It’s a new era at Southeast Bulloch as Jason Anthony takes over as interim head football coach for the 2026 season.

Anthony, who was an assistant coach with the Yellow Jackets for five years, was named to the role after Jared Zito stepped down late last year.

“It was a surprise, but I know what I’ve done for SEB,” Anthony said about being named interim head coach. “I was surprised, but I know I’ve put in enough work to be here.”

Anthony has been coaching for 16 years, with the last 15 as a defensive coordinator. Going into his first season as head coach, he admitted there are certainly some responsibilities that weren’t there as an assistant.

“Mostly, it’s off-the-field issues — setting up fundraisers, communication, setting practice schedules, community service and those types of things,” he said.

Anthony said he’s leaning on his experience as a track and field head coach to create a blueprint for serving as head football coach.

“It’s just a much bigger scale,” he said.

Fortunately, he said, since learning of his new role back in January, there’s been time to adjust and prepare for the season, with the coaching staff from last year remaining largely unchanged.

Rand Morgan, who was coaching at SEB Middle School last year, joins the staff as the quarterbacks coach, and Brent Osborne shifts to director of football operations. The other coaches from last year remain on staff, with Anthony Hammett taking over the defensive coordinator role.

Finding new leaders

Anthony inherits a team that went 5-5 in 2025 and missed the playoffs after finishing 5-4 in region play.

Perhaps the biggest task he faces, at least on the offensive side of the ball, is replacing Jayden Murphy and Colby Smith in the backfield. The duo combined for 1,905 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground last year.

“Losing those two bell-cows, you can’t replace those guys,” he said.

Instead of trying to find one or two players to fill the role, Anthony said the plan to start the season is to go with a committee approach in the backfield. Among the players who are expected to see time at running back are Orion Williams, Stevie Padgett, Jayden Mabry and Jordan Dawson.

“We’re going to go with the hot guy,” Anthony said. “If you want something, go out and earn it.”

The Yellow Jackets are also expected to have someone new under center in 2026, with sophomore JK Small the frontrunner to earn the starting quarterback job. Aaden Peterson will back him up, as needed.

Peterson is one of the offensive threats that Anthony sees as being key to the team’s offensive success. He’ll start at wide receiver, with Eli Reed on the other wideout.

Anthony described Reed as “a big-bodied receiver” and said his team will be looking for ways to get both players the ball.

Up front, Jarred Maddox is the lone returning starter on the offensive line, but Anthony said several other players have experience, including Dawson Horton.

“He’s mean and nasty,” Anthony said of Horton. “He’s going to be really good.”

At tight end, the Yellow Jackets have depth, with Brant Horst, Bailey Hutchins and Connor Eagle all slated to see action this fall.

Building a defense

Defensively, the Yellow Jackets will look to improve on last season, in which SEB allowed an average of 19.7 points per game.

Junior Riley Marsh is expected to anchor the defensive line. Described as “a bull in a China shop” by Anthony, Marsh had 16 tackles and one sack in 2025.

Senior David Thompson should see time at defensive end as well to help solidify the defensive front.

Anthony said the strength of the defense will be in the linebackers, calling Horst “special.”

“He’s the captain of the defense,” Anthony said. “He’s the most vocal one out there.”

Many of the fullbacks fighting for time on offense can expect to see time at linebacker as well, even as the Yellow Jackets try to move away from two-way players.

Hutchins will also see time at linebacker.

“He’s an athletic linebacker. He can really hit,” Anthony said.

Anthony said the outside linebacker positions are still up in the air, but he mentioned both Luke Fordham and Taylor Chaney as players who have impressed in offseason workouts.

In the secondary, Anthony said Peterson may play cornerback or safety, but he hopes to be able to rest him on defense, if possible.

He described Padgett as “electric” at safety, adding that Jordan Dawson also has played well in practice.

Junior Owen Turner made 15 of his 17 PAT attempts in 2025 and returns as the starting placekicker for the Yellow Jackets. He also handled kickoff duties last year, though Anthony said there are some other players in the mix to take over, should SEB need them.

A tough schedule

Again this year, the Yellow Jackets will open the season with their cross-county rival Statesboro on Aug. 21. Anthony is excited about the rivalry matchup, but he wants to keep his team focused on the larger picture.

“It’s one of those games where, for the players, you don’t make too big where it can ruin your season,” he said. “The community is always hyped and ready, but it’s a crosstown rivalry with respect. If we’re not playing Statesboro, we’re cheering for them to win.

“We have to make sure it’s not so big that we lose focus of our ultimate goal of winning the region,” he said.

With the GHSA reassigning regions this past offseason, Southeast Bulloch finds itself in a region with fewer Savannah schools — a region that, top to bottom, is better than their previous one, according to Anthony.

“All the teams, at least looking on paper at the stats from the past couple of years, you could have a good game or a bad game,” he said. “Nobody is higher than anyone else.”

Anthony said in previous years, there were games when there was a very good chance SEB would be comfortably ahead and able to get some backups and junior varsity players some game experience. This season, he doesn’t see that potential in any region game.

“There’s not one game where you're going to blow the doors off someone,” he said.

Following their season opener with Statesboro, the Yellow Jackets have non-region games with East Laurens, Burke County and Westside High School out of Augusta before region play begins.

In addition to a new head football coach, SEB is also getting a new principal in Nate Pennington. While Anthony said it wasn’t necessarily a new beginning at the school, there’s a certain excitement that comes with seeing fresh faces in new positions.

“At SEB, you can feel the energy changing,” he said.

2026 Southeast Bulloch football schedule

Aug. 21 Statesboro

Aug. 28 East Laurens

Sept. 4 at Burke County

Sept. 11 at Westside

Sept. 25 at West Laurens

Oct. 2 Harlem

Oct. 9 at Windsor Forest

Oct. 16 Liberty County

Oct. 30 New Hampstead

Nov. 6 at Long County