It’s Aunt Jemima. And it’s from Walmart, not Publix.
The viral high school PANCAKES COACH explains his syrup strategy
“You know what? I’m gonna just wave syrup around. If they bring me pancakes, I bring them the syrup.”
These are the first things to know about the syrup Jonesboro (Georgia) High School offensive line coach Darrian Carmicheal squirts into his players’ mouths on Friday nights. When a lineman lays a flattening “pancake” block on some poor defender, or when the Cardinals score a touchdown, Carmicheal’s linemen are rewarded with a shot of Jemima.
It’s always been Aunt Jemima. Last year, when Carmicheal was on staff at nearby Miller Grove High School, the syrup was merely a prop — something he waved around in the air, his answer to the turnover chain and college football’s endless stream of sideline toys.
“It was just a honey-roasted or something like that,” Carmicheal said in an interview with SB Nation. “It’s always been Aunt Jemima’s with the handle.”
This year, for his first game at Jonesboro, Carmicheal took to actually doling out shots of the stuff, and Aunt Jemima’s getting results.
“I mean, right now it is,” Carmicheal said. “It’s getting me the results it is now. I’m willing to try other brands or everything like that. I just never thought about that.”
The syrup has become a national story, making appearances on ESPN shows and drawing posts on dozens of websites that don’t even cover high school football.
Carmicheal’s syrup is about something deeper than its sweet, savory taste. It’s about connecting with the position group that does “the dirty work.”
If they can get 15 pancakes between all five of them, then I take them to IHOP.
Carmicheal, 26, is a former offensive lineman himself. After playing in the Georgia high school ranks, he set up shop on the line for four years at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville. He’s never felt that offensive lineman get the dues they deserve.
So last year, as a coach, Carmicheal figured he’d get to work.
“‘Well, how can I motivate my guys to go the extra mile and do the extra thing?’” he thought. “As an offensive lineman, we don’t get recognition unless we end up doing something wrong. So the idea came. I was like, ‘Well, you know, the big thing for offensive linemen is getting a pancake block.’ I said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna just wave syrup around. If they bring me pancakes, I bring them the syrup.’”
With the syrup shots, the least-hyped position group has something all its own.
“It’s not for the quarterbacks, it’s not for the running backs, it’s not for the receivers,” Carmicheal said. “It’s just an O-line thing, to make them feel special and know that they are being watched.”
It might not always even be syrup.
“Whatever pops in my mind, I may talk it over with myself or probably talk to someone else about it if it’s a good idea,” he said.
But the syrup isn’t really the point. The validation is.
An under-covered part of this story is that Carmicheal’s linemen aren’t only playing for syrup. They’re also playing to have something to spread syrup on.
“I believe in coaching, you need to give players an incentive, just like you have the turnover chain,” he said. “So I also told them that if they can get 15 pancakes between all five of them, which is really three pancakes a person, then I take them to IHOP and I pay for everything. We can go out any time and eat real pancakes. Everything will be on me.”
