of the program.
CD: First off, how does it feel to be back?
AH: I am excited to be back, it's definitely a different school from when I left. Mr. Fazio being here and running the ship the way he is doing it I think it is awesome, I love the direction we are heading. Football wise I'm excited we got a lot of talent coming back. It should be a great year.
CD: After coaching at the college level what's your biggest takeaway from coaching at that level you can bring here?
AH: In terms of my football knowledge my football has grown tremendously, organizationally I've grown working for a guy like Greg Schiano the way he runs a program is something I am going to do very similar the way we did it there in terms of attention to detail, building a culture of a school and a program, guys understanding the direction of where we are headed. Its funny how I thought I had a good grip last time I was here but now I am far more versed in running a program now that I've gone and now comeback
CD: What did you miss most about coaching high school football?
AH: The thing I missed the most is the relationships, college relationships are a little different, they are coming into their own and they are grown men. With COVID your coaching guys that was 23 and 24 and they are more set in their ways a lot of it is giving them tools to be successful on the field but they are able to make their own decisions sometimes you keep a guy on track more than another. Really I think the impact that you can have on young men's life is greater in high school because they are still forming who they are and sometimes there is that thing that's taking them down the wrong path and you're able to bring them back. It happens in college too but not as much. So I would say the relationships are the biggest piece.
CD: Even though you have yet to coach them, what can you say about the talent on the team in 2024?
AH: Having watched the film I think it's evident that we probably have more skill and talent than we've ever had here. We have had a couple great ones obviously most recent like Audric Estime and Te'Rai Powell was here before that. I think this is the biggest grouping of talent that St. Joe's has ever had with Johnny (Forster), Jahmir (Joseph), JoJo (Williams), Nate (Bailey), Brady (Shust) is gonna be a big part of what we do and Monte Krkuti coming into his own. I am missing a lot so there are plenty of guys who are going to be successful but those are just the guys that stick out right now. I am excited about this entire program because I see how they work, we are working really hard in the weight room and they are getting after it in their training sessions. I just think right now St. Joes has more skill than ever so we gotta figure out a way to get everybody the ball, and there's 1 ball so it's hard but we are going to have plenty of productivity out of everybody.
CD: What's your goal for the team this year, not just a state title but is there a certain record or state you want to hit this year?
AH: I try to stay away from the stats, the only stats that count are the wins. So you sit there and you say we wanna win a State Championship absolutely but what we wanna do is build the culture of the program so that they understand that there is nothing more important than the team. Once everybody buys into that theory the wins and the State Championships will come because up until now we have had a lot of great players but we don't have a state championship. So what we need to do is continue to build it, keep them on the same page and understand the vision of the team and for the team to be successful and when the team is successful singular people are successful.
CD: Finally, what's your message to the SJR community about the future of this program?
AH: I think what you are going to see is a group of young men that will represent our school. There is very little leeway in the program so there's a right way or a wrong way to do things that number 1. They are going to be proud of the work that these guys put in, they are going to work very hard which they have already started, there's going to be a mental and physical toughness that is going to be evident on the field. But I think what people will see is that this group of young men is just an extension of St. Joe's the school, it's not the football team we are a part of St. Joe's and they are going to be happy they are represented by that group of guys.
