Presbyterian Blue Hose 2026 Season Preview

Rahl Builds on 10-2

Matt Rahl closed 2025 at 10-2 overall and 6-2 in Pioneer play, a stretch of results that outran the program's No. 52 power ranking. That gap between a modest national number and a double-digit-win season is the whole story here, and it points to a staff that gets more out of Presbyterian's roster than the ratings expect. Heading into 2026, the league record and the winning percentage are the receipts for a program that plays above its rating rather than to it.

Englehart Inherits a Loaded Machine

Presbyterian's offense was fourth nationally in success rate and its defense allowed just 16.2 points a game, a combination that produced a 10-2 season without needing many explosive strikes, since the attack ranked only 95th in explosiveness. Ty Englehart is projected to take over an offense that already moves the ball efficiently but has to manufacture points in bunches rather than in one shot, and his ability to sustain those drives will decide whether the offense holds its current level or slips. With a defense this stingy through the air (3rd in passing yards allowed) and on early downs, Presbyterian does not need Englehart to be explosive, just steady.

Presbyterian's passing attack produced almost nothing on the stat sheet from its returning quarterbacks last year, but Ty Englehart heads into camp as the front-runner after logging time as a punter rather than a passer. That is not a settled job. Max Holtzclaw's 5 passing yards and Landon Sharpe's blank record show this is genuinely open competition, with Warner Bush and Collin Hurst both gone from the room. Whoever wins the reps inherits an offense that scored 34.4 points a game and ranked 4th nationally in success rate, but one that generated explosive plays at just a 95th-ranked clip, meaning the next starter's biggest swing factor is turning that efficient, short-yardage machine into one that finishes drives with more chunk plays.

Justin Montgomery ran for 799 yards and 7 touchdowns behind Zach Switzer last season, and now Switzer's 779 yards and 9 scores are gone, leaving Montgomery as the clear centerpiece of the backfield. Damion Moate, CJ Johnson, Denim Edwards and Chance Washington all return with modest or no carries to show for it, which means this stays Montgomery's job to carry rather than a shared load. Presbyterian's offense ranked just 31st in rushing yards per game while finishing 4th nationally in success rate, so Montgomery's job in 2026 is less about explosive gains and more about keeping that efficient, chain-moving identity intact.

BJ Atkins caught 27 passes for 376 yards last season, but Cincere Gill (701 yards, 7 TD) and Dominic Kibby (459 yards, 6 TD) accounted for the bulk of Presbyterian's downfield production, and both are gone. That leaves Atkins as the clear top target, with Jalen Patrick (16 catches, 214 yards) and Deverious Abercrombie (9 catches, 96 yards) needing to grow into bigger roles behind a passing attack that ranked just 95th nationally in explosiveness even with Gill and Kibby stretching the field. Presbyterian's offense was efficient enough to rank 4th in success rate, so the question is whether Atkins and Patrick can turn that steady moving of the chains into the kind of chunk plays this receiving corps lost with Gill and Kibby.

Chris Vickerson's 42 yards on just two catches says everything about what this tight end room does, it strikes when called upon rather than racking up volume, and that fits an offense that ranked 4th nationally in success rate but only 95th in explosiveness. Garrison Curry adds a modest four grabs and a score, while Zander Erasmus and Darion Griffin carry no production history but return to a group that lost only Nathan Levicki, whose line was empty anyway. With Matt Rahl's attack still leaning on efficiency over big plays, expect Vickerson and Curry to keep functioning as situational chain-movers rather than featured targets.

Presbyterian's offense turned in the 4th-best success rate in the country a year ago, but that efficiency came without much explosiveness, and six linemen who helped build it, including Collin Dudley, Anthony Marin, Noah Peterson, Caleb Rentz and Quory Ambrose, are gone. Elijah Bell, Mark Bothers, Mike Brennan, Stephen Brooks and Ellington Brooks-Lytle are back atop the depth chart, and East Carolina transfer Dru McClough arrives to help rebuild the interior, while Josh Berndt joins as a high school signee out of River Bluff rather than a portal addition. With the ground game already at 175 yards per game (31st) and third downs a weak spot at 42.5% (32nd), how this reshaped front handles both will decide whether Matt Rahl's offense keeps its identity or has to find a new one.

