After an impressive first season under Head Coach Teddy Dyess, the Trojans returned to the field looking to improve upon a season that ended in the second round of the playoffs with a loss to the Winona Tigers.
Magee will change divisions this year into what many know as the "SEC-West" of 3A. The Trojans will have to bring their A-game every week as they will face the likes of Jefferson Davis County, Seminary, and Columbia in divisional play. Offensively, Matthew Thurman will be taking the reins behind center from Javo Thurman as the quarterback of the high powered Magee offense. The Trojans will also be featuring a largely revamped offensive line that returns only a few players with significant playing time. Xavier Franks looks to build upon a breakthrough season that saw the wide out develop into a true number one receiver and consistent deep threat for Magee. Magee will also have to find a replacement for bruising running back Ross McInnis as Josh Sanders and Chandler Pittman will share duty in the backfield, mixed with quarterback runs from the speedy M. Thurman. Defensively, the Trojans are forced to replace players like Trey Haynes and Chase Rankin. Former special teams standout Nick Van Damme looks to step in at linebacker to provide some grit to the Magee linebacker corps. Cayden Bridges turned in a fantastic sophomore campaign that saw the DB bust unto the scene with a breakout season in the Trojan secondary.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Trojans flashed spurts of what they could be this upcoming season with a dual-threat quarterback, M. Thurman, that may occasionally flank out wide as a receiver in an offense that features many interchangeable parts. Pittman, who did not play in the spring game as he was recovering from the baseball playoffs, will likely take some snaps at quarterback when not splitting time at receiver and running back. M. Thurman showed a new threat he will bring to the offense with quick decision making and running ability. On QB draws or on plays when receivers are covered, Thurman transitions from dropping back to running like a receiver in open field, which will allow for more run-pass options (RPOs) as the offense will move at warp speeds in order to catch opposing defenses in favorable sets that will allow the Magee offense to score quickly. M. Thurman broke off several runs of 15+ yards and showed a strong arm and good connection with star wide out Franks. "X-Man" Franks looks to be the "X-Factor" for the Trojans out wide after a strong performance last season, Franks flashed some of what made him so special last year with quick chunk plays on short passes that he turned into big gains. In the spring game, the O-line struggled at times with keeping a clean pocket for M. Thurman against a decent pass rush from Pearl River Central. After the game, Coach Dyess stated, "Offensive line play has got to be better. We gave up some stuff up there and blew some protections and things like that. A lot of that comes with times and reps and once we get the reps we'll have that fixed."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Trojans featured a ball hawking secondary that included Cayden Bridges and Chandler Pittman that led the vaunted pass coverage game. In the spring game, Magee struggled with blowing coverage on some deep balls or not picking up play calls in the secondary. This will change as the team transitions into the new scheme and gets reps under their belt. Coach Dyess commented on the performance of the secondary in the game, "The big thing is you don't do a lot of pass scale during this time of year, so 7-on-7 will fix those things up. We'll see a lot of balls thrown at us this summer so that will help us when we on our 7-on-7 this summer." Up front on the line, KD Dampeer, Cassius Walker, and offensive line transplant Zyrus Craft look to anchor the defense and allow room for the linebackers and DBs to roam.
