It was a busy Wednesday morning at the Meadowlands as the New York Jets hosted their 2026 High School Football Media Day. From the mountains of Vernon to the city streets of Bayonne, dozens of schools from all over the region met at the same place at the same time to kick off the upcoming season.
Not only has it become annual, but it has become a must-attend event hosted by the Jets every pre-season. They partner with North Jersey’s Super Football Conference, giving open opportunities for media exposure and practice to over 110 schools. Over 500 players and coaches attend the event yearly.
Throughout the morning, teams were on the move within MetLife Stadium’s Miller Lite Club. Between three stages, two teams would go up and be interviewed by a panelist about their upcoming season, and coaches gave overviews with the two to four players they brought along to give additional insight. Afterwards, they would head over to another suite, where they would have high-end photoshoots with props along with additional one-on-one interviews with fellow media sites in attendance.
Before heading out for the day, teams had the special opportunity to head downstairs and go inside the Jets locker room. Of course, the biggest attraction for everyone was the three stalls that sat side-by-side, shared between Jets fan favorites Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and Geno Smith.
The Super Football Conference is the largest football league in the country. Consisting of what was once four separate conferences, they serve nearly every high school in North Jersey, stretching over eight counties and ranging from highly rated private schools to two-school teams.
The Jets also teamed up with Nike, which donated a $5,000 equipment grant, given to a program at random. This year’s recipients were the Dumont Huskies.
While the event brought out the spotlight, it attracted the stars. In the building were some of the highest-ranking recruits in the state and even some ranked in the country, with many of them headed to the top programs. I asked Don Bosco Prep head coach Dan Sabella how he blocks out all of the outside attention with having many players who go to top D-I schools year in and year out:
“We control what we can control. We talk about that a lot,” Sabella says. This season his Iron Men will be led by two of the top five athletes in 247 Sports’ New Jersey class of 2027: Edge Rusher Aidan O’Neil ranked third and is headed to Notre Dame and Linebacker Mikahi Allen is fourth and going to Texas A&M. “We really try to pay attention to what’s important, which is within our program, preparing the right way every day, trying to stay off social media as much as we can. And just putting the work in so you get the result that you want every week.
While Don Bosco had everyone wanting to hear from them, another team got just as much attention. Their arch-nemesis, the Bergen Catholic Crusaders, are a usual big attraction at this event, and it was business as usual this morning. They did not have the 2025 season they wanted, suffering a rare three-loss season on the year. I asked head coach Vito Campanile about what’s to come while they are expected to bounce back:
“One day at a time, not to sound cliché, but, you know, we got eight more practices until we play this game [Week 0 vs. Central Catholic (PA)], and we need to get better every single day. It’s the youngest team I’ve coached in a decade I’ve been there, so we need to continue to be consistent, like coach every aspect of football, play real complementary ball, and like do everything the right way. “
Scrimmages have started, and training camp is coming to an end. The 2026 season is only a few weeks away.
