Coaches’ whistles tweeting in the air. Shoes thumping against footballs. Pretty soon, pads colliding with pads.
Football time. It’s back.
High school spring football practice is officially underway across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, a four-week window to step up preparations for the Florida High School Athletic Association season this fall.
For some schools, ranging from Creekside to Fernandina Beach to Trinity Christian, football has already been back for several days, part of the FHSAA’s spring policy shaped by school districts’ academic calendars. Regardless of the start date, though, schools have 20 sessions to work toward a new season that will be coming in fewer than four months.
Here’s a look at some of the Jacksonville area’s key storylines.
Can Raines repeat?
Raines ended Jacksonville’s title drought last year in an all-time classic finish, defeating formerly-perfect Miami Northwestern 23-22 in the Class 3A championship game at Miami’s Pitbull Stadium.
The question now: Can they do it again?
Repeats are rare, particularly for Northeast Florida public schools, where the only back-to-back championships belong to Bradford (1965 and 1966), Raines (2017 and 2018), Suwannee (four in a row from 1987-90) and Union County (three in a row from 1994-96).
Raines must replace major contributors like record-breaking quarterback TJ Cole, running back Tadarius Washington, receivers Kelvin Brown, Ziyon Butler and Ethan Sherman and a whole pack of standouts on defense.
But the next wave, including quarterback Sa’Mon Ellison-Morgan, lineman Roy Harvison Jr. and two-way athlete Zion Green, steps up with big-time promise to join core returners like senior edge rusher Troy Butler.
Recruits in the spotlight
As recruiting years go on the First Coast, the 2027 class has drawn somewhat less buzz than the two before it (which included national prospects like Naeem Burroughs, Solomon Thomas and Somourian Wingo) or the one afterward (with top-10 recruits Brysen Wright and Asher Ghioto, just to name two).
But nobody should be overlooking the depth of talent in Northeast Florida this year.
Just within the past week, Columbia wide receiver Kyren Caldwell named a top-seven list of major programs: Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
In the Gateway Conference alone, Atlantic Coast edge rusher Desmond Malpress, First Coast offensive lineman Marcus Small (already committed to Syracuse), Mandarin defensive tackle Kindrid Outland and White cornerback Jacquari Parks are among the 2027 prospects in the spotlight.
And as for the 2028 class, the recruiting anticipation is booming, from Ghioto and Wright to Mandarin’s Miami-committed quarterback Knox Annis to Bolles’ rushing champion Xander Edwards to Baldwin athlete Jaiden Barnett.
Spring game schedule
May 14
Eagle’s View at Duval Charter, 6:15 p.m.
Episcopal at University Christian, 6 p.m.
Trinity Christian at Mandarin, 6:30 p.m.
May 15
Branford at Keystone Heights, 7 p.m.
Camden County at Columbia, 7:30 p.m.
Englewood at Providence, 6 p.m.
Middleburg at Palatka, 7 p.m.
Newberry at Suwannee, 7:30 p.m.
Old Plank Christian at St. Joseph, 7 p.m.
Ridgeview at Crescent City, 7 p.m.
May 19
Bartram Trail at Baker County, 7 p.m.
Christ’s Church and Hilliard at Cornerstone Classical, jamboree, 6:30 p.m.
May 20
Clay and Creekside at Beachside, jamboree, 6 p.m.
Fernandina Beach at Menendez, 7 p.m.
St. Augustine at Bishop Kenny, 6 p.m.
May 21
Fleming Island at Fletcher, 6 p.m.
Impact Christian at First Coast, 6 p.m.
Oakleaf and Parker at Jackson, jamboree, 6 p.m.
Orange Park at Sandalwood, 6 p.m.
Orangewood Christian at Bishop Snyder, 7 p.m.
Raines vs. Nease, at Parker, 6:30 p.m.
Ribault at Union County, 7 p.m.
Riverside at Ponte Vedra, 6 p.m.
Yulee at Tocoi Creek, 7 p.m.
May 22
Atlantic Coast and Baldwin at NFEI, jamboree, 7 p.m.
Bolles at White, 7 p.m.
Ocala Trinity Catholic and West Nassau at Alachua Santa Fe, jamboree, 7 p.m.
Paxon and Stanton at Wolfson, jamboree, 6 p.m.
Westside at Interlachen, 7 p.m.
May 26
KIPP Bold City at Bradford, 7 p.m.
TBD: Cedar Creek Christian, Fort White, Harvest Community, Joshua Christian, TDH Academy, YKIM, Zarephath Academy
Rodgers, Pruitt among coaching moves
It’s been another busy winter for the coaching carousel, which has continued its spin well into spring on the First Coast.
Among the moves standing out is the return of Jamie Rodgers to Baker County after a four-year tenure at rival Bradford, where the Tornadoes went 46-7 and built one of the Sunshine State’s top defensive units.
And 400-game winner Robby Pruitt is back in Northeast Florida at the helm of Union County, where he coached from 1993 to 1999 and won FHSAA championships from 1994 through 1996. Pruitt, selected to the FHSAA Hall of Fame in 2000, previously lifted championship trophies at University Christian in 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1992.
Familiar faces returning from outside the area include Cameron Porch at Keystone Heights and Jim Stomps at Duval Charter. In all, around a dozen Northeast Florida programs have installed new coaches in the off-season.
J-E-T-S, Jets-Jets-Jets prepare for arrival
The city is welcoming a new program to the gridiron this fall in Jacksonville Classical Academy.
The school has yet to announce its complete schedule but would be competing as an independent for 2026.
Former Jacksonville Sharks wide receiver Devin Wilson, a Nashville native who recently worked on the Edward Waters University football staff, is the Jets’ inaugural head coach.
New district landscape for 2026
A storyline that won’t take full effect until the fall: The FHSAA’s new classification for football forthe next two years.
As in other team ball sports, the FHSAA trimmed the number of classes to six, and also removed football’s Rural class as more and more smaller programs opted for the Sunshine State Athletic Association on the gridiron.
The result is a patchwork quilt of district alignments across the state — in some cases in South Floridaand Central Florida, regions don’t have enough teams to fill all the playoff berths.
For Northeast Florida, the spotlight is on a potential super district in 2-5A, which will include Bartram Trail, Beachside, Fletcher, Mandarin, Nease and Ponte Vedra.
FHSAA 2026 FOOTBALL DISTRICTS
District 1-6A: Atlantic Coast, Creekside, First Coast, Flagler Palm Coast, Sandalwood, Tocoi Creek
District 2-5A: Bartram Trail, Beachside, Fletcher, Mandarin, Nease, Ponte Vedra
District 3-5A: Gainesville Buchholz, Matanzas, Oakleaf, Ocala Forest, Ocala West Port
District 3-4A: Columbia, Ribault, Riverside, White, Yulee
District 4-4A: Clay, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Orange Park, Ridgeview, St. Augustine
District 2-3A: Baker County, Suwannee, Tallahassee Godby, Wakulla
District 3-3A: Bishop Kenny, Parker, Raines
District 4-3A: Menendez, Palatka, Westside, Wolfson
District 3-2A: Baldwin, Bolles, Jackson, KIPP Bold City
District 4-2A: Bradford, Newberry, Ocala Trinity Catholic
District 3-1A: Fort White, Madison County, Taylor County
District 5-1A: Impact Christian, NFEI, Trinity Christian, University Christian
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville spring football is here. Key stories to watch
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
