Sarasota High football hopes this rebuild is the final one

A football program cannot be built in one day — but one good day, stacked on top of other good days, is how a strong foundation comes to be. 

This is the philosophy Anthony "Amp" Campbell is bringing to Sarasota High football. Campbell, a former Riverview High standout who played college football at Michigan State University, was hired as the program's head coach in January. 

He was previously an assistant at Riverview and before that coached defensive backs in the college ranks, including a stint at Division I Western Michigan University. Campbell takes over for Josh Phillips, who led the Sailors to a 1-10 record in his only season with the program; Phillips initially stepped down in January to accept an assistant coaching position with Wagner College, but left Wagner a month later to take a job with the Oakland Raiders.

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Sailors Athletic Director BJ Ivey, who was elevated to that position last year, has a similar philosophy to Campbell when he coaches the Sarasota boys basketball team. After years of turnover, Ivey has brought stability and success to the Sailors. Campbell wants to do something similar on the gridiron. And he's bringing knowledge from perhaps the best coach that college football has ever seen: Nick Saban, who coached Campbell at Michigan State. 

"Everything that we are doing is pretty much the way we did things at Michigan State," Campbell said during a Suncoast Gridiron Media Day event July 26. "Everything is a symbol of the way he (Saban) did things, (even) from a conditioning standpoint."

That also includes accountability, Campbell said. It is on every person in the program to make sure they are doing what they can to get better every day. 

The players took notice. At Media Day, senior defensive end Brian Klingel said the speed of play that Campbell expects at practice is significantly higher than it was a season ago. Campbell expects full effort at all times, Klingel said. There are no plays off. In addition to the structure of practice, senior linebacker Nathan Pralle noticed a more rigid expectation of player conduct: being late to practice, or goofing off in the locker room instead of going to class, were things laughed off in the past, but not anymore. 

Those are necessary changes. Whether they lead to wins in 2024 remains to be seen, but the Sailors will give it their best shot.

Photo by Ryan Kohn

Sarasota will be led by its defense, where senior linebacker Pralle (42 tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks) and senior defensive end Klingel (60 tackles, 14 tackles for loss) will give the Sailors reliability in the front seven, surrounded by more inexperienced players. In the secondary, the team graduated its six top defensive backs from a season ago, so young players will get a chance to make a name for themselves. 

The offense brings even less experience. Running back Joe Ziegler, the leader of last year's attack, is now at Stetson University. Quarterback Johnny Squitieri graduated, as did the team's top-five receiving yards leaders. In terms of total yards, the returnee with the most is junior tight end Scott Wells, who had eight catches for 75 yards in 2023. Lucas Crowley is also expected to take on a bigger role; the senior receiver had four catches for 56 yards last year. 

The Sailors have three players listed as primary quarterbacks on their HUDL roster: junior Jace Ekes, freshmen Hudson West and Cooper Hamilton (who is also listed as a kicker). None of the three have recorded stats at the varsity level in the regular season, but the 6-foot-0 Ekes was at the team's Media Day event, a sign that he'll have the first shot at going under center. 

The team's schedule will not make things any easier. After a preseason game against Brandon High on Aug. 16, the Sailors will start the regular season against defending Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1S champion Cardinal Mooney High at home. The slate also includes games against Venice High, Booker High and arch rival Riverview High, to whom the Sailors have lost 13-straight games. 

2024 will likely be a season of learning for the Sailors. That's exactly what Campbell wants. 

"The most important thing for us is to stay 'green,'" Campbell said. "As long as we stay green and continue to grow, we will be OK."