Earlier this month I wrote about the top 10 athletes to watch in Alachua County for 2025-26.
How about the best high school football players in the area?
For the first time, I’ve put together my top 11, or Super 11 if you will, for this upcoming season.
A total of five players are on offense, beginning with the quarterback position, which lost several key players like Trace Johnson of 6A state semifinalist Buchholz, who transferred to a school in California, and the graduations of Adrian Curtis of Rural state runner-up Hawthorne and Collin Dunmore of 2A regional finalist Newberry.
QUARTERBACK
Jayden Jackson, who committed to Delaware in June, is back for his senior year at Fort White. Last year, Jackson threw for 891 yards and ran for 619 yards, making him a dual threat under center.
“He’s elusive and confident,” said his dad, former Gator, and Indians head coach Demetric Jackson. “Jayden probably has more confidence than anybody I’ve been around. That’s one of the things at quarterback that you can have, confidence, but you can’t try to make every throw…we found out this past year that he is a lot more elusive than we originally thought. We put him back as a kick and punt returner.”
RUNNING BACKS
University of Florida commit Justin Williams is coming off a sensational junior season. In fact, the runner-up for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A Player of the Year rushed for 1,023 yards and 16 TDs and caught 85 passes for 1,473 yards and 13 touchdowns for Buchholz. He became the first player in the Sunshine State to tally over 1,000 yards in both rushing and receiving since Devin Hester in 2002.
“He had a phenomenal sophomore campaign, so he didn’t come into last year as an unknown quantity, which actually adds to the fantastic year he had,” said Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore. “He had over 1,000 yards receiving as a sophomore and not only does he replicate that, he gets 1,000 yards plus rushing. The kid is a phenomenal talent, and obviously, that’s why he is a 4-star football player going to the University of Florida. They look a certain way and he’s that way.”
Joining him in the backfield is Newberry senior running back Kaleb Woods (6’, 195), who has offers from Wisconsin, USF, and Pittsburgh, among 15 others. As a junior, he finished with 1,090 yards rushing on 118 carries (9.2 yards per carry) with 13 touchdowns.
“Kaleb has taken a growth in maturity; he’s locked in,” said Newberry football coach Ed Johnson. “We’re going to move him around a lot this year, so he’s going to play more than running back. We’re going to find ways to get him the ball. He’s so electric. He’s going to have another 1,000-yard year out of the backfield.”
WIDE RECEIVER
Despite missing two games last year for Newberry due to injury, wide receiver Hayden Moore (6’2, 200) finished the season with 982 yards receiving and 12 TDs on 51 catches.
“Hayden is a great kid,” Johnson said. “All of the accolades you can say about him. He works hard, he’s coachable, he’s a great teammate to everybody in the locker room, and he’s a really, really good ballplayer on top of it. He’s big, physical, and another guy that we’re going to move around a lot and find ways to give him the ball as much as we can because we have to.”
ATHLETE
Rounding out the offense is Bell’s Landin Williams. Although he plays for a smaller Sunshine State Athletic Association program in Gilchrist County, his numbers speak for themselves with 1,981 yards rushing, 20 touchdowns, and an average of 7.1 yards per carry. He had 11 games last year with 100 yards or more.
“He’s a heck of a hard worker,” said Bell coach Joey Whittington. “He runs the ball hard, he knows where he is supposed to go, has enough wiggle and shiftiness to make people miss. He works hard in the weight room in the offseason and does everything he can to prepare his body to tote the load.”
The defense is stout and loaded with athletes.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Defensive end Evan Walker (6’4, 225) of Buchholz looks to continue the trend of Bobcats’ linemen (Gavin Hill, Kendall Jackson, Nick Clayton) who have gone on to play at Division-I schools the past few years. He currently has five offers from Air Force, Army, FAU, Wofford and St. Thomas University.
“I’ve gotten better with my weight, keeping my weight up, and getting stronger, but also working on my bendability, that’s what colleges are looking for coming off of the edge,” said Walker, who led the Bobcats with six sacks last season. “They want you to be very flexible, very bendy, and also hitting the bags, working on my hands, just being a better football player. It’s been a good process, though. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better.”
LINEBACKER
Demarco Daniels (6’1, 210) of Eastside is also a Delaware commit. Last year as a junior, Daniels led the Rams with 104 tackles.
“Man, DeMarco is a special player,” said Eastside coach Harold “Gator” Hoskins. “He’s fast, he’s strong, physical, he loves the game. He loves the process of getting better. He’ll be playing on Saturdays. He’s a special kid.”
Joining Daniels in the middle of the all-defensive preseason team is outside linebacker Jon Adams (6’3, 220) of Chiefland, who is committed to the University of Louisville.
“He played as an 8th-grader and started at defensive end for us,” said Chiefland coach Cliff Harrell. “He has consistently, every single year, done things where you’re just like, ‘how in the world did that kid do that?’ He is a physical presence and has a tenacity about him in everything that he does on the field.”
SECONDARY
Strong safety Caleb Young, Jr. (6’, 205) of Buchholz is more of a hybrid or “tweener” on defense and will also play linebacker. He holds offers from Delaware, Bowling Green, Wofford, North Carolina A&T and FAMU, among others.
“For me, switching from linebacker to safety, I feel like my coverage standpoint has gone a totally different way,” said Young, who finished with 38 tackles. “It’s been a drastic change. Everything is looking a lot more smooth, a lot more fluid. I feel like I am way better in my coverage. I feel more comfortable. I’m not as anxious and nervous as I was before. Everything feels great.”
He is joined in the secondary by All-State selection Malachi Williams of Eastside, who finished with five interceptions as a freshman last year, along with 28 tackles.
“His confidence is through the roof,” Hoskins said. “Having a season like that his freshman year, leading the team in interceptions, that confidence just really boosted him, and he’s gotten better, stronger, faster. He had a great offseason, great 7-on-7 this year, and we’re expecting big things of him.”
Rounding out the team is another athlete who will play on Saturdays in defensive back Nathan Jennings of Hawthorne. Last year as a sophomore, Jennings finished with 43 tackles and tied for the team lead with three interceptions for the state runner-up Hornets.
“Nathan Jennings is probably the best athlete at the school, and he probably was two years ago, too,” said Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram. “We played him at cornerback, and because we had such good receivers, he didn’t have to play there, but we are adding him to the offense this year.”
So, there you have it, the best of the best in the area on the gridiron this fall. Let the debate begin. It’s now how you start, it’s how you finish.