足交视频 East has spent the offseason emphasizing the importance of raising the level of physicality.
The Titans will be heading into District 13-5A, Division I. A district that is anticipated to be much tougher than what the Titans have faced in previous seasons.
"Our new district is a much more physical district," said 足交视频 East head coach John Ford. "We鈥檝e got a lot of guys returning who understood how physical it was, but everybody's got to be ready to take that next step."
The tone for physicality will be set by the Titans' defense. The defense was a much improved unit for 足交视频 East last season, and it returns five starters in the front seven.
"We're going to lean on our defense," Ford said. "We can change the way we look and week-to-week we're going to be ready to adjust, make those changes and put our guys in the best position to be successful."
Ford was the offensive coordinator for the Titans in 2023. Upon the departure of Charlie Reeve in the spring, Ford took over as the head coach. With the uptick in competition coming, he's made it a point to change the preparation for the Titans.
"It's changed the way that we're going to practice, we're going to practice more good on good this year," Ford said. "Iron sharpens iron and we're going to have our best guys competing against each other every day to continue to raise that level."
A big part of that good-on-good preparation will include senior Braylin Vasquez. Vasquez primarily played cornerback in 2023, while moonlighting as a wide receiver, earning first-team all-district honors in the defensive backfield. This spring and summer, Vasquez has been seen playing more on the offensive side as a wide receiver.
East will need to replace a lot of production at receiver and running back with the loss of the team's two leading rushers, Nijahrell Prater and Jaden Williams along with leading receiver Bryson Ortega. Vasquez figures to factor heavily into the East offensive equation, one that will be predicated on finding the matchups.
"I'm a huge formation guy, we're going to move our guys around and find the right matchups, find the space," Ford said. "We're going to take what the defense gives us, we're going to find that grass and be ready to take advantage of that."
East made the postseason last season and won a playoff game for the first time since 2016. With much of the defense back, along with Vasquez and quarterback Kason Kolle, the Titans are aiming to take the next step in 2024, even in a tougher district.
"The No. 1 goal of course is to make the playoffs, but we want to take that next step," Ford said. "Go three, four rounds deep and just build and keep stacking good performances and get better every week."
