On Campus: York Cougars

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>YORK | </strong>York coach Dean Boyd has a youth movement on his hands.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A large amount of the Cougars' 2026 squad will be sophomores and juniors. With not a lot of seniors on the roster, Boyd told Prep Redzone SC during our visit to spring practice on Thursday afternoon that they're using this time to build competitiveness on both sides of the ball as those young guys continue to grow heading into the summer and the fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've got some kids that are laying it out on the line. You saw the competitiveness out there at the end, they're starting to get after it and that's what we've got to build. We've got to build when things aren't going well on one side of the ball, the other side's got to pick it up or if we have two or three bad plays in a row, we can't hang our heads. I think that's kind of been a problem the last couple of years … a big play happens and then we'll hang our heads so we're trying to address that. Even our individual stuff, it's competitive. We're competing so hopefully, that's going to make a difference when it comes time for us to hit the field in the fall,” Boyd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='379090' first='Ryan' last='Brochu'] </strong>will be one of the leaders on the team as the Cougars' starting quarterback. After sitting behind Tayshon Freeman last year, the rising sophomore will have the keys to the car in 2026. Brochu has good size on him and has a good understanding of what the offense is trying to do and will put it where his receivers can get it.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've got a lot of young receivers that have some experience which is going to help,” Boyd said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of those receivers is <strong>Caden Tino </strong>(pictured above)<strong>, </strong>who excelled in the quick game, particularly on slants and curl routes during our visit to practice on Thursday afternoon. One of two seniors will be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819743' first='Brian' last='Davis']</strong> - who has soft hands and is a weapon on the outside in the quick passing game. The other one is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1824661' first='TJ' last='Bratton']</strong> (<a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/04/ccc-spartanburg-session-i-offensive-standouts/">who caught our eye at the Carolinas Coaches Combine</a> and will be in attendance at <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/20-offensive-players-to-watch-at-ccc-invite-only-combine/">Sunday's Invite Only showcase</a>). He has great hands and excellent size that makes him difficult to guard one-on-one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The offensive line will be led by <strong>Ky Jones</strong>, who Boyd says will get a lot of looks. He has good feet and can move people off the ball, particularly on pull blocks in the run game and is tall. One guy up front that Boyd was complimentary of was <strong>Jacoby Roberts</strong>, who didn't play football in 2025, but he is a smart kid who has great feet and can get aggressive in the run game with pull blocks, like we saw at practice. <strong>Aiden Martin </strong>is a tough runner inside and is patient while waiting for the holes to open. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818071' first='Imon' last='Mitchell'] </strong>can catch the ball out of the backfield at running back and runs hard – he trucked a guy during a competitive team period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819733' first='Jah'Maud' last='Moore'] </strong>returns at linebacker for the Cougars who is a hard hitter and can attack the line of scrimmage in the run game. He put pressure on Brochu during the team period to force an incompletion. The Cougars will be young on the defensive line, but the one returner is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1822268' first='Xavier' last='McCoy']</strong> - who blew up a run play during an inside run period. In the secondary, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819735' first='Bennet' last='Reeder'] </strong>is a guy that Boyd had high praise for during Thursday's practice – he made an excellent tackle on a screen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>York will conclude the spring with their spring game next Friday night.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars will open the 2026 season at home against Westwood on August 21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->