Revamped D, transfer QBs and reclassifications. 5 storylines to watch during spring practice

Over 20 weeks ago, the high school football season ended in North Central Florida.

Bradford fell 20-6 to Cocoa in the Class 2S title game under the lights of Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

From that moment on, all teams in the area focused their attention to spring practice.

Monday, Spring Ball kicked off in North Central Florida, continuing through the spring games in mid-May.

Here are five storylines we’ll be watching:

How will Buchholz’s revamped defense look?

Buchholz was perhaps the most dominant team in the area last season, despite falling in the Class 4S state semifinals.

The Bobcats suffered massive roster turnover in 2024, especially on defense.

They lost SEC commits, Florida’s Myles Graham and Texas A&M’s Kendall Jackson, and leading tacklers – Matthew Kade, Amari Sheppard and Thomas Weinhardt.

The ‘Cats still return seniors Nick Clayton and Elijah Daniels, both of whom received Division I offers, plus a potential flurry of transfers.

In addition, Buchholz still welcomes back QB Trace Johnson and dynamic WR Justin Williams for their junior seasons.

How will Newberry’s and Bradford’s transfer QBs look?

In the FHSAA’s latest reclassification, District 5 of Class 2A stuck out as intrigue.

The favorites — Newberry and Bradford — both enter a state of transition.

The Panthers saw 2022 and ’23 starting QB Keil McGriff transfer to Buchholz. Instead, they snagged BHS backup QB Collins Dunmore.

Behind Johnson, Dunmore attempted just 14 passes in 2023.

His new team lost top receiver and Florida PWO David Schmidt, but it does bring back two All-Area honorees — RB Kaleb Woods and WR Hayden Moore.

In Starke, the Tornadoes saw seven seniors sign with colleges, including QB Dae’Jon Shanks.

Bradford responded by getting Columbia QB Zack Paulk. The senior began the season with the starting job for the Tigers but got injured and lost the full-time role to Xavier Collins.

What can CJ Ingram do for an encore?

Locally, all eyes inevitably land on Hawthorne, where the Hornets look to become the area’s first team to win three in a row.

HHS returns the biggest piece of all in QB CJ Ingram. Ingram, the defending All-Area Small School Offensive Player of the Year, threw for nearly 40 TDs and 2,600 yards.

He will forge ahead without his top three receivers from 2023 in Alvon Isaac, Matthew McKinley-Daniels and Caleb Rollerson.

The question hanging over all of this is which direction CJ will go in in college as he’s received offers in football and basketball.

Can Newberry’s star-studded D-Line make a statement?

There’s no question which position group is the strongest locally:

Newberry’s Defensive Line.

It features 3-star recruit Jarquez Carter, who holds offers from Florida, Alabama and Texas just to name a few.

Then there’s Mykah Newton, 3-star edge rusher choosing from Michigan State, UCF and Tulane amongst others.

Finally, there’s Logan McCloud with interest from Army and Coastal Carolina.

While Carter holds offers from nearly every school under the sun, Newton and McCloud wil look to use spring ball as a springboard.

Which 1R team can threaten Hawthorne?

When new classifications were released in December, it seemed like Hawthorne was a shoo-in to return to the state semifinals at least.

Three Tri-County schools, though — Union County, Williston and Fort White — petitioned the FHSAA to be moved down from 1A back into 1R.

The three won, and now will pose a challenge to the Hornets.

Williston lost multiple key pieces, but the Red Devils were the top-ranked team in 1R all of last season until their regional final loss to Hawthorne.

Union County gave Madison County its toughest fight of the season, and Fort White brings in Buchholz 3-star receiver Mike Peterson.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Five storylines as HS football spring practice begins in Gainesville area