Spring football is back, here are 5 things to watch for in the Big Bend

It's time to kick things off.

Football is back in the Big Bend as the spring season starts Monday afternoon.

After a thrilling fall season that saw Madison County make it to the state championship game and North Florida Christian reach the state semifinals among other postseason runs, the preparations for next year start now.

With area players dusting off their helmets and coaches getting the whistles ready, let's dive into the storylines to follow this spring.

Can last season's state, regional finalists run it back

Madison County was the lone area team to make a state title game appearance last season, falling to Hawthorne 22-13 in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1R state championship game.

The Cowboys went the furthest in the area, with programs like North Florida Christan making the state semifinals, and St. John Paul II and Florida High appearing in the regional finals. In total, 10 area programs made the playoffs last season in the Big Bend.

For the state and regional finalists last season, the question in spring revolves around the teams chances to run it back.

Madison County will retain much of its roster that made it to the state championship game last year, setting the Cowboys up for a potential run back to the final game of the season.

NFC enters a new era with new head coach Johnny Nichols leading the Eagles after the departure of Brent Hill, and the team will look a bit different without JP Pickles at quarterback. It remains to be seen what the Eagles can do, but a deep postseason run has almost become synonymous with the NFC program.

Like NFC, Florida High will be going through some change this season. With the departure of many of the stars from the last two seasons like Ashton Hampton, Micahi Danzy, Wyatt Crosby, Mark Faircloth and Jeremey Johnston among others, the Seminoles will be looking to the next crop of young talent to come through Southwood to get back to the end of the postseason.

The final area team that made the regional final last year was JPII, who fell to NFC 21-14 in the 1S Region 1 final. The Panthers are going to experience some roster turnover, like many of the other teams on the list. While retaining some key young stars, the Panthers will be navigating life after star quarterback Tremaine Hughes Jr.'s graduation and will be looking for the program's next signal caller to lead the team back to the championship rounds.

How do teams approach new districts, classifications

The FHSAA has moved away from the Metro/Suburban classification system just two seasons after its implementation, once again shifting the classes and districts for area teams.

Introducing a new 7A-1A system, including a Rural division, the FHSAA is shifting back to a model similar to the one used before the Metro/Suburban system. Area programs were moved into new districts and in some instances, teams were put in new classifications as the landscape of Florida High School football changes once again.

The new classifications and districts are set for the next two seasons, running until 2026. The full list of new classes and districts can be found here.

Here is a breakdown on how many teams make up the new classes:

1R: Enrollment: 111-558 (32 teams)1A: Enrollment: 61-643 (61 teams)2A: Enrollment: 644-1,166 (61 teams)3A: Enrollment: 1,167-1,542 (63 teams)4A: Enrollment: 1,543-1,822 (65 teams)5A: Enrollment: 1,823-2,135 (66 teams)6A: Enrollment: 2,136-2,512 (67 teams)7A: Enrollment: 2,512-4,627 (69 teams)

New coaches get their first taste of action

The high school football coaching carousel continued this offseason as new faces will roam the Big Bend sidelines on Friday nights this fall.

Godby, NFC, Taylor County, Jefferson County and FAMU DRS will all be under new head coaches this season. While Jefferson County and FAMU DRS have yet to officially name coaches, Godby, NFC and Taylor County have.

The Cougars promoted former assistant coach John Holston to the head coaching role, replacing Demario Jones who left for a head coaching role at Charlton County in Folkston, Georgia last December. This is Holston's first head coaching role, spending time as an assistant at Godby and Gadsden County.

Nichols takes over at NFC after the departure of Hill who stepped down in February to take a head coaching job in Tennessee at Chattanooga Notre Dame High School. Nichols is a former University of Florida football player and two-time FHSAA state champion as a player at Escambia High School and spent the last eight years coaching in Mississippi.

Taylor County brings in a new coach as Bulldog alumni and former North Florida Christian assistant coach Jesse Braswell is the new head football coach at Taylor County. He takes over for Eddie Metcalf, who posted a 22-26 record in five seasons as the head coach of the Bulldogs. Braswell most recently was an assistant coach at North Forsyth High School in Georgia.

Recruits looking to make a spring splash

The spring season is a time for recruits to turn some heads as college coaches tour the state looking for their next superstar.

In an area filled with talent, Big Bend practices will be a popular stop for many college coaches looking to fill out recruiting boards for the coming classifications.

Some of the top recruits in the area like Rickards Jalen Wiggins, Godby's Tylan Vickers, Gadsden County's Jeramiah Mccloud and Lamar Williams, JPII's Camen Upshaw, Lincoln's Gavin James, Florida High's Josiah Broxton and Madison County's Kamari Scurry highlight a strong group of talent in the Big Bend ahead of the start spring football.

While there are too many names for us to highlight, the spring season gives players a chance to push their stock up ahead of a busy summer period filled with camps. Don't be surprised to see some local talent pick up some serious college offers this spring.

Transfers continue all around the area

It's no secret that the high school transfer portal has exploded in recent seasons.

Transfers have become a large part of high school roster building, much like college football, and the roster turnover will be on display in the spring. There will be familiar names suiting up for different programs in the Big Bend this season as the use of transferring continues to grow in popularity.

While transfers can enroll at new schools and participate in workouts and practices, they cannot play in spring games, unless certain exceptions are met. The FHSAA board of directors was scheduled to discuss the elimination of most of the measures in a meeting on Monday, April 22, but the proposal was withdrawn.

As the landscape of high school athletics continues to evolve, transfers will be a large part of the future of the sport. The rosters we see this spring are likely to change come fall as players and coaches continue to find the "best fit" for teams.

What are the FHSAA spring football restrictions?

The first two days of spring practice teams use helmets only and can begin using shoulder pads on the third day, with full uniforms and contact drills beginning on the sixth day.

Athletes are limited to three hours maximum during the first five days, and deliberate contact is not allowed, but players can still use blocking dummies, sleds and similar objects.

Once permitted, live contact in practice is limited to 40 minutes and can't be done in more than two consecutive practice sessions.

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Big Bend, Tallahassee area high school spring football practices start