Jacksonville Sharks' first Indoor Football League season is here: What fans need to know
The mileage count begins now for the Jacksonville Sharks.
The Sharks kick off their 14th year of competition and their first in the Indoor Football League on Saturday night when they travel to the Massachusetts Pirates for a 7:05 p.m. start.
The home opener arrives two weeks later at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, a 7:05 p.m. start on April 6 against the Bay Area Panthers and the first of eight scheduled home games.
Saturday's trip to the Tsongas Center, located in Lowell, Mass., might seem like a long journey for the Sharks, who won a 2023 championship during their last campaign in the National Arena League.
But it's only the beginning.
Serious travel, and likely seriously high scores, are on the way for the Sharks as they begin their IFL era after previous stints in the old Arena Football League (2010 to 2016) and the NAL (2017 to 2023, minus a coronavirus interruption in 2020).
Here's what fans need to know.
How did the Sharks' 2023 season finish?
With a championship, and some major changes.
Just over a week after defeating the Carolina Cobras to win the NAL Championship, 54-45, the Sharks announced their switch to the older IFL, which started in 2008 and bases its offices in Grand Island, Neb.
The move came amid major instability in the NAL, which lost two of its seven franchises (the Fayetteville Mustangs and the Antonio Brown-owned Albany Empire) prior to the season's end.
Which Sharks are coming back in 2024?
The list starts with head coach Jason Gibson. Beginning his second year in Jacksonville after arriving from Columbus, he led the Sharks to a 10-2 record and the league title.
While the roster turnover is substantial, key returners include veteran defensive lineman Jermiah Price, defensive back Jabari Gorman and wide receiver Kamrin Solomon, a Mandarin High School graduate.
Linebackers Anthony Johnson and Brandon Munoz and defensive back Harrison Poole are also among the returners.
What's new in the Indoor Football League?
A lot — especially the long-distance travel.
In the NAL over the last five years, Sharks road trips often meant short drives to places like Orlando, Columbus, Ga. and Greensboro, N.C. But the team's opening-round trip to Massachusetts is practically a drive around the block.
Visits to destinations like Arizona and Las Vegas are also on the itinerary, plus trips to teams around the IFL's traditional base in the Plains states and the upper Midwest.
The move to the IFL also includes several rule changes compared to the NAL, with offensive and defensive platoons instead of the iron man game favored by the Sharks' previous league.
What is the 2024 Jacksonville Sharks schedule?
March 23, at Massachusetts Pirates, 7:05 p.m.
March 31, at Vegas Knight Hawks, 6:05 p.m.
April 6, vs. Bay Area Panthers, 7:05 p.m.
April 20, vs. Vegas Knight Hawks, 7:05 p.m.
April 28, at Arizona Rattlers, 6:05 p.m.
May 4, at Tulsa Oilers, 8:05 p.m.
May 11, at Frisco Fighters, 2:05 p.m.
May 18, vs. Sioux Falls Storm, 8:05 p.m.
June 1, vs. Arizona Rattlers, 7:05 p.m.
June 8, vs. Tulsa Oilers, 7:05 p.m.
June 14, at Green Bay Blizzard, 8:05 p.m.
June 22, vs. Massachusetts Pirates, 7:05 p.m.
June 29, at Sioux Falls Storm, 8:05 p.m.
July 6, at Iowa Barnstormers, 8:05 p.m.
July 13, vs. Green Bay Blizzard, 7:05 p.m.
July 20, vs. Quad City Steamwheelers, 6:05 p.m.
Jacksonville Sharks 2024 opening roster
Quarterbacks: Conor Blount, Eddie Brill Jr.
Running back: Logan Wright
Receivers: Isaiah Johnson, Marquis McClain, Jeremiah Payton, Brian Smith, Kamrin Solomon, Dimitrios Tsesmetzis
Offensive line: Lawrence Edwards, William Eoff, Gibril Ghee, Nick Roos
Defensive line: Marcus Bragg, Anthony Hayes, Ulric Jones, Jermiah Price
Linebackers: Jordan Cole, Anthony Johnson, Brandon Munoz
Defensive backs: Jabari Gorman, J.D. Granger, Caleb Ham, Brion Murray, Harrison Poole, Jacoby Puckett
Kicker: Frankie Onate
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Sharks 2024: Schedule & Indoor Football League preview
