Nile C. Kinnick Red Devils sophomore quarterback Kacey Walker hands off to senior slot receiver Tarik Mitchell. (Abby Bissell/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Nile C. Kinnick Red Devils sophomore quarterback Kacey Walker hands off to senior slot receiver Tarik Mitchell. (Abby Bissell/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Nile C. Kinnick Red Devils senior slot receiver Tarik Mitchell. (Abby Bissell/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Nile C. Kinnick Red Devils senior receiver Nick Galegher. (Abby Bissell/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Nile C. Kinnick Red Devils junior running back Dwayne Lyon. (Abby Bissell/Special to Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan – The numbers Dre Paylor put up the last two seasons for Nile C. Kinnick will be hard to replace.
It might be too much to ask someone (or someones) to come close to the 3,575 yards on 259 carries compiled by the two-time Pacific rushing champion - and only the second back to go over 2,000 yards in a season.
But given the foundation that Red Devils coach Dan Joley has returning and coming in, the possibility is there.
Joley says he’s more than pleased with a line that features as much size and bulk as last year’s but with a tad more speed and quickness than the 2014 group.
“Having the nucleus of a big line is always good to have,” said Joley, whose Red Devils are coming off back-to-back DODDS Japan championships (sharing the 2014 title with Matthew C. Perry) and are hoping to take the final step toward a Far East Division I title-game berth.
The road begins on Friday when the Red Devils host Zama; kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Yokosuka’s Berkey Field.
Perhaps first in line for the spot vacated by Paylor, now playing his senior year in Nebraska, is Chauncey Jamerson. He’s a junior who’s “been hiding in Dre’s shadow,” Joley said. Shifty and quick, Jamerson heads a group featuring sophomore Harry Cheng and junior Dwayne Lyon.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the emergence of quarterback Kasey Walker, a sophomore who has shown an acumen for Joley’s intricate offense. “As young as Walker is, he can handle the read option,” Joley said.
Walker will count among his targets senior receivers Tarik Mitchell and Nick Galegher along with Romeo Hall, another senior who transferred from Texas.
They’ll get an escort from a line that featured plenty of size a season ago, but had trouble handling the quickness of Kadena, which eliminated Kinnick from D-I title-game consideration and went on to capture the big-school championship last Nov. 8.
Joley’s group this year is different and improved, he said. “The size of the line, and they can pull all over the place,” Joley said.
If bloodlines mean anything, Joley also benefits from having Tim McDaniel Jr., son of former Humphreys coach Tim McDaniel, having transferred in. Joley’s own twin sons, Connor and Cameron, have joined the junior varsity squad in the defensive interior and could contribute to the varsity at some point.
Joley and his assistant, Gary Wilson, have culled players from the varsity wrestling and baseball teams, Lyon and Walker among them. “Some of our best wrestlers and baseball players are out here,” Joley said.
One player who could end up a hybrid is junior Jamar Hargress, who can play both running back and guard. “He has the size for both,” Joley said.
“There’s a lot of question marks this time of year, but if everything gels and the youth catches up, we’ll be OK.”
