Football Preview: Whitney football leans on depth, youth movement in 2025

Whitney High School enters the 2025 football season with a large junior class, a promising group of sophomores and a handful of key seniors expected to lead the way. The Wildcats are seeking their first postseason berth since 2021 and despite being a young team, head coach Zac McNally thinks this can be the team to break the drought. McNally noted that Whitney's depth is better than it has been in recent years, giving the Wildcats more flexibility and fresher legs in key moments. "This team is really athletic and even though we have a light senior class, we have a huge junior class and strong sophomore class," said McNally. "It's been a joy to see these guys come together and they're all about changing the outcome on Fridays but they know that it only happens with the work they put in Monday through Thursdays in practice." Leading the way for the Wildcats this year is senior Carson Floyd, who will be a two-way starter at quarterback and safety. Floyd stormed onto the scene offensively as a junior, throwing for 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns after taking over the starting role in the middle of the season. Floyd also added four touchdowns on the ground and added 39 tackles and six interceptions defensively. "He's always had the physical skills and the biggest growth for him this offseason has been his leadership," McNally said of Floyd. "He's a three-sport athlete for our school and he doesn't just play three, he's a starter and a big time player in all of them." Floyd said that he feels more confidence this season leading the offense after being the starter for a year and notes that he is excited to play both ways, especially in an era of specialization that limits the number of ironman players that are seen. "I've always just been somebody who's gonna go do something if I am capable of doing it. I'm not gonna let nobody tell me no.," said Floyd of playing on both sides of the ball. "I've already proved myself to everybody that I can do it and I am excited to do it again." McNally is also high on his junior linebacker duo of Cash Stevens and Jason Taormino, who he expects to lead the defense this season. Taormino says what sets this year's team apart from previous teams is its heart, saying that this group is closer together and is eager to take the field alongside one another. "We've got a lot of heart and passion for the sport. This group of kids is really strong and we just have a great chemistry within everybody," said Taormino. "Nobody's left out. We got a great family going on here." "This team is really hard-working. It feels special and like it's different from the past years," said Stevens. " We always want to be on the field." Stevens added that this year's team wants to rewrite the recent history at Whitney and put the program back on the map as one of the region's top teams. "I think we can get back to the playoffs, we just have to play hard every single game," said Stevens, noting that the tone will be set on opening night against West Park. McNally said he expects big seasons out of sophomores Easton and Landon Tarble as well, who are expected to both play significant roles on both sides of the ball. Senior lineman Johnny Soto will help anchor the front, providing stability in the trenches. McNally added the team's mix of classes has meshed well, with players embracing hard work and a shared goal of improving results on Friday nights. Whitney will once again face a challenging nonleague schedule similar to last season, but with improved depth, McNally hopes to limit players from having to play every snap and keep the team fresh throughout the year as it pushes for a postseason berth.