Preseason X Factors: NCS Football

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nashville Christian School had one of the top football teams in the entire state of Tennessee with explosive playmaking at every level of the field on both sides of the ball, cruising through the DII-A classification to win the state championship in dominant fashion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While that team had the talent to compete with anyone, they also had the experience required to do that, and now that historic senior class has graduated and moved on from the program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles will be relying on new players to step up this season and these four players will be key parts to the success this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2028 QB [player_tooltip player_id='1196806' first='Tate' last='Mathis']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis was the leader of the mentioned senior core and he has since departed for Vanderbilt, where he should be an immediate starter, and has left behind a void at the position for NCS. However, rising junior [player_tooltip player_id='1196806' first='Tate' last='Mathis'] is ready to take over the reigns of the offense for the next two seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has the arm talent and downfield touch to maintain the explosiveness of the offense, even with new weapons on the team surrounding him. He has good size, athleticism and arm and he consistently showed his potential when he had the opportunity to fill in last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has shown the ability to generate explosive plays, but he now has to run the offense for the entirety of every single game. He is a promising breakout candidate, but it remains to be seen how he handles the role of full-time starter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2028 RB/SAF [player_tooltip player_id='1588776' first='Hudson' last='Smith']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite being just a sophomore last season, the coaching staff figured out ways to get him on the field due to his innate playmaking ability, eventually settling on rotating him at receiver and safety.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now, he should transfer over to becoming the primary tailback on the team and will bring the receiver size and athleticism at 6-foot and 180 pounds. He has a strong frame with the natural athleticism to generate explosive rushes when given a lane and he will be another potential breakout player that it will be interesting to track how he looks in a new role this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, he will be a leader in the secondary from his safety position as well. He brings his good size and athleticism to attack downhill and consistently work into favorable positions to rack up tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>His versatility and playmaking will make him a player opposing coaching will have to gameplan for this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2027 OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='866728' first='Matthew' last='Newberry']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NCS returns some intriguing talent in the trenches with good size, athleticism and versatility -- notably led by rising seniors [player_tooltip player_id='866728' first='Matthew' last='Newberry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1567255' first='Colin' last='Romero']. Both players were key factors on both the offensive and defensive lines last season and should impact the game even more this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newberry should be the leader of the defensive line for the 2026 season after a productive year in the trenches last season. At 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, he has the strength to wreck opposing run games from the interior as well as the length and athleticism to make an impact on passing downs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He will also be an important asset to the offense as a key piece of the offensive line keeping a new starting quarterback upright.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2027 LB Jaylen Fuqua</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles have lost a lot of production from the strong defensive unit the team boasted last season, especially at the second level of the defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, the team did rotate some players in throughout the season and those players will be tasked with taking on leadership roles in the 2026 football season. At linebacker, that should be rising senior Jaylen Fuqua, who rotated in the linebacker corps all season long.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When he appeared in games, he was a productive player for the team and the team will be counting on him to take that to an entire new level as the leader of the linebacker room this fall. The team returns a strong defensive front and has added some exciting secondary pieces, so it will be up to Fuqua and his position room to round out the defense as the team gears up for another potential title run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->