BUFORD – Throughout his junior season, Buford running back Justin Baker saw something that didn’t put his mind at ease. 

He, nor head coach Bryant Appling, threw shade at the 2023 squad that fell in the quarterfinals of the GHSA 7A playoffs to Grayson. Nonetheless, Baker, now a senior, noticed a disconnect.

“There would be times where a senior walked past a sophomore and didn’t say anything to each other,” he said. “A senior might even walk past another senior and not say anything. There was a select group of guys at the top and everyone else was on their own.”

Buford had oodles of talent in its previous season, including now-Georgia freshman KJ Bolden and Ohio State first-year player Eddrick Houston along with a slew of others. Those players were not part of the team’s lack of unity, but togetherness can play a bigger role than the on-field talent. 

The Wolves believe they’ve got talent on the current roster, including Baker, a Tennessee pledge and his backfield partner Ethan Ervin – committed to Florida Atlantic. But it’s also believed within the group that Buford has a different element that could propel itself to a run at a fourth state title in six years under Appling.

Buford opens its season Aug. 16 at Milton, a clash of teams projected to be the top-two in Georgia. 

“It’s a different aura around the whole team,” Baker said. “We might not be as talented, because we had it through the roof last year, but I feel like we’re better. There was a disconnect from the seniors to everybody else. We are a lot more connected. We like each other more.”

Now in the GHSA’s 6A classification after it did away with 7A due to travel concerns, Buford hopes to find itself at the pinnacle of a new group. It doesn’t discuss much of the long-term picture with the plan of using the day-by-day cliche to ultimately find success.

“If we take it by each step, we’ll ultimately get to the goal (of winning a state championship),” senior linebacker and edge rusher AJ Holloway said. “It’s a matter of time before we make it.”

Added Appling: “Of course, you’re in Buford, Georgia. You crave a state championship and have the expectation of it. We don’t talk about it or mention it, though.”

In order to bond, Buford implemented a number of off-field ventures in order for the players to build a camaraderie amongst each other. The Wolves held a two-day sleepover camp in which they had numerous events including a tournament with the new, uber-popular College Football 25 video game. Baker said those moments can translate onto the field when Buford finds itself in a hypothetical fourth quarter of a third-round state playoff game. 

Former players with state championship success saw it come to life in the past, too. No matter the amount of talent Buford possesses in a given year, it holds an inner standard. The continuity of a coaching staff – including a passing of the torch from Dexter Wood to Jess Simpson to Appling – also plays a contributing role. 

“We had all of the talent in the world. (The message of keeping intangibles greater than talent) stuck with us,” former Buford star and Clemson player Korie Rogers said. “Other than that, it’s Buford football — physicality, toughness and speed. 

“There’s a reason Buford is Buford, and a lot of it is these coaches sticking around. You grow up with these coaches and have these teams win state championships, then go to speed camps and see these coaches from a young age. You already have that respect.”

Entering the new season, Buford holds more confidence. To reiterate Baker, it believes it is different and better in many ways.

That’s because the Wolves feel as if they are a pack of one. Nobody works alone.

“We’ve put them in a lot of different situations to compete and grow,” Appling said. “We’re a lot closer as a group.”