It's "Business As Usual" For The Langston Hughes Panthers

The spring season is here and like teams across the state of Georgia, the Langston Hughes Panthers are back to work in preparation for the 2023 season, however for the first time in program history, the Panthers are doing so as the defending state champs, coming off their 2022 Georgia High School Association Class 6A state title win. However, for head coach Daniel “Boone” Williams, having won a championship has no impact on his approach to spring workouts and it is “business as usual” for the Panthers.

“Back on the same plain, same regiment, coming in everyday working harder. Last year was last year, now it’s time to do it all over again. Nobody cares about what happened last year,” Williams said of his approach to preparing his guys for the next few weeks as they start to look ahead to the 2023 season. And with the Panthers losing a few key players to college from their championship team, how his team “builds” will be one of the areas he will be eyeing. “We lost a lot of quality pieces,” Williams noted and added that he will want to watch and see how his “younger players step up,” to help the Panthers continue what they have built over the years.

And while players like Bo Hughley (Georgia) and Jelani Thurman (Ohio St.) have moved on to the next level, one important player in quarterback, Prentiss “Air” Noland still remains. The recently Ohio St. commit helped the Panthers reach the Georgia High School Association 6A state title game as a sophomore, only to lead them back to the championship game to cap their perfect season with the program’s first title and Williams had nothing but high praise for Noland and his growth. “His maturation has been through the roof. The way he’s grown from his freshman year going into his senior year, ‘oh my gosh’, that’s all you can say, Williams raved about his QB1.

“If you look at everything he’s done, his stats, they speak for themselves and the way he carries himself in this building now,” Williams said as continued to speak on Noland’s growth. “He’s always looking to study, he’s always wanting to watch film. He’s been a leader since he’s been here, but now he’s in a senior leadership role, he is taking it by the horn right now,” Williams added on Noland. Click above to hear Williams' conversation with Daminon Lewis of Prep Sports Nation.