Ibrahim Halsey – Central Jersey Sports Radio

The way the coaching carousel spun this summer, Ibrahim Halsey became the new head coach of the South Brunswick football team late in the game.

Only officially hired June 13th, the former Elizabeth and Illinois star who was a Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey had a short window to learn about his players before preseason practice started.

Turns out he was a quick study, and he learned even more about the character of the Vikings in a season-opening 30-13 win at Robbinsville Friday night.

While the Vikings never trailed, two particular players showed their mettle, according to Halsey, and he’s expecting big things from them this year.

One is Daniel Duffie, who opened the scoring with a 38-yar first-quarter touchdown pass to Julian Williams; Halsey liked his “poise” considering it was his first varsity start.

The other is Kamari Toney, who finished the night with a 53-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that answered a Ravens score. Just a sophomore, Halsey says he’s “going to be special.”

This Thursday night, though, things get even more real. The Vikings will visit North Brunswick, looking for their first win against their arch rivals in six tries. Their last victory was on Thanksgiving, 2017, a 42-20 win, and the only time North Brunswick has lost to South under Mike Cipot.

Click below to hear Ibrahim Halsey talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the Robbinsville win, learning about his team, and this week’s matchup with North Brunswick:

The coaching carousel continues in the Big Central Conference.

South Brunswick Athletic Director CJ Hendricks has recommended Ibrahim Halsey as the Vikings new head football coach, with his approval scheduled for a vote by the Board of Education at its June 13th meeting.

Halsey spent the last three years as head coach at Roselle, leading the Rams to a 17-16 record in that span, with an 8-4 mark in 2022 being the high point. He takes over for Joe Goerge, who took the Woodbridge job after Joe LaSala stepped down as head coach of the Barrons in late March.

Halsey was an outstanding football player at Elizabeth High School, where he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey in 2001, then went on to play collegiately at Illinois. He later got his Master’s Degree in Special Education and Teaching at Grand Canyon University, and returned to the Elizabeth program in 2012 as an assistant coach, where he was until he took the Roselle job right after COVID, for the 2021 season.

With the latest round of coaching changes, Halsey takes over a bit late in the game, but he has already made progress assembling a staff. He’s eyeing former New Brunswick and Rutgers standout Nate Harris as his Offensive Coordinator, expects some of his Roselle staff will join him, and anticipates some South Brunswick staff will remain as well.

Now, Roselle will be looking for a new coach as the calendar is about to turn over to June.

Click below to hear Ibrahim Halsey talk to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about taking the South Brunswick the job, and his plans for the Vikings in 2024 and beyond: