<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3hfHv8_1C8Cl5Ek00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3hfHv8_1C8Cl5Ek00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>Summit senior receiver Micah Salley runs for yardage with a pair of Mt. Pleasant defenders in pursuit during Thursday’s 7-on-7 matchup. Salley, who previously played with the Spartans, rejoined the team after spending his junior year at Centennial. BUFFY HOLT</figcaption></figure>High school football coaches typically aren’t accountants. But most these days are probably keeping something akin to a profit/loss ledger as it relates to their rosters.And it’s thanks to the “transfer portal” – which, in terms of talent, both giveth and taketh away. Look no further than Thursday’s 7-on-7 session between Summit, Spring Hill, Zion Christian and host Mt. Pleasant. Last summer, the host Tigers added former Summertown standout Kaden McCrory, who in his junior season rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 19 touchdowns as Mt. Pleasant advanced to the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2lN9Gg_1C8Cl5Ek00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2lN9Gg_1C8Cl5Ek00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>Kale Scott, who suffered a broken right arm during basketball season, drops back to throw with Mt. Pleasant offensive coordinator Andrew Holcomb watching as the Tigers hosted Spring Hill, Summit and Zion Christian for some 7-on-7 work Thursday. Scott was one of two key transfers for Mt. Pleasant last fall, after playing his freshman and sophomore seasons at Lawrence County. BUFFY HOLT</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, the Raiders are adjusting to life without rising senior Lionel Brooks. After rushing for 1,594 yards and 17 TDs last fall, helping Spring Hill to Round 2 of the Class 4A state playoffs, Brooks will suit up this fall for Franklin Christian and first-year Falcons coach David Pack. “We move on,” a resolute second-year Spring Hill coach Josh Taylor said. “It’s definitely tough. You lose a guy that can take it 80 (yards) on any kind of snap, a guy that was whatever percentage of our offense that he was, it’s going to look a little bit different. (But) we still expect to be able to execute.” Though Brooks – who lined up at both quarterback and at running back for the Raiders in 2025 – has departed, Taylor and offensive coordinator Matt Brown will have two other players who saw time at QB last fall returning in Jonah Gipson and Jacob Hidde. With Gipson attending a camp Thursday, Hidde received the majority of the snaps in the team’s three varsity contests. “We’ve got a veteran offensive line, we’ve got veteran receivers, we’ve got guys that have taken snaps at quarterback,” Taylor said. “We’ve got two capable running backs, really three capable running backs, so it’ll be more of a committee at running back. I also expect us to be pretty good on defense.” <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2YSmQz_1C8Cl5Ek00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2YSmQz_1C8Cl5Ek00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>Spring Hill second-year coach Josh Taylor is encouraged about the Raiders’ 2026 prospects despite the loss of Lionel Brooks, who rushed for nearly 1,600 yards as a junior. Brooks has transferred to Franklin Christian for his senior season. BUFFY HOLT</figcaption></figure>Taylor anticipates the tandem of senior Kasen White, junior Anthony Tran and sophomore Caleel Hardison to collectively approach the production of Brooks. Along with Brooks, the Raider trenches took a hit as offensive lineman Jackson Brown – a co-op member of the roster from Santa Fe – move out of state with his family. “We are transferless,” Taylor said. “We had a guy move in from out of state in March; something happened and he left. We saw some guys, and life happens. But we’ve got a big senior class. We’ve still got a big veteran presence, experience. I’m OK with what we have this year. I’m excited about it.” In addition to McCrory, Mt. Pleasant returns former Lawrence County quarterback Kale Scott, who threw for 2,076 yards and 25 TDs while completing 73 percent of his passes as a junior last fall. The duo led an offense that averaged nearly 33 points a game last fall. Scott took a majority of the snaps for the Tigers, showing no ill effects from a broken right forearm that cut his junior basketball campaign short. Thus far, Mt. Pleasant hasn’t had any additions – or subtractions, as veteran coach Kit Hartsfield proudly pointed out. “We haven’t lost anyone and we haven’t added anyone, either,” veteran coach Kit Hartsfield said. “There hasn’t been that much movement yet in our county, I don’t think. It’s early. Everyone’s just getting started right now. “Sometimes kids have got to find the right situation for them. That’s where we’re at right now with the landscape of things. It’s the nature of the beast. Nothing will surprise you.” <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=37t1hy_1C8Cl5Ek00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=37t1hy_1C8Cl5Ek00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>Davis Smith, Summit’s returning starter at quarterback, takes a snap during Thursday’s 7-on-7 session with Spring Hill, Zion Christian and host Mt. Pleasant. BUFFY HOLT</figcaption></figure>For at least one Summit player, that process led back to the south Williamson County school. Senior receiver Micah Salley, who suited up for the Spartans as a sophomore, has rejoined the program after playing last year at Centennial. Also transferring in for Summit is senior defensive lineman Shaun Seymore from Christ Presbyterian Academy. Transfers have provided a net gain for the Spartans. “We didn’t lose any. We’ll take that every year,” coach Brian Coleman said following an encouraging work session from returning quarterback Davis Smith. “He got better throughout the day. We saw high energy and good senior leadership.” Under first-year coach Aaron Smith, Zion Christian has beefed up its staff and its roster, though most of the personnel additions have come from within the school. Sophomore quarterback Easton Biddle, from Battle Creek, is the Lions’ lone transfer addition to this point. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3BOnsb_1C8Cl5Ek00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3BOnsb_1C8Cl5Ek00" width="1024" height="683" ><figcaption>Zion Christian’s Kingston Dennie throws a pass with first-year Lions coach Aaron Smith (center) and line coach Clayton Lissow observing during Thursday’s 7-on-7 session with Spring Hill and Summit at Mt. Pleasant. BUFFY HOLT</figcaption></figure>Both receiver/cornerback Tre Johnson and offensive lineman/linebacker Casen Matthews left the program and are enrolled at Columbia Central, but Zion has nearly doubled its numbers from last fall. “We had 17 or 18 kids on the team last year, (grades) 9-12, and now we’re at 35,” Smith said. “As it relates to us, I think it’s about the guys we have buying in and teaching them the importance of sticking things out and being loyal, maintaining good relationships with the coaching staff and seeing the progression as you go.” Biddle and 2025 starter Kingston Dennie shared snaps Thursday with three potential signalcallers who were not on the team a year ago – freshman Cam Surratt, sophomore Tucker Blanks and junior Baker Hensley. “We’ve got new bodies at every position,” Smith said. “I think it’s going to be a competition, which is good for Zion, having guys compete.” </div></body>

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High school football coaches typically aren’t accountants. But most these days are probably keeping something akin to a profit/loss ledger as it relates to their rosters. And it’s thanks to the “transfer portal” – which, in terms of talent, both giveth and taketh away. Look...

Local teams see personnel changes with ‘portal’

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High school football coaches typically aren’t accountants. But most these days are probably keeping something akin to a profit/loss ledger as it relates to

Local teams see personnel changes with ‘portal’

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