BROOKSVILLE, Fla. —  Something’s different with the Hernando High football team.

And its not just their wacky schedule thanks to the Coronavirus. The Leopards have a new look - at the top.

“We’re really excited here,” Coach Earl Garcia III said.

New Hernando Head Coach Earl Garcia III isn’t the only one excited. His players are already singing his praises.

“I heard good things about him, first, before he even came here,” senior running back Ke’von Williams said. “Then, when he first came, I was just like he look like he know what he doing.”

Word of mouth is one thing. Coach Garcia is ready to show his team what hard work can get them.

“I feel like it’s kind of new territory,” he said. “We can kind of build some stuff maybe they haven’t been used to up here.”

The oldest high school in Hernando County resides in small town Brooksville, about an hour north from Coach Garcia’ previous stop in Tampa. The small town feel is a perfect fit for this city guy.

“It’s a time warp, you know,” he said. “Something happens after exit 290. You go back to the 90’s, which ain’t all bad.”

There’s something to be said about playing football in a small town. The community tends to wrap its arms around you.

“He’s going to bring a winner to that town,” his father Earl Garcia said. “They’re going to really pack that place.”

This man should know.

With nearly 50 years of experience, Hillsborough Head Coach Earl Garcia knows his football. He also knows his son and what he’s capable of since the two spent a couple of decades together on the sideline.

“Earl thinks outside the box,” he said. “He’s a players coach. All they have to do is do what he asks them cause he’s got the Garcia temper now. He’ll get after them if they don’t.”

Earl III gets his sense of humor from his dad also.

“Say the same jokes he’s been saying since I was a senior in high school,” he said.

The biggest coaching take away Earl got from his dad was about paying attention to the little details. It’s the small things that can lead to even bigger things.

“That’s what I’m getting these guys to understand,” he said. “Sprints are hard for five minutes, but life’s hard for the next 50 years. So, if we can do  this well, then the other stuff is going to be easy.”

In 2020, nothing has been easy, but Coach Garcia is preparing his players for a bigger stage.

“I just want to to coach ball,” he said. “I just want to get these kids going. And Friday night, we’re going to have that place rocking and rolling. We’re just going to have some fun.”