Aug. 20—JAMESTOWN — Blue Jay football fans might be in for a surprise this fall.
"You have to adjust your scheme to your personnel," Jamestown head coach Bill Nelson said. "There are a couple of areas where we don't have as many bodies as we once did and in other places we have more bodies.
"We've always had a number of tight ends, we always had a number of slot receivers, but now we've got more running backs and true single receivers where they can be on an island by themselves where they are not a tight end, and they are not a slot," he said. "On defense, we were really good in our 3-4 for a long time, but we've had to switch some stuff up this year."
Nelson and the Blue Jays will be testing out their new schemes beginning Aug. 10.
"Energy is high," Nelson said. "We have the potential to be really talented."
While practices officially began in mid-August, Nelson said the Jays have been preparing for football season since their 1-8 season came to an end in October.
"We had a really good winter, a really good spring and a really good summer," Nelson said. "The kids are doing what we're asking them to. (In late July) we had a four-day camp under the lights at Ernie Gates. We haven't had a camp for our older guys in a long time because our offense and defense have been very similar every year and our kids know the system, but we decided to make the changes.
"It kind of helped the freshmen out too because there is a big learning curve from middle school to high school," he said. "We had 65 guys, and it was awesome. Energy was high every night."
Nelson said he is expecting 75 to 80 kids out for the team this year. Among them is senior Brady Nenow, Nelson's pick for starting quarterback.
"Brady has gained over 20 pounds and has grown a little bit," Nelson said. "He looked really good at the camp. Both he and Karson (Schmidt) have gotten better and have helped to push each other. Brady will be the No.1 and Karson will be the No. 2, but Karson knows he has to be ready to go."
Schmidt played most of the 2025 season at signal caller due to an injury to Nenow in week two. Schmidt was 85-for-163 with 951 yards passing and eight touchdowns. He threw 14 interceptions. Offensively, Nelson said the Blue Jays will still run a spread offense but added that as the season progresses, the squad will likely throw in a wrinkle or two to keep opponents on their toes.
Protecting the signal callers is an offensive line that will bring back three starters from last season. Kale Verke will be back in the slot, and Tucker Allen will line up again at the tight end position. While assignments weren't detailed, Nelson said fans can expect to see Aiden Skari, Braden Hemminger, Edison Walters, Eric Van Berkom and Jamison Kleinjan contributing again for the Jays.
"There is a number of kids in the mix," Nelson said. "We have a lot of weapons at a lot of spots."
The Jays' first game of the season is set for Aug. 28 against Wahpeton. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Charlotte and Gordon Hanson Stadium. Jamestown defeated the Huskies 23-12 last season.
"Everybody has gotten better," Nelson said of the teams in the Class AA West Region. "Every week is a big week, and every game is a big game. There is not an easy game on our schedule. We are continually adding from week one to week two to week three. We want to continue to grow and get better every day."
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