Presbyterian's front last year drove a defense that gave up just 4.34 yards per play, second nationally, and 117 rushing yards a game, but every name attached to that production, Carson Freese, Christian Ohagwu, Robert Porter, Carter Szydlowski and Alejandro Tovar, is gone. Matt Rahl now rebuilds around Dillon Bryant, Dallas Coy, Gerald Danner, Dandrevius Dorsey, Dalton Epps and Jaidyn Ferguson, none of whom carry prior statistics into 2026, with three-star signee Zayvion Hayes joining out of high school from Atlantic. That is a lot of unproven bodies replacing a group that helped hold opponents to 16.2 points a game, and the pass defense numbers (157 yards allowed, third nationally) will only hold if this rebuilt line can still get pressure without those departed names.

Presbyterian's defense finished 2nd in points allowed per game (16.2) and yards allowed per game (274) a year ago, but that unit's identity at linebacker walks out the door with Kyden Bailey, Jason Briones, Panos Burlos, Malek Horlback and Malik Lewis all departed. Raymond McCray is the only name back with any production on the stat sheet, and Lawton Cox, Ashton Drayton, Caysen Goss, Cade Lewis and Spears Martin all return without a recorded snap of statistical history. Matt Rahl's front held opponents to just 4.34 yards per play, ranked 2nd nationally, and the 2026 group has to prove it can hold that line with almost no measurable track record beyond McCray.

Presbyterian's secondary finished 2nd in the league in passing yards allowed per game (157) and yards per play allowed (4.34) last fall, and the group that produced it is largely intact. Camron Barber, Niko Clark, Clarence Coleman, Elijah Davis, Keith Elmore and Will Ferrell all return to anchor coverage, even with Caleb Francis, Zeb Stroup, Dillon Towles-Kendle and Willard Ferrell out of the picture. Signee Jaylen Dash arrives at cornerback out of Lake Marion, adding a fresh body to a back end that already has the pieces to keep opposing passing games checked.

Jett Jackson is the projected starter at kicker again after making 8 of 9 field goals with a 42-yard long a season ago, giving Matt Rahl a steady leg even with Peter Lipscombe gone. Thatcher Hutton is expected to handle the punting job, though his 33.3-yard average on just 6 punts leaves room for Connor Nettles, who averaged 34 yards on his lone attempt, to push for reps. Carlos Sexton returns at long snapper, taking over from departed Dixon Musgrove, and if that operation holds up, Presbyterian's placekicking stays a strength rather than a question mark.

Justin Montgomery Carries the Load

Presbyterian's real swing factor is Justin Montgomery, who ran for 799 yards and 7 touchdowns behind an offense that is otherwise breaking in Ty Englehart at quarterback. A recruiting class ranked 228th and a thin transfer haul, one in against four out, mean this roster is not stocked to replace lost production with fresh bodies, so Montgomery has to be the steady engine while Englehart and returning targets BJ Atkins and Jalen Patrick settle in. If Montgomery produces like he did a year ago, Presbyterian can lean on the run to protect a new starter, if he slips, there is little proven behind him to pick up the slack.

Matt Rahl's Margin Problem

Presbyterian went 10-2 straight up under Matt Rahl but broke even against the number at 5-5, and conference play is where bettors actually got burned, going 3-5 against the spread despite winning six of eight games outright. The split says this team piles up wins without piling up cushion, especially in Pioneer play where the scoreboard margin rarely matched the talent gap. The one bright spot for backers was road underdog spots, where Presbyterian covered all three chances, suggesting the number undervalues this group away from home more than the raw record lets on.