The Brownwood Lions kick off their second campaign under the tutelage of head coach Jeryl Brixey on Monday, preparing for a journey that finds the program in Region IV of Class 4A Division II – both a region and classification in which Brownwood has never competed .

District 13-4A Division II action doesn’t begin until October, however, and the Lions have plenty to focus on between now and the start of league play – including two scrimmages and a five-game pre-district slate that features five ranked foes and a 7-on-7 state championship squad.

“You’re always nervous right now because football is such a numbers game,” Brixey said. “Our summer turnout with out juniors and seniors has been really good, but with our sophomores and freshmen they’re hitting about 50 percent. The big nervousness is about who shows up to pick up equipment at the freshman and sophomore level. Hopefully all the kids will be there that we expect.”

Heading into Monday’s 6:30 a.m. workout at the Multi-purpose Activity Center on the Brownwood High School campus, the Lions are not starting from scratch – as was the case in 2026 when Brixey took over the program in the spring.

“The biggest differences between this year and last year are we aren’t going to have to teach our kids how we practice,” Brixey said. “There’s no installation period, we’ve been practicing football all summer long, especially with our older kids. Where we’re at is honestly not far from where we ended last year as far as knowledge. It is far away from where we finished last year as far as physicality and technique just because as much as you practice, nothing replaces putting on the pads and doing it live. That will be the thing that will be interesting to see through the first week and we get into full-pad practices, how we translate into doing stuff in the physical manner its needs to be. We hope the kids move into the full physical part of it as quickly as possible.”

Practices are currently schedule to take place at the MAC each morning during the first week of workouts, with an intrasquad scrimmage the morning of Saturday, Aug. 8 at Gordon Wood Stadium – the first day of full contact action.

“We have to Monday and Tuesday are non-contact conditioning days,” Brixey said. “All we can wear is shirts, shorts and helmets. Then Wednesday and Thursday are half-pad days with rules on very limited contact. Friday is a full-pad day, where you still have some rules about contact, there’s no tackling to the ground, and the Saturday is the first full contact day and, weather permitting, will be at Gordon Wood Stadium with an intrasquad scrimmage.”

The Lions will enter the season with more experience on the defensive side of the ball, as key returnees include secondary members Wyatt Wolf, Sirr Beam, Nick Rodriguez, and Aiden Jimenez, while Isaac Gonzales will be joined at linebacker by Hudson Fry. Christian Gray, coming off a 10-sack season, will lead the charge up front.

On the offensive end, 2025 leading rusher Trent Buffington returns in the backfield, along with Rodriguez, while up front Jackson Rainey and Rylan Martin boast the most varsity experience despite being underclassmen. The receiving corps will be led by Conner Cornelius, who ranked second on the team last year in touchdowns and receptions.

Areas to keep an eye on early in the season are both the offensive and defensive line rotations, depth at the receiver and tight end positions, as well as quarterback where Riggs Gray is taking over in 2026.