Gwinnett Daily Post

Christian Hunnicutt, an assistant football coach at Buford High School.

As Buford athletic director Dexter Wood put it, Christian Hunnicutt is "one of those core guys."

By that, he means Hunnicutt was one of the few coaches remaining from Wood's early days as the Wolves' head coach, back when the roster was thin and the wins didn't come as easily as they have in recent years.

Hunnicutt has played a major role in building Buford's football success since he arrived as offensive line coach in 1997, adding offensive coordinator duties in 2004. His lines have paved the way for seven state championships and three state runner-up finishes.

Now he's headed elsewhere.

Hunnicutt was announced Wednesday as the first head football coach at Cambridge, a new high school in North Fulton that will draw students from Alpharetta and Milton. It's slated to open in August.

"We're going to really miss him," said current Buford head coach Jess Simpson, one of those "core guys" himself.

The loss of Hunnicutt is a major blow, even for a powerhouse like Buford. He coached a large group of Division I-caliber linemen, but also coached up some solid high school players and meshed them all into dominating lines.

His presence on the football field won't be easy to replace, and it's the same in the classroom where Hunnicutt is a well-liked AP government teacher.

Cambridge is the beneficiary of those talents now, and its new principal made a great hire in Hunnicutt, whose new job is only 11 minutes from his Fulton County home and much closer to where his 7-year-old daughter goes to school. While he's excited about the new gig, Hunnicutt will miss his home of the past 15 years, too.

"Buford's such a special place to me," Hunnicutt said. "A piece of my heart will always be in Buford, Ga. I think about all the friends I've got here, it's definitely bittersweet."

Many of those friends are his fellow coaches, the guys he spent countless hours with during football season. He spent 15 years with those "core guys" like Simpson and David Snell, part of the school's solid coaching foundation that will be missing one key figure next season.

"I'm really going to miss those guys," Hunnicutt said. "You spend so much time together. You know everything about each other. They know the things that really brought you happiness in life and they know the things that brought you sadness in life. They've become family members."

Will Hammock can be reached via email at will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com. His column appears on Thursdays. For archived columns, go to www.gwinnettdailypost.com/willhammock. For his blog, go to www.gwinnettdailypost.com/willsworld.