HSFT Stop #60: Starkville
For the second straight season, Starkville football will have a new head coach.
After years of coaching at West Point, Brett Morgan filled the Yellow Jackets’ coaching vacancy and enters the 2026 season excited about the group he has inherited.
“When I first got here, I was just floored by the character of our kids in our program,” Morgan said. “I can’t say enough about them and the buy-in. They want to win. They want to do what it takes to win. It’s our job as the adults to teach them what that looks like.”
Morgan has been a head coach for just two seasons, but he understands that success requires buy-in from everyone surrounding a program.
He credits his years at West Point, along with the influence of his father and other coaches, for helping shape his approach.
“Everything I’ve learned over the years, my years at West Point, my years with my dad, my years with Coach (Grown), there’s just so much that I’ve learned,” Morgan said. “I’m thankful to be around a lot of good people. Those championships at West Point come from so many good people and so much to take from that — a winning culture and everybody pulling in the same direction. So, yes, a lot to bring from that.”
The players quickly bought into Morgan’s culture and believe he is the coach who can lead them to more success on the field.
“We just trusted him since day one,” Starkville linebacker Noah Camba said. “We trusted his philosophy and we just look up to him and we trust that he will take us forward. We love the mentality he’s bringing. The staff likes the physicality he’s bringing. We just trust in that and we go play hard.”
Starkville tight end Chaden Walker said Morgan has brought an intense, team-first mentality to the program.
“He’s very intense. He’s a team player,” Walker said. “He wants those two seniors to lead the team and he’s like, God first, team and players last.”
Senior quarterback Kingston Johnson played his first season with the Yellow Jackets last year, but he has seen how much the team has grown in a short period of time.
“We’ve grown a lot,” Johnson said. “We had a new coach, so we had to learn a couple of things. But other than that, we’ve showed a lot of growth as a team and chemistry and that kind of stuff. So I’m excited for the season.”
Johnson also knows that senior leadership will be critical for Starkville this season.
“It’s a thing that the coaches demand, that the seniors step up and lead the team,” Johnson said. “It’s a player-led team first. So we have to make sure everybody’s locked in every single practice, from stretches to the weight room to on the field. That contributes to being successful on the field.”
Starkville will begin its 2026 season on the road Aug. 28 against Oak Grove.
