NATCHEZ — Last spring, Josh Loy was still an assistant coach at Natchez High School.

Loy, who wasn’t hired by Trinity Episcopal until well into the summer last year, barely had a chance to get started with his new team before fall practice again. Now, Loy finally has a spring to work with his team before transitioning to summer workouts.

With many of the players already familiar with Loy’s system, Loy said it makes a big difference having a spring to work on a few things.

“Our kids knowing our system (makes a big difference),” Loy said. “We’re mainly just correcting things we saw in the fall that needed to be corrected, and that’s been our biggest adjustment and biggest improvement.”

With the departure of senior quarterback Garrett Vinson, Wyatt Boothe looks to slide into the role of starting quarterback, Loy said.

“He’s been working extremely hard ever since baseball season ended,” Loy said. “We’re working on him mechanically and with his footwork, and we’re teaching some of the offense to him that he wasn’t familiar with. He’s progressed well for us the last week and a half.”

Boothe, a rising junior, said the adjustment period between being a backup last year to being a full-time starter would likely last into the season.

“It’s kind of hard, and I’m probably going to be nervous the first couple of games until I settle in,” Boothe said. “I need to work on my basic fundamentals, because I lacked that at the end of (last) season.”

So far, though, Boothe is drawing positive reviews from his teammates. Rising senior wide receiver/cornerback Jacob Sandrock said he expects good things out of Boothe this fall.

“He has potential, he just needs some game-time experience,” Sandrock said. “He’s accurate and has a good arm.”

Rising senior all-purpose athlete Michael Whitley, who transferred to Trinity from Vidalia High School, also said he’s been impressed with Boothe.

“He’s pretty good,” Whitley said. “He’s a natural thrower, and he’s going to be really good.”

Loy said Whitley is one of a few new players to transfer in, and the team is in the process of finding out where they’ll play.

“We’ve got some new kids, and we have some spots that also need to be filled,” Loy said. “If they’re here, we’re coaching them, and that’s all we can do at this time.”

Boothe said he’s just happy to be surrounded with several weapons with which to deliver the ball.

“We have guys all over the place, so anywhere we can get it is probably fine,” Boothe said.

Trinity is also in the process of reshaping its coaching staff. With the departure of defensive coordinator Kyle Ketchings and linemen coach Robert Cade, Loy hired assistant coach Hunter Ogden, who had previous stops at Adams County Christian School and, most recently, Brookhaven Academy.

“He’ll be the head baseball coach and be an assistant at the varsity and junior varsity level, possibly as defensive coordinator,” Loy said. “We’re interviewing for a third coach on our staff.”

The fall may be a little ways off, but Boothe said he has high expectations for this coming season.

“If we work and get everyone in here, I think our potential is through the roof, really,” Boothe said.