​REPUBLIC–The Republic Tigers football team is staying true to its stripes and keeping its focus solely on what it can control through the 20 allotted days of summer practices, in July.Head Coach Ryan Cornelsen has only so much time to get the bugs out of his team’s system before the Tigers kick off the 2026-27 campaign, on August 28.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the biggest challenges for Repmo will be getting all their new faces on offense in perfect sync.Cornelsen told me he has one returning starter on that unit, and the rest are all new. Included in that challenge will be getting some underclassmen up to speed, as best they can, before the bright, Friday night lights come on. Another key issue is filling the absence of 2-year starting quarterback, Preston McCracken, who graduated this past spring.One of the key performers returning on the defense is senior safety, Keiran Govan. The Mizzou commit is extremely motivated to get his team back into the state playoffs, after missing out last season, by losing in the Class 5 District Championship.“We’re not gonna go to a 7-on-7, we’re not gonna go to a team camp,” said Tigers senior safety, Keiran Govan. “We’re gonna come out here and grind every day. and I think that’s what really puts us apart from everybody else. That’s why coach Cornelson came and that’s why we started winning. Republic was not a winning program because we didn’t have all the key fators of keeping guys accountable, having leaders and that’s what we really have now and we come out here and we grind every day.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCoach Cornelson echoed those comments of devotion, but from a veteran perspective.“We don’t get too worked up during the summer about what we can or can’t do,” said Tigers Head Coach Ryan Cornelsen. “We kinda let the season tell us what we’re good at, then, hopefully, when it counts at the end of the year, we’re ready to know what we’re gonna be and be pretty good at it.”One thing is for sure, the Tigers offense will still feature the same old school, misdirection tactics that may not be flashy, but it helps them win seven or more games every year since Coach Cornelsen took the helm.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR – OzarksFirst.com.