North Suncoast Media Day Attract Football Favorites

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BROOKSVILLE, Florida – </strong>As teams started to file into the annual North Suncoast Media Day on Friday, it was evident that this area of Florida had earned the recognition that it has been receiving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With schools such as Brooksville Nature Coast Tech and Wesley Chapel Wiregrass Ranch making some major strides in the past few years, there was no mistaking the two programs who have certainly made a major statewide splash recently.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the event was winding down, the final two programs to take the stage were Zephyrhills and Trinity's J.W. Mitchell.<strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For head coach <strong>Nick Carroll</strong> and his alma mater, the is no doubting that the Bulldogs have put their stamp on winning football – as they showed once again last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loaded with quality talent, Zephyrhills fell short of their goal in 2025, finishing with an impressive 11-1 record (10-0 during the regular season).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs opened the state playoffs with a convincing 35-0 win against Rockledge before dropping a second-round decision to state power Lake Wales.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though that loss stung and the team graduated numerous key starters, there is a feeling that this is a program that has the talent each year to compete for a state title – and with the return of prospects such as University of Pittsburgh standout and state-rated [player_tooltip player_id='2252345' first='Sanilyn' last='Black'], [player_tooltip player_id='1681636' first='Zacary' last='Carroll'] and underclassman [player_tooltip player_id='1879580' first='Tyson' last='McCullough'], there are some elite talent to work with.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MITCHELL IS POISED ONCE AGAIN</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While head coach <strong>Andrew Schmitz</strong> didn't make it out to the event on Friday, his Mitchell squad certainly talked about why this team, who lost to two-time defending state champions West Boca Raton last season in the third-round of the state playoffs, are primed for another run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are plenty of new faces for the Mustangs, but this program – like Zephyrhills – has reached a level where they believe they can compete each year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 23 teams on hand to showcase players and coaches for the 2026 season, this region of the state that has more than its share of talented prospects and solid coaching, had the opportunity to put their best foot forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With media members and recruiting services on hand, a number of teams had the opportunity to give a glimpse of the talent that they will unleash as the season begins for many next week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With kickoff classics slated for the second week of August, this long off season which had many exposure opportunities at camps, combines, 7-on-7 events and spring football, finally came to an end – and now all that hard work will start to pay off.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In addition to Nature Coast Tech, Wiregrass Ranch, Mitchell and Zephyrhills on hand Friday, other schools that came out included The Villages&nbsp;Charter, Land O' Lakes, Brooksville Hernando, Land O'Lakes Sunlake, Bushnell South Sumter, Holiday Anclote, Spring Hill Springstead, New Port Richey Gulf, Wesley Chapel, Inverness Citrus, Hudson, Brooksville Central, Crystal River, Hudson Fivay, Weeki Wachee, Dade City Pasco, Lecanto, New Port Richey&nbsp;Cypress Creek and New Port Richey&nbsp;River Ridge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SEVERAL AREA PROSPECTS ARE READY FOR THE SEASON AHEAD</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As coaches introduced players, several had the opportunity to make a name for themselves over the past eight months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every athlete had the chance to talk about what they did during the off season and what they bring to the table this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Statewide Coverage Daily. <a href="https://prepredzone.com/florida/">https://prepredzone.com/florida/</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at:</strong> Floridakids1@aol.com.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COACHES, PLAYERS: Do You Have A Subscription? Contact us for a savings code so you can see what everyone has been talking about! </strong><a href="mailto:Floridakids1@aol.com">Floridakids1@aol.com</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->