“This team is totally different,” Turner said at Tuesday’s Hope Kiwanis Club meeting, describing how opposing coaches at a spring team camp in Nashville took note of the Bobcats’ newfound physicality. “It’s all about confidence, a little bit of swag, that edge you need in the trenches. We’ve got some guys with that, and I love it.”
The 2025 Bobcats will be a young team, led not by seniors but by a strong junior class that has emerged as the group’s core on the field, in the classroom, and in the locker room. Out of roughly 38 varsity players, 16 are juniors, 11 are seniors, and the rest sophomores.
Turner is especially excited about an offensive line that returns healthy after a bruising 2024 season. Last year’s starting center, Hunter Godwin, and standout lineman Xavier Keith both missed nearly the entire season with injuries. Now back at full strength, joined by undersized but feisty newcomer Ben Stewart at center, the line has been the standout of summer practices.
“They’ve been our surprise all summer,” Turner said. “They’re smart, too. Three of them are 4.0 students, and they’ve picked up our blocking schemes in a day and a half.”
Senior quarterback Austin Courtney returns after an injury-plagued 2024, competing with junior Trey Hogan for the starting job. Newcomer Sam Johnson, a homeschooled athlete and baseball catcher, adds depth and will also contribute at outside linebacker.
At the skill positions, the Bobcats bring back speed and power. Junior running back JJ Gulley, at 6’0” and 225 pounds, gives Hope a physical presence in the backfield, while junior wideout Noah Cheatham, one of the fastest players in the 4A conference, headlines a speedy receiving corps that also includes members of the school’s 4x100 relay team.
Defensive coordinator Bobby Clark said the unit has grown in both depth and understanding of the system in his third year running it. With only two senior starters but nine defenders set to return in 2026, the future is bright.
“Last year we were teaching all the time,” Clark said. “Now we can focus on situations — third-and-long, scramble drills — and the kids are just reacting and playing fast.”
Team camp results have been promising. Against tough competition, including semifinalists from larger classifications, the Bobcats gave up just one rushing play over five yards in 44 snaps at one camp in Prescott.
In the longer term, Turner says the Bobcats are likely headed for a move down to Class 4A next year due to lower Hope High enrollment numbers, which could level the playing field compared to their 5A seasons when they have faced programs with deeper benches.
For now, though, the focus is on competing in one of the state’s toughest 5A conferences, home to three-time defending state champion Parkview, and restoring belief in Bobcat football.
“We’re excited. We’re ready to go out and compete against somebody else besides hitting each other,” Turner said. “It’s been a long spring and summer. We’re ready for some football.”
Photo below: Hope Bobcats Defensive Coordinator Bobby Walker speaks to the Hope Kiwanis Club about his players.
