Tarleton preps for life after two football superstars

BY GAVIN PATRICK

Sports Editor

Out with the old, in with the new.

It’s a mantra every football team abides by in a season’s early stages. Tarleton State University returns 64% of its players from 2024, including nine defensive starters who helped put together the most impactful season in program history.

But the ceiling this year rides heavily on how the team replaces two of its all-time greats: Darius Cooper and Kayvon Britten.

“A good thing about college football is guys graduate and move on and get new opportunities, and then it's always fun to see what's next,” head coach Todd Whitten said. “We're in that position right now.”

While Cooper and Britten chase their dreams professionally, their once sidekicks share a big responsibility to adequately support a team expecting to contend for its first championship.

Receivers Cody Jackson and Keylan Johnson are two of the top targets for quarterback Victor Gabalis. They figure to be high-impact players should the QB live up to his unanimous selection as UAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

Jackson finished 2024 on a six-game touchdown streak and averaged 60.9 yards over his last seven. He said he has a great relationship with Gabalis and is working to improve as a leader and establish a more vocal presence on the team.

“My workouts [have] been even more crazy,” Jackson said. “I took them up to a different notch than last year 'cause I know I got to step in a big role this year.”

The key for Johnson will be staying on the field, having missed 10 games over the past two seasons with injuries. He starts his sixth and final season at Tarleton, averaging 23.6 yards a catch. When healthy, Johnson is a big-play waiting to happen, as proved by his 219-yard, four-touchdown performance on six catches against North Alabama in 2023.

“We have good players at those positions, and they just gotta be themselves,” Whitten said.

The backfield appeared ready to be led by veterans Braelon Bridges and Caleb Lewis following last season, but Tre Page III has worked his way into a prominent place in the mix. The redshirt freshman received a share of first-team reps in camp and spent the summer proving his worth.

“I've been watching film a lot more,” Page said. “[I’ve been] going there sometimes with my [position] coach, [Pepe Pearson], me and him by ourselves. [I’ve been] taking better notes this year and going over my notes and looking at player personnel from the other team to tell me how everything [is] gonna go.”

The Texans will also deploy Deangelo Rosemond and University of Hawaii transfer Tylan Hines in what figures to be a crowded room of capable runners.

“We all push each other because we all complement each other’s run style in a different way,” Page said. “It's gonna be hard to stop us this year.”

Replicating Cooper and Britten’s production will take a village. The two accounted for 62% of the Texans’ offensive yardage in 2024. Guys like that don’t grow on trees. But the team’s success in 2024 and newfound playoff eligibility opened up recruiting this spring, and the program welcomed a top 15 transfer portal class.

One of those players, Reginald Harden, an Arkansas State transfer, has emerged as a leader in the receiver room.

“I like Reggie,” Jackson said. “…We got a lot of new, older players who are coming in here and being vocal. …That makes me vibe with them, and they’re bringing us together as a team.”

Despite the departures of Cooper, Britten and four starting offensive linemen, FCS voters are still very high on the Texans. The team saw their highest preseason rankings yet on the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 (No. 10) and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll (No. 8). They were also picked to win the UAC, receiving eight of nine possible first-place votes.

It helps to return 18 defensive players with over 200 snaps last season, 11 of the top 12 tacklers and four All-Conference players (Gabalis, DL Brandon Tolvert, LB Ty Rawls, CB Kasyus Kurns).

There may not be a Batman this year – but there are a lot of Robins.

“We have a lot of seniors (48% of the roster), a lot of energy,” Whitten said. “These guys have worked really hard all through the winter and summer months, and so they're certainly ready to go play.”

As for Cooper, who just snagged a roster spot on the Philadelphia Eagles and was around the program meeting with recruits while training ahead of the NFL Draft, he leaves one piece of advice for his successors.

“He just tells me, ‘Keep God first – and keep going,’” Jackson said.