JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX hands out a list of questions to high school football players and coaches before the start of every season covering a variety of topics. This year, we received responses from 136 players and 39 from coaches. Both are asked to not vote for their own team or teammates or coaches on select questions. This is what they had to tell us.
Previous players surveys | 2023 survey | 2022 survey | 2021 survey | 2020 survey | 2019 survey
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Previous coach surveys | 2023 survey | 2022 survey | 2021 survey
Who is the best team in the area?
(50): Mandarin.
(11): Bolles.
(10): Raines.
(9): St. Augustine.
(5): Camden County; Oakleaf.
Thoughts: This is a big change. The previous five surveys were dominated by private school powers Bolles (three times) and Trinity Christian (twice). The overwhelming response favoring the Mustangs wasn’t unexpected. Mandarin entered the season with an Elite 11 QB (Tramell Jones) and five stars at receiver (Jaime Ffrench) and safety (Drake Stubbs). Mandarin is 6-2 and has been racked by injuries, including a season-ending one to Jones. Raines is the top-ranked team in the Super 10. Surprising that unbeaten Nease received just two votes but has a claim as the state’s top team.
Who is the best offensive player in the area?
(49): WR Jaime Ffrench, Mandarin.
(8): OL Solomon Thomas, Raines.
(7): QB Cibastian Broughton, Fleming Island; QB: Tramell Jones, Mandarin.
(6): WR Carl Jenkins Jr., St. Augustine.
(4): WR Naeem Burroughs, Bolles; TE Elyiss Williams, Camden County.
Thoughts: This is about the biggest margin of victory I’ve ever had when doing these surveys. Ffrench (Texas commit) was No. 2 last year behind Trinity QB Colin Hurley. Two other five-stars are in here too, in the form of Thomas and Williams. These seven players are elite.
Who is the best defensive player in the area?
(29): S Drake Stubbs, Mandarin.
(5): CB Alex Fennell, Orange Park.
(4) LB Wayne Austell, Camden County; DE: Sam Hayward, Providence; LB Troy Holloway, Bolles; DB Shemar McNair, Nease.
Thoughts: Stubbs (Miami commit) tied for this honor last year and was named the All-News4JAX top defensive player in 2023. Hayward is a News4JAX Super 16 recruit. Fennell is a strong player on what has been a struggling Raiders team. McNair (Army commit) has been one of the best players on the area’s No. 2 team. Camden was represented on both sides of the ball in Williams and Austell.
What is the best high school rivalry in the area?
(33): Raines-Ribault.
(8) Nease-Ponte Vedra: Yulee-Fernandina Beach.
(5) Bishop Snyder-Christ’s Church; Orange Park-Middleburg; Riverside-White.
(4): Bolles-Bishop Kenny: Bradford-Baker County; Clay-Fleming Island; Mandarin-Atlantic Coast; Paxon-Stanton.
Thoughts: Not only is the Northwest Classic, won 52-12 by the Vikings this year, the best rivalry in the area by a wide margin, it is one of the best sporting atmospheres in all athletic events, pro and college included, in the area. St. Johns and Nassau clashes tied at No. 2.
The ability to profit off your name, image and likeness is now permitted in Florida high schools. Is that good or bad?
Good: 118. No opinion: 15. Bad: 2.
Thoughts: This has shifted considerably over the years. This is nearly a shutout as far as players being in favor of it.
What is the biggest issue facing high school athletes today?
(39): Recruiting.
(28): Time management.
(22): Pressure to get a scholarship.
(20): Academics: (20): Social media.
(6): Something else not listed.
Thoughts: This was a surprise to me. Grades were No. 1 last year but dipped the fourth this time. Injuries and social media were second. Recruiting issues like deciding where to go to college and the additional pressure to get a scholarship, when combined, were nearly 45% of the responses this year. That is a big time change and athletes feel the pressure now more than ever.
Besides yourself and those on your staff, who is the best coach in town?
(8): Brian Braddock, St. Augustine.
(5): Toby Bullock, Mandarin; Sean McIntyre, Creekside.
(3): Verlon Dorminey, Trinity Christian; Matt Toblin, Bolles.
Thoughts: Definitely a trend here. Braddock has been the top coach in back-to-back seasons by his peers, and tied with former Bartram Trail coach Darrell Sutherland for the top spot in 2021. Braddock, in his ninth season with the Yellow Jackets, is 76-26 at his alma mater, and 99-36 overall. McIntyre was second last year. Despite being in just his third season in charge with the Mustangs, Bullock is well respected by his peers. He was the offensive coordinator at Mandarin when the Mustangs won the state championship in 2018 and led the team to a staggering four consecutive road playoff wins last year before losing in the title game. Dorminey is a living legend and has nine state titles. Toblin has won everywhere he’s been (Clay, Ponte Vedra) and has guided Bolles to no worse than the state semifinals each season with the Bulldogs.
Coaching salaries are notoriously low. Do you think that will change within the next five years?
(21): No. (17): Yes.
Thoughts: This would have likely been a unanimous no but there is more hope now than there’s been. The Florida Coaches Coalition, led by executive director Andrew Ramjit and six regional directors, have stepped up their game to confront this issue in every high school sport. In the News4JAX coverage area, the pay scale runs from $3,809 to a coach starting out in Putnam County to $7,100 in Bradford County. That is the coaching supplement for an entire year of work. Counties like Baker and Flagler haven’t had raises in at least a decade. Duval County is going on decades, plural, since it has given athletic coaches a supplemental raise. The salary discrepancy compared to other prominent football states has been detailed by News4JAX previously, including six-figure coaching and teaching salaries in Georgia. One local coach wrote that administrations here want “Georgia results with Florida pay and that isn’t happening.” There is hope that the Florida Coaches Coalition can make enough noise in the State Legislature to spark change. It’s something that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has publicly spoken out in favor of. Several coaches wrote down that they aren’t hopeful of a raise because of the unions that negotiate the contracts.
Name, image and likeness is now official in Florida and Georgia. Is that good or bad?
(18): Good.
(11): Bad.
(4): Don’t care/not sure; (4): Both.
Thoughts: This shifted a big way since last year. Quite a few coaches wrote good ... but added some form of the phrase “if it can be controlled or policed.” Last year the bad votes edged the good by a single vote. It was 24-5 against it in 2022.
If you could choose, would you rather see a public-private school playoff system OR end the rampant transfer issue in Florida?
(20): Split public and private schools up in the playoffs.
(14): End the rampant transfer issues in Florida.
Thoughts: This was an interesting category. Transfers have been an issue since politicians cleared the way for controlled open enrollment (the transfer portal) in 2017. I thought that would be the No. 1 choice. Super teams are everywhere in Florida. But separate playoffs took the vote here. The Suburban-Metro playoff system was meant as a way to not draw the wrath of a power-hungry legislature that loves to flex its muscle against the Florida High School Athletic Association. But that two-year experiment was ushered out and now all schools are in the same playoff pool again. The public-private split exists in the smaller classes in Georgia where the political climate is far more restrained. In Florida, the public-private playoff split has been blasted from the rooftops for years, especially from public school coaches.
What is the most difficult thing about being a high school football coach?
(12): Time management.
(11): Pay.
(8): Parents.
Thoughts: Another interesting list of responses. Coaching is a part-time job that demands full-time (and then some) commitment week after week. The pay part isn’t surprising. Parents has gained traction, as has lack of support from administration.