One of key factors behind the surprising success of Statesboro High School's 1945 football team was the implementation of the T-formation by Coach Earnest Teel. When Coach Teel came to Statesboro in 1945 from Alabama, he brought the offensive formation with him that he learned from a former student who went on to play with the NFL Chicago Bears. The Bears began using the T-formation as their primary offensive set in 1920, but most other NFL teams didn't adopt it until much later.