A developing story out of Jackson County, Alabama, has significant ties to Huntland and Franklin County.
Terrance “Craig” McGill, the current head boys basketball coach at Skyline High School and a former Huntland boys basketball coach, turned himself in at the Jackson County Jail on Thursday, Sept. 24, after being charged with violating Alabama’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
According to WAFF 48, Jackson County Sheriff Rocky Harnen said McGill is accused of knowingly allowing registered sex offender Bryan Farmer onto school grounds.
Farmer also has deep ties to Huntland. TSSAA records list him among the school’s all-time basketball standouts after a career from 1991-94 in which he scored more than 3,000 points. MaxPreps lists Farmer with 3,386 career points, including a senior season in which he averaged more than 41 points per game.
Investigation began after concerns surfaced in June
Concerns surrounding Farmer’s presence around the Skyline program became public earlier this summer when parents raised questions at a Jackson County School District board meeting.
School officials said at the time that Farmer was not an employee of the district and had never been considered for employment. They also said there had been no allegations that Farmer harmed any Skyline students.
WAFF reports McGill has been on administrative leave since the district became aware of the situation.
Farmer was separately indicted by a Jackson County grand jury in June on a charge involving Alabama’s sex offender registration law.
According to Montgomery County, Tennessee court records cited by WAFF, Farmer pleaded guilty to statutory rape in 2008 and was also convicted of sexual battery by an authority figure. Earlier reporting by the Associated Press said Farmer originally faced multiple charges involving students while he was a teacher and coach in the Clarksville-Montgomery County school system. He was acquitted of several charges and others were dismissed by prosecutors.
Strong Huntland connections
The case carries particular local interest because both men have significant connections to Huntland basketball.
When Skyline hired McGill in 2023, the North Jackson Press reported that he had previously led the Huntland boys basketball program for seven seasons. He later coached at Summertown and New Hope before returning to Skyline, his alma mater.
Farmer played at Huntland from 1991 through 1994 and remains one of the most prolific scorers in Tennessee high school basketball history.
931GO has not independently confirmed that McGill and Farmer ever coached together at Huntland, and is not reporting that as fact.
The charge against McGill does not allege that he sexually abused a student. The allegation centers on whether he knowingly allowed a registered sex offender onto school grounds in violation of Alabama law.
McGill’s case remains pending. The charge against him is an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
931GO will continue following the case and its connections to Franklin County as additional information becomes available.
