Monday marked the first day of practice for athletes in fall high school sports, including those in football.
Some teams marked that opportunity with midnight practices to get things going as the march to the regular season begins. Here’s what you need to get caught up on the 2025 season.
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When does the season start?
Regular season games for the bulk of Georgia begin on Aug. 15. In Florida, most teams begin play on Aug. 22, with preseason games and kickoff classics the week before. Here are the weekly schedules and here are the team schedules.
The heat is on
Soaring temperatures in the state are nothing new, but schools in Florida have had to do a more thorough job in determining when and where to practice. The Zachary Martin Act, signed into law in 2020, means schools must use Wet Bulb Globe Temperature as a way to determine if it’s too hot to practice.
The WBGT is a measure of heat stress in direct sunlight. It factors in temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover to determine if it’s safe to practice and for how long. If the reading is too high, which it often is in the baking heat of the afternoon, then teams are forced to go inside or wait until the temperature drops to within a safe reading. So, it’s more common than not to see teams practicing in the mornings and not the heat of the afternoon.
Teams to watch
The usual suspects top the list, with blue blood programs Bolles, Raines, St. Augustine and Trinity Christian among the schools who should see little to no dropoff. The Vikings went 13-1 and reached the state championship last year before a loss against Miami Northwestern. The Yellow Jackets and Conquerors both played in the state semifinals. Bolles had an earlier playoff exit than normal, but the Bulldogs enter 2025 as perhaps the area’s deepest team.
Mandarin will clash with Raines for Gateway Conference bragging rights. Bradford has become a power under head coach Jamie Rodgers. Nease was the No. 1-ranked team in the FHSAA rankings last year and went unbeaten in the regular season. Looking for a younger program ready to make a move? That should be Beachside, which enters its fourth season under head coach Pete Duffy ready to bang with the perennial powers after a 7-4 playoff season.
Top players history
As a new season begins, here’s a look back at the area’s top players over the past five seasons:
2024: TJ Cole, Raines (offensive, pictured above); Jyon Simon, Raines (defensive)
2023: Laython Biddle, Bartram Trail (offensive); Drake Stubbs, Mandarin (defensive).
2022: Orel Gray, University Christian (offensive); Grayson Howard, Jackson (defensive).
2021: Dom Henry, Nease (offensive); Jaheim Singletary, Riverside (defensive).
2020: Jadon Canady, Sandalwood.
Will there be changes to FHSAA?
Something to watch on the horizon is for politics to muscle its way into the FHSAA picture. Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas fired off a letter to executive director Craig Damon last week about the state’s “antiquated” bylaws in a name, image and likeness and school choice world. Why is that a big deal?
Legislation has handed over essentially every power of oversight to the politicians of Florida. That could be a life raft to coaches or programs who have run afoul of bylaws that threaten suspension or fines. But it’s not the news that beleaguered school districts and administrations want to deal with. Numerous coaches and athletic directors already feel there’s been too much meddling by lawmakers who have no attachment to high school sports.
The FHSAA has become fearful of being wiped out by overzealous politicians during the past 15 years and will likely bend in some capacity to Kamoutsas’ very public shot, which is tied to Miami Northwestern football coach Teddy Bridgewater’s suspension by his school after admitting he helped foot the bill for tens of thousands of dollars to help players on his team last year.
Brysen Wright is a rising star
Mandarin rising sophomore Brysen Wright is the most famous 14-year-old football player in America. He went viral last year and again this month during the NFL Flag Football championships. Wright helped the U14 Jaguars team win the championship.
His play included wild one-handed snags and unreal catches. On Sunday, he and his flag teammates were featured at Jaguars training camp. Wright was interviewed on the NFL Network and got to pose with Travis Hunter for photos after practice. Get ready for nonstop attention on both Wright and the Mustangs this year.
New faces
Head coaching changes are always aplenty in high school football. Here are a few coaching changes from around the area.
