Manatee (FL) football getting back into championship form on offense

99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ] Looking back at a magical 2024 season that saw the Hurricanes nearly reach the state championship game for the first time since 2011 when Manatee defeated Jacksonville (FL) First Coast. That is what the Hurricanes want to get back to, but offensively, the team took a step back in 2025. Injuries and inconsistency hindered Manatee last year as they struggled to get back to the region final, where the Hurricanes fell to Riverdale, falling just short of returning to the state semis.

In checking out Manatee’s practice on Tuesday afternoon, the Hurricanes might be back to seriously competing for a spot in the Final Four sooner rather than later with some of the pieces they have on offense. “I think we can be real talented,” Manatee head coach Jacquez Green said to Rivals. “I just want to make sure it’s simple enough so the guys can just go out and make plays.

They just can play fast and go out and make plays and make sure we get the leadership in place because we were so young last year that we really never had any leaders. Make sure we ain’t got any, you know, get rid of the selfish people. The main thing in spring is for me is making sure to see who can help us next year.

” With the athletes the Hurricanes will have at the offensive skill positions, Green is looking at quite possibly his most talented team he’s had since arriving at Manatee. Starting at the quarterback position, Manatee will have a new starting quarterback behind center in 2029 Nolan Downes , who transferred in from IMG Academy’s junior national team during the off-season. Downes had himself a superb freshman season for IMG’s junior national team, completing 57 percent of his passes (144 of 250) for 2,175 yards, 26 touchdowns and only two interceptions.