2026 Preseason Top 100 Season Preview: No. 92 Oscar Smith (VA)
The two-time defending Class 6 champions will ask freshman Justice Culler to lead their pursuit of a three-peat.
Top 25 Public HSFB8/31/20264 min read
T25PS
Oscar Smith has won two straight Virginia Class 6 championships and six state titles overall. The Tigers finished 13-1 last season, won their final 13 games and shut out North Stafford 44-0 in the state final.
The 2026 title defense changed before the first game. Senior quarterback Lonnie Andrews III, a Virginia commit who threw for 3,291 yards and 43 touchdowns last season, is expected to miss the year with an undisclosed injury.
Oscar Smith has already named the replacement. Justice Culler, a freshman in the Class of 2030, will start at quarterback. The Tigers enter with a young starter but the same championship goal.
Justice Culler will enter 2026 in the rare position of leading a defending state champion as a freshman. Assistant coach Jahvoni Simmons pointed to Culler’s arm strength and speed while acknowledging the size of the loss Andrews leaves behind.
The task is substantial. Andrews completed 181 of 306 passes with 43 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2025. Culler has not taken a high school varsity snap in a regular-season game. Every opponent will try to make the freshman win with patience and consistency rather than one explosive play.
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Senior athlete Donte Dent is committed to James Madison and gives Oscar Smith a proven two-way centerpiece. Senior running back Ty’Jae Curtis returns after helping the Tigers control the 2025 state final. Senior lineman Mahlek Marsh and senior DJ Gunter add experience around a young quarterback.
One expected defensive headliner is no longer on the roster. Lincoln Halliday transferred to IMG Academy in June. His departure and Andrews’ injury change the ceiling, but neither changes the program’s recent proof: Oscar Smith has won 30 consecutive games against Virginia opponents since the start of 2024.
Players to Know
Justice Culler, QB, freshman
Culler is the confirmed starter. His development is the central story of Oscar Smith’s season because the Tigers are asking a Class of 2030 quarterback to lead a Class 6 three-peat attempt.
Donte Dent, ATH, senior
The 6-foot-4 James Madison commit is the most established college prospect remaining on the roster and can help in multiple phases.
Ty’Jae Curtis, RB, senior
Curtis gives Culler an experienced runner. He rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the 2025 state championship game.
Mahlek Marsh, OL, senior
Marsh is an important senior on an offense that must give its freshman quarterback a workable foundation.
DJ Gunter, OL, senior
Gunter is another returning senior lineman whose experience matters more after the change at quarterback.
Schedule Breakdown
Oscar Smith opens with Warwick before a major Sept. 11 test against Varina. That game should give Culler a state-level examination in his second varsity start.
The Southeastern District schedule follows, including road games at Indian River, Deep Creek and Western Branch. The Tigers remain the district favorite, but every week will be part of Culler’s education before the Class 6 bracket begins.
Complete 2026 Schedule
Sept. 4: Warwick
Sept. 11: Varina
Sept. 18: at Indian River
Sept. 25: King’s Fork
Oct. 2: Hickory
Oct. 9: at Deep Creek
Oct. 16: at Grassfield
Oct. 23: Nansemond River
Oct. 30: Great Bridge
Nov. 6: at Western Branch
Biggest Question
How quickly can Justice Culler become more than a talented freshman?
The quarterback is named, but the position is still the largest variable. Oscar Smith does not need Culler to duplicate Andrews’ 43 touchdowns immediately. It needs him to improve through the schedule and arrive in November ready to make the throws a championship game will demand.
This preview is presented as part of MISTER F00TBALL’s National High School Football Composite Rankings, partnered with and powered by Prep Gridiron Logistics, the only rankings to include every national poll and every team receiving a Top 25 vote.
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T25PS Prediction
Projected Regular-Season Record: 8-2
Projected Postseason Finish: Virginia Class 6 state semifinalist
An 8-2 projection respects the loss of Andrews, the transfer of Halliday and the difficulty of asking a freshman to start ten regular-season games. It also respects an Oscar Smith program that just won 13 straight and returns a core led by Dent and Curtis.
The Tigers remain capable of winning a third straight title. T25PS projects the run to end in the semifinals because the quarterback transition creates a larger November risk than Oscar Smith carried into the last two postseasons.
Thanks for reading,
Alex | T25PS
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