School, New head coach, Old head coach
Baker County, Brock Canaday, Kevin Mays
Clay, Jeff Gierke, Kyle Kennard
Eagle’s View, Ken Bailey, R.J. Boyd
Englewood, Alexander Mohammed, Kevin Johnson
First Coast, Jarvis Parker, Marty Lee
Flagler Palm Coast, Patrick Turner, Daniel Fish
Fleming Island, Tom MacPherson, Derek Chipoletti (interim)
Harvest Community, Nathaniel Whitehead, Jackson Wilcox
Hollis Christian, Avis Commack, James Jarrell
Old Plank Christian, Frank Andrea, Caleb Davis
Palatka, Lantz Lowery, Patrick Turner
Stanton, Dennis Bettinger, Ryan Carter
Tocoi Creek, Kevin Doelling, Zach Harbison
Union County, Lamar Waters (interim), Andrew Thomas
Westside, Michael Burns, Randy Randall
Top recruits
A look at 50 of the top recruits in the Class of 2026 and where they’re committed to:
Position, Player, Height, Weight, School
LB, Talan Babin, 6-1, 215, Ponte Vedra, Uncommitted
LS, Joel Bazinet, 5-10, 215, Oakleaf, Tulsa
DE, Reece Beck, 6-6, 250, Ponte Vedra, Rutgers
DL, Geterius Brown, 6-1, 270, Raines, Charleston Southern
WR, Kelvin Brown, 5-10, 165, Raines, Boston College
WR, Trace Burney, 5-9, 165, Oakleaf, James Madison
WR, Ziyon Butler, 5-11, 170, Raines, Georgia State
WR, Naeem Burroughs, 5-11, 160, Bolles, Clemson
S, Simeon Caldwell, 6-2, 185, Bolles, Ohio State
S, Elijah Caldwell-Hardy, 6-1, 185, Impact Christian, Michigan State
OT, Kasiyah Charlton, 6-6, 295, Brunswick, UCF
OL, Alexander Citrullo, 6-4, 298, Fletcher, Wagner
QB, TJ Cole, 5-10, 175, Raines, Uncommitted
S, Sebastian Cruz, 5-10, 180, Fleming Island, Rutgers
LB, Jacob Curry, 6-2, 200, Nease, Northwestern
TE, Corbyn Fordham, 6-4, 205, Bolles, Ohio State
S, Luke Harmon, 6-1, 195, Menendez, Uncommitted
OL, James Harding, 6-6, 270, Beachside, Cornell
EDGE, Brian Harris, 6-3, 280, Mandarin, Oklahoma
WR, Zay Hilliard, 6-4, 205, UC, Georgia Southern
S, Julian Holt, 6-2, 190, White, Bowling Green
WR, Maddox Hunstad, 6-5, 205, Beachside, Bowling Green
OL, Ryan Ingram, 6-2, 282, Bolles, Uncommitted
S, Jayden Jackson, 6-1, 175, Fort White, Uncommitted
DB, Shareef Jackson, 5-10, 160, Raines, Uncommitted
DB, Brody Jennings, 6-1, 165, Mandarin, Miami
QB, Eddie Jordan, 6-0, 195, Beachside, Uncommitted
OL, Chris Jules, 6-3, 265, Oakleaf, Uncommitted
QB, Tony Kennedy, 6-1, 185, First Coast, Uncommitted
ATH, Heze Kent, 6-6, 250, Brunswick, Florida
DB, Elijah Keys, 6-2, 175, Fletcher, UCF
DB, Von Lane, 6-1, 190, Columbia, Uncommitted
RB, Arthur Lewis IV, 5-9, 190, Bartram, UCF
DB, Amare Mack, 5-11, 175, University Christian, Georgia State
QB, Jack McKissock, 6-2, 195, Oakleaf, Uncommitted
ATH, Kameron Mills, 6-1, 215, Mandarin, Uncommitted
DB, Tamajh Mitchell, 5-9, 150, Mandarin, Uncommitted
ATH, JoJo Payton, 5-10, 170, Providence, Elon
ATH, Jordin Price, 5-10, 170, Oakleaf, UAB
EDGE, Jarius Rodgers, 6-5, 190, Fleming Island, Syracuse
WR, Julio Santiago, 5-9, 160, St. Augustine, Uncommitted
WR, Ethan Sherman, 6-0, 175, Raines, MTSU
WR, Diondre Smith, 5-11, 175, Fletcher, Iowa
OL, Malachi Smith, 6-6, 260, Trinity, Uncommitted
IOL, JJ Sparks, 6-4, 300, Bolles, Miami
WR, Vernon Stephens, 6-0, 205, Nease, Army
DE, Cameron Washington, 6-3, 240, Raines, Charleston Southern
LB, Tony Williams, 5-10, 215, Raines, Illinois
WR, Somourian Wingo, 6-3, 180, St. Augustine, Miami
OL, Ephraim Wright, 6-0, 280, Zarephath, Wingate
