TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Leon High School football team is one of the oldest in the state of Florida. They've been playing football for over 100 years. At one time, they were one of the most feared. The Lions look to get back to that point, and they're putting in the work now to make sure they get there.
"They said they haven't had this many people in conditioning in the last 15-20 years," said head coach Tyrone McGriff as he looked at the amount of athletes lifting this off season. "I wasn't shocked, but I guess they are."
McGriff was hired in December as the new head coach of the Lions, and it's been full steam ahead ever since.
"He's been tough, but we need it," said junior Tyson Meyer.
The Lions have won two recognized state championships, but those winning ways have slipped from standard. Over the past five seasons, they have just eight total wins.
"They've bought in. We're looking at about 60 guys here consistently here working out," said McGriff. "I think it's about setting the culture right, right from the beginning."
"He's instilling our mentality back and making pride back at Leon," added Meyer.
The Lions have something working against them. They work out with broken, outdated equipment, and to compete with other programs, the Lions need better.
"To build the program where we need it to be, we need at least ten racks," said McGriff. "Benches, we can't do incline. We have so many things we need to get fixed."
"We have to play top ten programs like St. Thomas Aquinas, and we have this stuff," added Meyer.
Resources the Lions are looking to to improve. They're trying to restore the roar.
"We have a long way to go to get caught up, but I think we can reach that with our stakeholders and fan support," said McGriff.
Support they hope takes them back to the Lion standard. To support the Lions and find out more about their Restore the Roar campaign, you can click here.
