Tharptown football focused on further development in 2026

During the 2025 season the focus for the Tharptown High School varsity football team, led by head coach Brian White, then in his first season with the Wildcats, was to get “back to basics” as the first step in a multi-year project to build up the program.

Since coming in White has seen notable improvements in his team, especially in regards to the team’s fitness and strength.

“If you look at us right now you can see we’re obviously a little bigger than we were last year,” White said. “We spent a lot of time in the weight room getting bigger, stronger. We’ve done a lot of plyometrics, working on speed and explosive energy. That’s what most of our time has been focused on, creating bigger, stronger, faster athletes.”

Ahead of the 2026 season Tharptown has taken another step in the process, declaring as an independent, thus making the Wildcats ineligible for postseason play for at least the next two years. This was a calculated decision on Tharptown’s part.

“We’ve not declared for region play to give us a two-year window to grow and develop the program,” he said. “(The players) understand the process we’re going through and they’ve really taken it on, and they’re growing with the process just like we expected them to.”

Instead of playing a dictated six- or seven-game region schedule the Wildcats are free to play any school that will face them. This fall THS is set to play nine games, starting with its season opener on the road at Cherokee on August 21. Tharptown’s home opener will be played the following week, followed by a road game at Vina, sandwiched between two open weeks, on September 11. The Wildcats will then have a six-week run of games against Waterloo, Potts Camp (MS), Smithville (MS), Pickens Academy, Vina and Decatur Heritage.

A big focus for White and the Wildcats during the upcoming campaign is on opening up the playbook and perfecting their schemes.

“We’re a lot stronger this year and a lot faster so defensively we’re going to be a little bit more aggressive,” White said. “Then offensively, it’s a similar mindset but it’s going to be more multi-formational, a little bit more passing and throwing with the RPOs (run-pass option) and stuff like that.

“It’s a high level offense we’re going to be running, but the kids have learned to have a high football IQ in the process of the transition into this, and they understand what we’re doing,” White added.

The quarterback returning in this THS offense will be Wyatt Harrell, who was QB1 for the Wildcats last season as an eighth-grader before unfortunately suffering a season-ending knee injury halfway through the campaign. Back and healthy now for his freshman year, Harrell has the confidence of his head coach.

“Wyatt is very athletic, he’s intelligent and he’s a good game manager,” White said.

Harrell will be joined in the backfield by junior running back Cody McCluskey, the team’s leading rusher who took over at quarterback after Harrell’s injury. For his efforts McCluskey was selected as a Franklin Free Press All-Franklin County Second Team running back last season.

“He’s got good size, good speed, great hands out of the backfield,” White said of McCluskey.

Another player the Wildcats will be looking to on offense is Zach May, a sophomore who has made the transition from offensive line to tight end.

“He’s bigger, a good bit stronger—a lot stronger, actually—a lot faster,” White said. “He’s developed great hands through the offseason, and we’re going to utilize him as tight end this year.”

Along the offensive line, White also mentioned the “most important guy” on the offense, sophomore center Daryan McCaig.

“He’s Mr. Dependable,” the THS head coach said. “He’s always there, he always works hard, he knows what he’s doing, and he’s one of the quiet leaders on the team. He just leads by example, and we’re very blessed to have him with us.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Tharptown is expecting another solid season from freshman linebacker Brian Juan.

“He did a really good job on those inside runs and was our leading tackler and linebacker last year,” White said. “We’re looking for really big things out of him this year.”

Like last season, Tharptown’s 2026 campaign will be all about growth, development and establishing a foundation to achieve both short- and long-term goals for the future. Many of these goals, like getting students out to play and retaining them, are challenging, White said, but not impossible.

“We’ve had times where it looked like we’ll have a 45- or 50-man roster, and then all of a sudden it’s like a plague of kids saying, you know, ‘I don’t want to do it.’” he said. “There not an understanding of the work ethic involved and what it takes to be successful at what we’re trying to do.

“There’s a standard we’re trying to set which has never been at Tharptown,” he added. “We’re trying to set those standards, and we have guys that have met those standards and that’s why they’re here. Unfortunately you’ve got guys that did not quite understand that process yet and what it takes.

“Being successful in life is not easy, it’s hard. Winning on a football field or doing anything that you want to be successful in is hard. It takes hard work to do these things, so we’re trying to take on that mentality. A lot of our kids have, and I think we’ve got some more on the verge of it.”