The TSSAA football season is right around the corner.
Here are the top Nashville area storylines heading into the 2026 Tennessee high school football season.
Brentwood Academy is prime for first TSSAA football state title since 2018
This is an opportune time for the Eagles to break their title drought. Pretty much everyone is back from last year’s Division II-AAA runner-up team. That includes three Power 4 commitments in quarterback Crews Jenkins (Ole Miss), receiver Kesean Bowman (Tennessee) and linebacker Kenneth Simon II (Tennessee). Overall, BA has 13 players committed to Division I schools and seven committed to Power 4s. Of course, defending champion Baylor and Tennessee five-star running back commit David Gabriel-Georges are a problem. The teams play each other in Week 1 and are the favorites to reach the state
final again.
5-star Springfield star Jermaine Cobbins, could spoil Pearl-Cohn’s BlueCross Bowl return
Pearl-Cohn’s quest to reach the Class 4A state title game again is its own storyline. The Firebirds have a ton of weapons back, including Division I commits LJ Funk (quarterback/Toledo), Stephen Saulters (receiver/Western Kentucky) and Landan Left (athlete/Western Kentucky). Could Springfield break up the party? The Yellow Jackets return do-everything quarterback Kason Woodson and five-star junior defensive back/receiver Jermaine Cobbins, one of the top 2028 players in the nation.
Middle Tennessee’s small-school championship drought
East Nashville’s move down to Class 2A didn’t translate into immediate success last season. With much of that group back — including quarterback Dallas Covington, a Western Kentucky commit, and Mississippi State defensive back commit Ke’Vontae Pitts — maybe the Eagles will snap one of the area’s longer streaks. It's been six years since a Nashville area school won a state championship in 1A (Fayetteville, 2000) and 14 years since the last 2A program (Friendship Christian, 2012) won a title. Is this the year?
TSSAA one-time transfer issues
The TSSAA typically finishes processing most of the necessary football transfers by the Monday after Week 1. Some hardship waivers have already been awarded. Will there be more, or will any high-profile transfers face eligibility issues as the one-time transfer rule era takes effect for the 2026-27 school year?
Riverdale might unseat Oakland in Class 6A
These Rutherford County rivals could trade places. Oakland’s rein over Class 6A (five state championships in six seasons) isn’t over by any stretch, but the Patriots have to replace some key production from last year’s team. Riverdale’s offense, with QB Gavin Hampton and wide receivers Brylan Oduor (Auburn commit), Luke Tritch, Gavin Johnson and tight end Sutton Gutting (Mississippi State commit) will be a handful.
Watch for the next big officiating emphasis
Have you noticed more “tush push” plays since the Philadelphia Eagles popularized it in 2021? It became a go-to look for some teams in short-yardage and goal-line situations. You’ll start seeing less of that. “Helping the runner” or illegal pulling, pushing, or lifting of the ball carrier by teammates will be a point of emphasis for NFHS officials in 2026. It’s never been easy to officiate, so it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
What do Lipscomb Academy and Trent Dilfer have up their sleeve?
Dilfer wasn’t exactly handed a loaded roster for his first season back in three years. What do we make of this team? There are some solid pieces returning, including offensive lineman Ty Hathaway and receiver/defensive back Christian Blivens, but winning in DII-AAA requires an entire arsenal. Duke running back commitment Mikel Stephen, a transfer from Madison Central (Mississippi), is a nice addition.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean's high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Top Nashville area TSSAA football storylines to watch in 2026
