2020 36 Blitz: Henry Clay Blue Devils

LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ) – 1992, that was when then head coach Sam Simpson took over the Henry Clay Blue Devils. 28 years later, Demetrius Gay takes over for the program’s winningest coach. While he may have a new title, Coach Gay entering his 19th year on the staff.

“I played for Coach Simpson so he coached me,” says Coach Gay. “When I got out of college I came back, I learned a lot of things from all the coaches who have been through the program, but I do want to put my own spin on it.”

As Coach Gay takes over, he’s finding out what a lot of new head coaches find out. There is a lot more to coaching than just on-the-field action.

“I think the biggest thing with me having a track background and coaching track, I know a lot about the money, but when you get into football it’s a different beast. Everything is costly.,” said Coach Gay. “It’s a lot of money to run a program and we’re figuring it out and hopefully we’ll be good.”

The Blue Devils haven’t even kicked off the first game of Coach Gay’s tenure and he’s already taking some heat. While the rest of the state will kick off their season September 11th, the Blue Devils will start two weeks later on September 25th. Why? He wants to make sure his team has ample time to prepare for the season.

“It was a hard decision, but you know I’m all about safety. Keeping these kids safe is the most important thing. So if I was going to take the heat for those two games, then I was going to take it.”

When the Blue Devils do begin their new season, They will be replacing some key players including quarterback DJ Van Horn.

“We’ve got some guys who have come and it’s an open competition. I’ve told the guys that every position is open. Quarterback is one of the position that the limelight is on so everybody is going to be looking at who’s that guy.”

Players won’t be the only new ones. Coach Gay has also brought in seven new assistant coaches who are gearing up for the season as well.

“I think we’re doing a great job. The new coaches are doing a great job helping the guys. We’re learning a lot, breaking things down for the guys so they can understand why we do this and why we do that so it’s going and I hope that it’s going to be great for us.”