Tyler Smith worked with the quarterbacks during South Iredell’s summer camps and preseason practices, so it wasn’t a shock that he was a part of three touchdowns through the air during last week’s win over North Iredell.
The surprising thing was that Smith ended up with three touchdown receptions, not passes.
“I put in a lot of work trying to play quarterback over the summer,” Smith said. “But that was during South Iredell’s practices. I still worked out as a receiver on my own and during showcase camps. So I didn’t feel behind or anything.”
Apparently not.
Smith ran sharp routes, made the routine catches and, perhaps most importantly, made tacklers miss after he caught the ball.
He had three catches for 57 yards in the Vikings’ 31-0 victory last week, and all three were touchdowns.
“Me and (quarterback) Corey Powell have been clicking a lot,” Smith said. “We were like one person out there. He knew what I was going to do and he knew what I was going to do.”
The quarterback competition actually brought Smith and Powell, the eventual winner, closer together.
And Smith didn’t lose the quarterback competition so much as Powell won it.
Powell has started over the last two years, so he had a leg up. A very strong showing in scrimmages against East Lincoln and Starmount locked up the starting job.
“We looked at Tyler at quarterback because he’s such an athletic kid,” Vikings coach Scott Miller said. “Just because Corey is our quarterback doesn’t mean that Tyler didn’t play well. We thought Tyler looked great all summer. Not playing quarterback just gives him a chance to play all over the field.”
Looks like wide receiver might be the best fit.
Then again, it’s been a good fit for a while.
Smith has played wide receiver and safety on varsity since he was a sophomore.
He really excelled this summer at the National Underclassmen Combine at Patton High School.
Smith was named MVP of all wide receivers and as a result qualified for a second combine in Atlanta.
“I had a good day,” Smith said. “I ran my routes really well, looked good on the field. It was a nice honor.”
That MVP recognition gave Smith some additional confidence.
Playing a lot of quarterback throughout the offseason gave him some additional intelligence.
In preparing to battle for the starting QB job, Smith became a true student of the game.
He continually broke down film, learning about different defenses and their tendencies.
“Coach (Jason) Lippard and coach (Kyle) Riddle do such a good job breaking down film, and Tyler has really done a good job in that area,” Miller said. “He really learned how to read coverages and react, and now he has that knowledge while playing wide receiver.”
It’s just another skill set to add to Smith’s already dangerous arsenal.
In addition to running great routes, Smith has an uncanny ability to make tacklers miss.
Two of his touchdown receptions against the Raiders came on relatively simple hitch routes, but he got his shoulders turned upfield and got past the secondary with a few moves.
“A lot of his big plays will come on nothing but a hitch route or a slant,” said Vikings quarterback Corey Powell, who tossed four touchdown passes last week. “Tyler can make some good moves. He’s going to make big plays for us, and that makes us dangerous.”
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