Head coach: John Starr (13-18 in three years here; 152-117 overall)
Returning starters: 6 offensive; 7 defensive
Key players: RB-LB Davontay Smith (6-0, 210); RB-DB Eric Johnson (5-10, 180); QB Treymontay Brooks (5-9, 185); DL Jarquel Wooten (6-0, 260); QB-WR Calvin James (6-0, 170).
Team strengths: Experience in the skill positions. Johnson is a four-year starter while Smith, Brooks and Wooten are three-year starters.
Howard's Eric Johnson (4) runs after a pass reception. The Howard Hustling Tigers visited the East Hamilton Hurricanes in a TSSAA District game on October 26, 2018
Howard's Davontay Smith (22) breaks a Brainerd tackle. The Howard Hustlin Tigers hosted the Brainerd Panthers in TSSAA football action on August 17, 2018. "Those guys have been around, they've played a lot of snaps in some big games, and that always helps," Starr said.
Team concerns: Only two starters return on the offensive line, and both are on the right side. That means a lot of inexperience at center and all across the left side.
Breakout candidate: James is a versatile player who will get action at both quarterback and receiver. After focusing on basketball the last couple of years, he has gotten serious about football, and the work is paying off.
"He has a really nice arm when we need him to throw it and is great at high-pointing the ball when we throw it up to him," Starr said. "Wherever he's playing for us, he can be a game-changer."
Season outlook: The Hustlin' Tigers will open a new stadium this season with plans of building on to the foundation they laid at the end of last season when they won their last four regular-season games and gave Elizabethton all it wanted in the opening round of the playoffs.
That won't be easy against a schedule that includes a four-game stretch to open the season against 2018 Class 3A semifinalist Stratford, Division II-A quarterfinalist Middle Tennessee Christian and rivals Brainerd and Tyner before settling into their region slate.
"We've got to start faster than last year. We can't afford to lose confidence early," Starr said. "We've sort of started to turn the corner to be where we need to be, and our kids have really bought in as far as knowing how hard they need to work to get to the level we want to get to.
"I'm hoping that the way we ended last season and the confidence we gained will carry over and help us get off to the type of start that could really help us once we start playing our region opponents. We're playing against 4A teams with 2A numbers, so we have to stay healthy, too."