NEW TAMPA — Wharton football coach Abner Smith III isn’t pretending everything is easy. He lost 26 seniors from last year’s 4-6 team, saw several key starters transfer out this offseason and is heading into the summer and fall with a young defense and enough questions to keep him busy.
With spring football now wrapped up, Smith sounds more energized than discouraged.
“For us, it’s about who wants to be here,” he says, refusing to call it a rebuild. Instead, it’s a reset around players fully committed to the program.
Wharton’s biggest challenge this offseason has been replacing a large and productive senior class, including several of the top statistical leaders. Still, Smith III says the program has a “really really good nucleus of offensive guys” returning.
While last year’s primary quarterback transferred, TJ Nesmith steps in as the fulltime starter. He probably would have seen more time last year before injuries limited him. In seven games, Nesmith completed 59% of his passes for 468 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for three others.
Rising senior Isaiah Rodriguez will step into the slot to replace graduated standout CJ Hilton, who led the team last fall in catches, yards and touchdowns. Rodriguez was right behind him with 315 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown on a slant against Tampa Bay Tech. Jamar Bembow and Omari Blackman will take on bigger roles.
Berry Sanders, a rising junior running back who tied for the team lead with 255 rushing yards last year and led the team with four rushing scores, figures he’ll be counted on even more.
One the spring’s biggest surprises was Indel Monfleury, a 2027 prospect who had previously started on the offensive line. Smith III said he has been moved to tight end and is flourishing while giving the Wildcats an additional threat on offense.
“He’s had a phenomenal offseason,” the coach said, alluding to losing the weight to transition to his new position. Defensively, Montfleury will also contribute on the defensive line.
Both lines, however, will need additional work finding bodies.
The Wildcats get leading tackler Khaled Osman back, who is transitioning from linebacker to safety, and Tyler Bonarski, a rising senior, will also follow suit into a starting role. Smith III describes both as “program kids” who have made Wharton a priority.
But the transfer epidemic — more than 7,000 athletic transfers in Florida alone last year, according to the Wall Street Journal — has left its mark on the Wharton defense. The Wildcats lost a pair of starting pass defenders, and that will sting. And once you get past Osman, the next eight leading tacklers have either transferred or graduated.
But Smith III said it’s part of the job these days.
“I’m not focused on preventing guys from looking elsewhere,” he said. “I want to appeal and attract the people who are for our program.”
That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been disappointed with players departing. One year he’s touting them as foundational players for the program, and the next he’s watching them show up at other schools. But he understands the realities of high school football, which has created “a transactional climate.”
Regardless, the road to keeping Wharton moving upward may be a bit smoother in 2026. After two years of playing one of the most brutal schedules around that included Armwood, Gaither, Sumner and Tampa Bay Tech, Smith III will lead the Wildcats into a new, more manageable lineup that includes Pasco County teams Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel — playoff teams last year — as well as Cypress Creek, Land O’Lakes and Sunlake.
Smith III has also bolstered his coaching staff. He said they will continue to develop the players this summer that are there. He believes the program took significant steps forward last year, and closed the gap on some of the area’s better teams. Now, with 30-40 players showing up consistently since January, he said he is focused on leadership, culture and continued development.
“We don’t have all the kids,” he said, “but we’ve got the right kids.”