Times-Union Reveals 2025 First Coast All-FCS Team Honoring Local Stars

The Times-Union published its annual First Coast All-FCS team on Jan. 29, 2026, recognizing Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia high-school alumni who starred at the FCS level during the 2025 season. The local roundup placed particular emphasis on the offensive line, a position group that reasserted the First Coast as a producer of FCS talent.

"The 2025 season was an especially strong one for Jacksonville-area players on the offensive line, including FCS All‑American Mike Bartilucci and Campbell Trophy finalist Chandler Kirton. Both played high school football at Fletcher." Those two names anchor the list in the trenches where games are won and lost. Mike Bartilucci carries the FCS All-American label in the Times-Union item, and Chandler Kirton appears with the billing of a Campbell Trophy finalist. Both are identified as Fletcher High School products, underscoring that one local program supplied multiple national-level performers this season.

A portrait of Clayton Freeman accompanies the Times-Union material, though the excerpted page offers no further details about Freeman’s position, college team, or statistical case. The lack of a full roster and statistical breakdown in the published excerpt means readers do not yet have the full slate of honorees, position breakdowns, seasonal numbers, or class years that typically give these lists texture. Still, naming Bartilucci and Kirton signals a positional trend - dominance up front - that has ripple effects for game planning, recruiting, and pro scouting.

Beyond individual accolades, the selection sheds light on regional player development and the business side of lower-division college football. CollegeFactual background material included with regional profiles shows Jacksonville State University ranked #9 in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Football in the Southeast Region, located in Jacksonville, Alabama, with a reported FCS men’s football revenue figure of $5,648,248 and an academic progress rate of 961. Jacksonville University is listed at #15 on the site’s Southeast Region list this year and is described as a private not-for-profit institution in Jacksonville, Florida, with a small student population and a top 20% quality ranking on that site. Degree-count entries in those excerpts lack year markers and should be confirmed for accuracy.

For fans and local programs, the Times-Union’s First Coast All-FCS roundup does more than hand out honors. It validates coaching and development pathways at Fletcher and other area programs, gives college coaches and scouts a concise set of names to follow into spring practice, and boosts visibility for First Coast recruits heading into 2026. The next step for readers seeking depth is the full Times-Union roster and the season stats that explain why Bartilucci, Kirton, and the portraited Clayton Freeman made the cut; those details will shape how these honorees are tracked in spring drills and next season’s recruiting battles.