Players to watch
RB Nate Jackson DL Kingston Craven QB Andrew Sparks
Matchup to watch
Oct. 24 vs. Argyle
said.“ We’ ll be exciting.” Burleson brings a majority of the unit back, including top-performing skill position players. Running back Nate Jackson, who ran the ball 160 times for 626 yards and three touchdowns, will be the Elks’ leading back for a third straight year.
Hernandez led the team in receiving yards( 528) and touchdowns( 4), headlining a wide receiver group that sharpened their skills against Flournoy, a Boise State commit.
Coming off an impressive sophomore season, Sparks is expected to build off 2024 by his head coach. Sparks threw for 1,180 yards and eight touchdowns. He also rushed for over 600 yards and four touchdowns.
The goal for Tanner is for the offense to play complementary football to a turnover-driven defense.
Defense
A stout defense last year, according to Tanner, built a great amount of trust toward the end of the season. Blanchard mentioned the ability to rely on his teammates in the last month of his junior year, but faces a new challenge of being the sole returning starter at his position.
No confidence is lost for one of the leaders of the Elks.
I want our defense to strike fear,” stated Blanchard.“ We’ ll hit you in the mouth every play.”
Takeaways are a focal point for Blanchard and the Elks this season, as Flournoy added that in practice, nobody takes a play off.
Pushing one another in preparation for the‘ Battle of the Boot’ against Centennial on Aug. 29 is exactly what Tanner strives for between the players and coaches.
Combining all his experiences, from Middle Tennessee State to the Dallas Cowboys, Tanner’ s player-coach approach has allowed the Elks to have a voice in what the team does.
“ They’ ve earned the right to speak on how we do things, how we see things and how we operate as a football team,” said Tanner.
Communication between players and coaches has brought the fun back into a program that desperately needed it after 2023, along with an exponential growth in the number of kids invested in playing this season.
The same demeanor and swagger brought in by Tanner has spread across the entire program after one year. While respecting their opponents, but not fearing them, the Elks are prepared to play more than 10 games in 2025. johnson county gridiron 2025 9