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This year, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy head football coach Mike Biehl will have a slightly smaller senior class suiting up for the Saints but notes the junior class behind them is large and has played a lot of football. Biehl says he feels good about the playing experience heading into the season and hopes to get the team playing in a rhythm early on.

“We feel really good about the football playing experience. It’s just like every year, it’s about getting the group together, getting into a rhythm and hitting the ground running,” Biehl said.

The Saints are coming off a 5-6 2023 season, where they fell to eventual state champion North Cross, who accounted for two of NSA’s losses last season. 

With high expectations inside the program, Biehl says only a few outside of the program share those same expectations, which he says is an excellent spot to be in. 

“We’ve thrown a lot at them,” Biehl said. “Our expectations are really high, but we also know that I think the expectations outside of our group are not very high for us, and that’s not a bad place for us to be because we can just go get better every day and prove ourselves right, and let everybody else decide what it is we are and just keep business as business.”

OFFENSE

The Saints will return the spread offense for the 2024 season. By adding a couple of athletic quarterbacks who can get out in space and sling the ball downfield, the Saints look to improve on the 26-points-per-game average from 2023. Quarterback mobility will be something NSA hopes to keep opposing defenses on their heels and open up the passing game. With options in every key position, Biehl says putting them in the right positions will be the key to success. 

OFFENSIVE LINE

The success of any offense starts up front, and while NSA lost a few good offensive linemen from 2023, like Cooper Goss, Biehl says he expects big things from junior Joey McGowan.

“He [McGowan] really came into his own as a left tackle last year as a sophomore, so we’re expecting really big things from him,” Biehl said. “He’s done a great job in the offseason, put weight on, gotten stronger, gotten quicker, and he’s a guy, to me, that’s recruitable at the division one level, and we’re going to expect that level of play from him.”

With four position battles on the O-line coming into the season, there will likely be some shifting around until the Saints line finds its groove.

QUARTERBACK

At the start of fall camp, Biehl had a hotly contested quarterback battle on its hand. With Norfolk Christian shuttering its football program, senior Vann Baggett found his new home with NSA and looks to help propel the Saints to a deeper postseason run. Baguette has played over 30 games under center and processes quickly in the passing game. Following closely, sophomore Madden Gilliatt, while young, Biehl says he has the physicality and mobility to create some matchup problems for opponents. 

RECEIVERS

On the outside, NSA will look to Greer Barclay as an all-purpose receiver this season to compliment their speed guy, Trace Williams. Biehl says he also looks forward to seeing his kicker from the last two seasons, Henry Ross, transition into a receiver role. According to Biehl, Ross has put on some weight and is a “great athlete.”

NSA will have a few others they can rotate in and out, giving defenses varying looks.

RUNNING BACKS

In the backfield, NSA will look to James Adams and Joseph Petry to carry the ball in the Saints rushing attack. Biehl calls Petry a Swiss Army knife who can do a little of everything. Both backs have instincts and can make one cut and get vertical quickly with breakaway speed. 

DEFENSE

Keeping things a little close to the vest, Biehl says they will be switching things up from a hybrid 3-4 on the defensive side of the ball this season. This year’s defensive unit looks to reduce its allowed points to 27 as it targets a deep postseason run.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Personnel-wise, along the D-line, the Saints lack depth but have more “safety-type” linebackers, which is part of the reason for a shift in defensive sets. 

“We’ve been a defense where we can switch from a three-down to a four-down front,” Biehl said. “We’re still going to do some of that, but in a completely different way, just because of what we’re dealing with. Personnel-wise, we just don’t have a ton of down linemen, but I have more safety linebacker types than I’ve ever had before.”

LINEBACKERS

Backing up the defensive line, Biehl says he has six or seven guys who can play fast and have good instincts, allowing them to be put in one-on-one situations to create pre-snap confusion for opposing offenses. Shane Rogers Johnson is a name to watch for the Saints. According to Biehl, he can play the edge, line up in a three-technique, or drop back into coverage and play the run. Andrew Miller will line up as the Mike linebacker but has the versatility to drop back into a gap and create havoc for the center and guards. Joseph Petry, another familiar name playing both sides of the ball, is described by Biehl as “scarier on defense than offense.”

SECONDARY

Another transfer from Norfolk Christian, Jeff Brent, will anchor the Saints secondary. Biehl says Brent has picked up the defensive playbook quickly and, by his account, has become the quarterback of the defense.

NSA fell to reigning state champion North Cross on Friday, Aug. 23, and travel to Isle of Wight Academy tonight in a matchup that has not taken place since 2019.