He stares down the small hole that opens as the quarterback hands him the ball. He pushes up field past the defensive line, most of whom tower over him. Next, he finds himself looking straight up at daunting linebackers. The shifty running back dodges several tackles and weaves toward the end zone.
Sophomore running back Timothy Taylor had a breakout season, gaining 1,300 rushing yards and scoring six touchdowns. Nothing seemed to stop him, not even the fact that at 5’5” he is almost always the shortest player on the field.
Fourth grade student Wyatt Neale can relate. He, too, is normally the shortest player on the field. Watching Timothy escape downfield on Friday nights helped him believe that he could do that, too. “Timothy is little, but he proves his point. He’s fast and finds the gap,” said Wyatt.
Back in the fall when Varsity athletes went to the Lower School to visit with the students, Wyatt had Timothy in mind. Wyatt shared with the players who visited his room, Mrs. Christi Knox’s class, that Timothy was his favorite player. Word got back to Timothy’s mother, and she arranged for them to meet.
Wyatt’s mom brought him to the Upper School to talk to Timothy, and he was thrilled. Timothy had a signed State fleece for Wyatt and also brought several other Varsity players to meet him.
Their talk actually brought Timothy full circle from when he was younger. He said, “I can relate to Wyatt, because when I was in Middle School there was a Senior player who would occasionally talk to me, and I was in awe.
Wyatt has tall aspirations for his future, just like Tim does. While Wyatt looks forward to one day playing for the Lions, Timothy hopes to play in college and the NFL. Wyatt said, “I’m going to have to work really hard to be like Timothy.”
Timothy said, “My advice for Wyatt is to believe in yourself no matter what anyone says.” With hard work, anything is possible.
