Rival school, parent spurred GHSA probe that led to 10 Appling County forfeits

On Friday, Appling County opened up the head coaching position, meaning it is moving on from Jordan Mullis, who led the football program to a 42-11 record and three state semifinals appearances in the best four-year run in school history.

Appling County also gave up what would’ve been its third consecutive region championship. The GHSA’s ruling effectively gave the title claim to Pierce County — a school that in November alerted the GHSA to possible Appling County violations.

A week before Pierce County reached out to the GHSA, the parent of a player from another Appling County opponent, Cook, notified the GHSA about separate potential recruiting violations of which Appling County was found guilty but exonerated on appeal.

In the end, it was the player and coach that Pierce County identified that prompted the GHSA’s final ruling that Appling County violated a recruiting and undue influence bylaw called “following a coach.”

The rule is widely known among athletic directors and most coaches but not to many parents and players. The “following a coach rule” makes an athlete ineligible for one year if he follows a former coach to a new school. The coach does not have to be a player’s former high school coach. He can be a year-round, club or AAU team coach; a paid or unpaid private instructor or trainer; or a camp instructor.

The rule is designed to curb recruiting, although the GHSA does not have to prove the coach purposefully tried to influence the athlete to transfer.

The complaint that prompted the GHSA to investigate came Oct. 26, the day after Appling defeated region-rival Cook 38-14.

In an email to the GHSA, a parent of a Cook High player pointed out that two Appling County players, a junior and a sophomore, played at Cook the previous season and that Appling County assistant coach Tavaris Williams Sr. was on Cook’s football and track staff in 2023-24. Williams also helped coach a non-school team called the South Georgia All-Stars for which one of the new Appling County players has played.

The correspondence to the GHSA included social media posts linking one player and the coach to the South Georgia All-Stars.

On Jan. 7, the GHSA notified Appling County of the potential violations and requested a response.

Appling County showed that the two former Cook players transferred in the spring and that Williams was hired in the summer. That cleared the school of the following-the-coach charges.

On Feb. 11, the GHSA ruled one of the Cook transfers ineligible because he played for Williams’ South Georgia All-Stars. Appling County appealed that and won, showing the player participated on the team before entering high school and before the coach had joined Appling County’s staff.

Though it resulted in no penalty, that investigation showed that the GHSA will look into accusations for any source, not only those coming officially from a member school — if it comes with evidence.

“We get things from parents and community members that aren’t associated with the school all the time,” GHSA executive director Tim Scott said. “There has to be some kind of evidence that we can act on or go to the school with. It can’t just be an accusation.”

Appling County still had a problem, though.

Ten days after the Cook game, on Nov. 4, Pierce County principal Kelly Murray wrote the GHSA regarding a third Appling County player, whose ineligibility ultimately led to the forfeits.

The player, a junior, transferred the previous winter from West Nassau High in Callahan, Florida. Pierce County wrote the GHSA with its concern after Appling County defeated No. 1-ranked Pierce County 13-6 for the region title.

Appling County offensive line coach Ian Silberman, a former NFL player hired in January 2024, had run a February camp in Florida that the player attended, the Pierce County complaint alleged. Pierce County copied and provided a Feb. 18 social media post from the player thanking Silberman for the instruction. The player enrolled at Appling County 11 days later on Feb. 29, GHSA records show.

Pierce County’s letter to GHSA indicated that Pierce’s athletic director was alerted to the camp by the player’s former high school coach at West Nassau. According to the former coach, Silberman recruited the player to Appling County and let him live with him when he first moved into Appling County. That never was proved.

The GHSA made the Florida transfer ineligible March 28 of this year and handed down the forfeits and the fine. Appling County’s appeal was denied April 22.

The GHSA did not assess penalties during the season because requests to investigate a transfer student’s eligibility must be filed within 20 days of the end of the regular season for penalties to be applied before the end of the playoffs.

That rule is meant to prevent schools from holding evidence and turning in another school at a strategic point in the season.

Appling County argued that the GHSA approved the Florida player’s transfer in August. Schools are required to turn in the names of all transfers to have them preapproved. But the GHSA said that doesn’t prevent new information from overruling that initial approval.

“Although the eligibility reports were filed and cleared by the GHSA office, at that time, the GHSA was not aware of the students’ affiliations and athletic-participation history,” GHSA associate director for compliance Carror Wright wrote to Appling County in the March 28 letter that outlined the penalties.

Scott complimented Appling County for its cooperation.

“We sure do hate that it happens to anybody, but we work with our member schools, and they work with us, and we appreciate this,” Scott said.

Appling County Schools superintendent Janet Goodman released a statement Monday, first to ITG Next. It read:

“GHSA initially approved three students for enrollment prior to their involvement in athletics at Appling County High School.

“After the football season was completed, GHSA reversed itself and made a decision, based on allegations made by neighboring coaches and individuals connected with those coaches, to suspend the athletic eligibility of these three Appling County students.

“As part of that initial decision, GHSA fined Appling County High School and mandated forfeiture of all games in which the ineligible players participated.

“Appling County High School appealed GHSA’s initial decision and, reversing itself again, GHSA rightfully restored the eligibility of two of the students.”