Former BC standout Collin Drafts happy to be coaching in home state

Things are starting to settle down a bit for Collin Drafts after a hectic past month.

The former Battery Creek standout took the head football coaching job at A.C. Flora in March and has spent the last several weeks catching up to speed before spring practice begins. He still is in the process of putting a staff together and finally met the Falcon community Monday at a meet-and-greet, which was postponed twice because of weather.

“It is a cram session right now,” Drafts said. “But I feel great where we are right now and moving in the right direction. The energy is great and the kids are showing up for after school workouts, and we have great numbers. But it will be just educating players on the expectations of the new A.C. Flora football program. That will be huge for me and the staff.”

Drafts, 31, enjoys being back in South Carolina after six years in Florida following the end of his Arena Football League career with the Orlando Predators. He was an offensive coordinator for five seasons and head coach at Orlando’s East River last year.

But Drafts always wanted to come back to the Palmetto State, where he was a standout quarterback for the Dolphins and then at Charleston Southern. He in the hall of fame at both places and will be inducted in the Big South Conference Hall of Fame this summer.

Drafts has ties to the Midlands with his father John, who spent 33 years as BC’s athletic director, and his uncle Brian both standout basketball players at Lexington High School.

“I’m a Carolina boy,” Drafts said, “and even though I was in Orlando for six years ... my dream was always to be a head coach in my own state. And when I found out Flora was open and did my research on it with guys I knew in the area, they told me I would be crazy not to take this job.”

Drafts turned East River around in his only season, going from 1-9 to 6-5 and a trip to the postseason. East River won just eight games combined the previous four years. A.C. Flora is coming off a 6-6 season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Former BC standout Collin Drafts happy to be coaching in home state."