A dream season for the Dragons ended in the Benz – just the way any team hopes to draw it up. And while many of the key pieces are off the roster, including now Florida State QB Gavin Markey, there’s recent Clemson commit Max Brown and several others who push back on the narrative that this team can’t do the same thing.
Head Coach: Travis Noland (4th Season)
2024 Record: 11-4; State Runner-Up, Region Champions
“The goal for the 2025 season is to work to improve throughout the early part of a difficult schedule and to be in a position to compete for a championship in one of the hardest regions in all of 3A.”
2025 SCHEDULE – JEFFERSON
Personnel & Schemes
Key Departures: Gavin Markey, Kelan Butler, Rett Hemphill, Dallas Russell (Oklahoma wrestling commit to forego SR year of football), Talan Childress, Jayden Yang, Ty Oglesby, Ashley Eckert, John Morgan Kinney, RJ Hinton, Dashaun Keith, Mickell Pittman,
Returning Starters: 6 on offense; 5 on defense
Key Returning Players: Max Brown, Dalton Dye, Chance Payne, Darren Pinkard, Tripp Porter, Taylor McCall, Colton Grant, Mack Gaddis, Mikey Pauley
Up & Coming Players: Carter Perrin (RB/DB), Bo Parker (WR/DB), Gavin Simmons (OL/DL), Griffin Drake (RB/LB), Logan Edmunds (WR)
Offense: Multiple style offense
Colton Grant (SR) and Boone Horn (JR) will share the QB duties. Both possess a solid skill set that will enable them to lead the Dragons well. At RB, JR Griffin Drake and JR Max Brown will both get tons of carries, as will JR Eli Primm. SR Dalton Dye returns as the go-to option at WR.
Defense: Multiple 4-3, 3-4
DE Darren Pinkard (SR), DTs Tylek Rucker (SR) and Tripp Porter (SR) will anchor the defense along with highly-touted Clemson commit Max Brown (JR LB) and SR DBs Chance Payne and Mack Gaddis.
Trenches: “This will be one of the biggest offensive lines that Jefferson has played with in a number of years. Mikey Pauley, Vince Ledbetter, and Clifton Williamson all return as starters this season, and Jordan Robinson and Caleb Beusse return at the TE position. On the defensive line, Tripp Porter, Tylek Rucker, Darren Pinkard, and JJ Parker all return after playing a lot on the defensive front last season.”
Strengths & Areas of Focus
Strengths: “We return a number of players who gained experience playing in big games throughout the season, including the state championship game. The offensive line in particular returns three starters and two TEs who played big roles on the offense last season.”
Focusing On: “We have focused a lot in the offseason on building depth at positions on both sides of the ball. It can be a long season, and we need as many players as possible to be ready to step in at any time.”
