After receiving word Casey Miller was stepping down as head football coach and that Cottonwood High would be moving in all sports to 4A at the start of the fall 2023 school year, athletic director Greg Southwick said he had to do something drastic. 

“We had to pull from the school’s deep football tradition,” said the Cottonwood AD to City Journals. “And get back to our roots.” 

But first, said Southwick, he assembled all of the Colts football players who played every down and snap this season for a meeting to ask their opinions. 

Unanimously, said Southwick, the answer was Donovan Malmrose—a Colts assistant under Miller but perhaps most important, a school alum who played wide receiver for the Colts through 2007. See him play at www.youtube.com/watch?v=h19MwQl-y6I. 

“If we’re gonna get back to what Cottonwood football used to be, and rescue it from life support, then we as an administration felt he was our man,” Southwick said. 

It’s a tall task, added Southwick, but felt that if anyone can add the numbers that this Cottonwood football program so desperately needs it would be Malmrose. 

“Let’s get to work! As a Cottonwood graduate of 2007, being part of a Cwood Football program of excellence that taught us young men life lessons, I’m bringing Cottonwood Football tradition back! Recreate that home, family and experience our coaches gave us,” said Malmrose, who would like to “finish what ’04 (Cottonwood) team started.” 

For Southwick, he said he couldn’t be more pleased about the hiring of Malmrose, who also teaches high school Spanish. The former Cottonwood coach Miller (now at Cyprus as the school’s defensive coordinator) also said nice things about the new coach. 

“He is going to try to build on what we did....I just couldn't keep fighting a fight I thought was unwinnable,” said Miller, who thinks Malmrose will do a good job. “He is bringing in a lot of faces (back) from when they won games in the Scott Cate era. They need to find a way to get more kids....”

Miller added that he was made aware that only 25 players remain on board from the Cottonwood team he coached, this past fall. Southwick also acknowledged that, but said that he, along with Malmrose and his staff—which is still being formulated at this time—do have a plan. It starts with a community meeting on Jan. 19, at Cottonwood High (after press deadline).

“For starters, the kids really like him so we’re hopeful that Donovan can get out into the middle schools and charters in the area and get them excited about playing and attending school here,” Southwick said. 

“But what we really need is him to convince those kids who attend school here into playing here—instead of at Skyline and Olympus and at other schools.”