Florala offensive coordinator Bubba Nall thought he was on the butt-end of a joke through email recently.

Alabama Football Coaches Association (ALFCA) President Jamie Riggs sent Nall an email saying that he was selected as the Class 1A Assistant Coach of the Year.

Nall called Wildcats head coach Justin Jones over to his desk to verify the message, which was no joke at all.

Known for being quite passionate about the game of football, Nall said he had tears running down his face when he found out that he, in fact, received the honor.

“First of all, I’m extremely excited,” Nall said. “It’s a huge honor. This is probably the most humbling thing I’ve experienced in my 20 years of coaching.

“I’m blessed to be here at Florala and to have the opportunity to be here,” he said.

Nall said he wanted to express how thankful he is to the other Wildcats coaching staff, including David Green, Pat Maddox and Daniel Allison.

“The biggest thing is that our kids bought into what we’re coaching here,” Nall said. “To me, it’s a team thing. I almost feel a sense of guiltiness (on winning the award). I feel like just another ‘Joe’ on a great staff.”

The AFCA holds an annual conference in Montgomery on Jan. 24-26. Nall will receive his award on Jan. 26, at 11:30 a.m., during an awards banquet at the Embassy Suites in Montgomery.

Nall has coached the offense at FHS for the past two seasons. He spent a long coaching stint at Enterprise before joining Jones, who had also been at EHS.

Jones said Nall was nominated based on his work as an OC, especially this season, where the Wildcats averaged 32 points and 300 yards per game.

“He’s just a good motivator,” Jones said. “He (Nall) does a great job coaching our offensive line and does a great job of planning — he’s a preparation guy. We try to cover every scenario. He does a good job of in-game adjustments.”

For 18 years, Nall had been coaching the familiar Wing-T offensive formation.

FHS switched to the option offense with three games to go last season, and Jones said he adopted the new offensive scheme willingly.

“He just took it and ran with it,” he said. “His dedication and his passion for the game of football, it’s just amazing.”

Nall said it’s the players who really deserve the credit for this honor.

“I’m extremely thankful to the kids and coaches here,” Nall said. “You’re just as good as your kids are. We’re just blessed that we’re here.

“Me receiving this honor is a byproduct of these kids doing what we’ve asked them to do,” he said.