Blue-Grey Game
Ads wrap spring practice with preview of 2026 season
It was one of several gritty moments on a sunny spring day, as the Admirals’ defense held the offense in check throughout a scoreless spring game to wrap the Farragut football team’s 2026 spring practice.
“It was a good opportunity for us to get nine days of work against ourselves,” head coach Geoff Courtney said. “Saw a lot of growth at a lot of positions, guys who are playing in new spots. It’s been a good offseason in the weight room, too. We’re a little thin on depth at certain positions, so this was really just the starting point of what we’ll be doing into June and July. Feel like we got a lot done but still have a long way to go.”
With this being the public’s first glimpse at the 2026 Admirals, there was a lot more than football happening across the stadium.
Food trucks offered tacos and shaved ice options near the concourse, and fans received giveaways from the team store as the action unfolded.
There were even new assistant coaches, such as director of operations Dustin Lyles and offensive line coach Matt Bates, and players took part in fun competitions, too.
On the field, the Admirals debuted a new quarterback in rising junior Hayes Sharp.
His best pass of the day came on a 40-yard spiral to receiver Johnny Jacobs, who won the 40-yard dash contest between quarters. Jacobs suffered a shoulder injury on the pass from Sharp yet still came up with the catch before retiring to the sideline to find a shoulder sling.
“Hayes has got a chance to be pretty good,” Courtney said. “He’s got to grow within the offense and his confidence, but he’s making some throws this spring that he wasn’t making last year. He’s been smart with the ball, not turning it over a lot.”
Courtney offered similar praise of Collier, who put together some impressive runs, including the first first down of the scrimmage.
Yet two plays after that, Kaden Renfro drove Collier back several yards for a loss. Renfro bookended the day by “sacking” Sharp — who wore a red cover on his helmet — during the final possession of the afternoon.
“He’s played linebacker and has thickened up,” Courtney said of Renfro. “We’re thin on the defensive line so he’s jumped in there, too, and he’s given us some real spark. He’s hard to block; he’s low; he’s quick; he can penetrate and cut the back off several different ways.
That ability will only be helped by an experienced group of linebackers, as well as a secondary unit that will feature names, such as Shawn Raines and Mason Swor, both of whom will step into the limelight this season.
Offensively, Courtney said the Ads have solidified “two to three” of their offensive linemen, as Farragut will look to replace an experienced unit up front. He mentioned wide receiver Elijah Sadler and tight end Max Hilton as two other guys who have flashed during spring while Collier, Cameron Beaver and Brenton Haag — who won the punt-catching completion — have made themselves valuable as two-way options.
That may not be an uncommon theme this year since Courtney addressed a thin roster of “80 to 85” as compared to the 115 players FHS featured last year.
“A lot of those will be freshmen and sophomores, and we will have 17 seniors with a lot of those guys playing for the first time,” Courtney said. “But it’s been great because we’ve spent these nine days trying guys at different positions. That’s allowed us to experiment with what we may have, and then we can go back and fine-tune it throughout summer.”
Haag ripped off a nice run during the scrimmage while Nathan Hu picked off rising sophomore quarterback Eli Mitchell for the day’s lone turnover.
During the event, FHS also took time to recognize Geoff Courtney’s father, former Farragut head coach Eddie Courtney, on his induction into the TSSAA Hall of Fame.
Now, it is up to his son to continue the tradition in his third season as head coach.
And while Monday stood a full 103 days away from the Admirals’ opener against Sevier County, the day certainly offered a glimpse of the excitement that football season can bring.
“We want our guys to be seen, and they’ve been working since January,” Courtney said. “We’ve spent 58 days in the weight room, so to get a chance to play in front of the home crowd and make it like a Friday night is what we’ve been looking for.”
