South Lafourche football coach BJ Young has seen some good quarterbacks in his day.
Heck, he was one of them – a former standout at Hahnville who then turned around and became a multi-year starter at Southeastern.
But there’s a guy that Young has in his locker room right now as a player that the Tarpons coach said has a chance to be special – a player who the coach believes is farther along in his development than even Young was at this time in his career.
Senior Josh Mack is leading the Tarpons’ offense into 2025 after a solid season as the team’s starting quarterback last year.
Mack has gotten bigger, faster and stronger in the offseason and he is sharper this spring after having a lighter baseball season moving from catcher to the outfield.
Young said the things Mack is doing is impressive – so much so that he and his coaching staff believe there’s plenty reason to be excited with 2025 approaching.
The Tarpons wrap up their spring tomorrow against H.L. Bourgeois in a spring game.
“He’s farther along than I was at that age. I tell that to all of the coaches who come by here,” Young said. “I joke with him, I tell him, ‘Don’t get it twisted, I was a better quarterback, but you have all of the tools.’ He’s a good athlete. He has a big arm. He knows the offense. He can make all the throws. It’s been fun watching his body change and watching him grow more confident this spring.”
Mack and the Tarpons’ offense ought to be in position to score some points in 2025.
Young said Mack was rusty in the spring last year after he played receiver in 2023, then suffered a season-ending collar bone injury.
He also had dead legs at times after catching a full varsity baseball season.
But after playing in the outfield in 2025 and playing the full 2024 season, Mack is fresh, poised and has far more confidence today than he did one year ago.
He also has weapons. The Tarpons return bruising halfback Landin Dardar and speedster Dray Hughes – two players who were tough to slow last season.
On the edges, the Tarpons also return Terrance Pitre, who had the best receiver season in the history of South Lafourche High School last season – a reliable weapon who can catch passes at all 3 levels and who is seemingly always open.
The wildcard in the Tarpons’ offense is Landon Jarvis and he is also back and is expected to be fully healthy when the season starts after having offseason shoulder surgery. Young said Jarvis can be a running back, inside receiver, outside receiver and also even a tight end in the Tarpons’ offense.
Up front, South Lafourche also returns 3 linemen who Young believes will be college players in Beau Georges, Carter Callais and Sawyer Wells.
Young said he knows the Tarpons have work to do and have to prove themselves. South Lafourche returns a lot and was 4-6 last season, missing the playoffs. The Tarpons also have holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball with coordinator Mike Woods joining the staff with aspirations to help a defense that struggled in 2024 to avoid big plays.
But the Tarpons finished 3-1 down the stretch last season and Young said that momentum has carried forward into the spring.
He said he’s anxious to see how his team handles facing the Braves, saying that he knows there’s a chance that things could go really good, but also could go really bad against a talented team.
But regardless, Young said he’s eager to see his team against another opponent with a chance to see what they need to work on before 2025.
“We’re excited. We like what we’re seeing. I’m not telling you we’re going to go out there and beat up on H.L. Bourgeois. But we believe that if we keep getting better that we are going to be in every football game this season,” Young said.