KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Kyle Nellis doesn’t particularly care how he gets it done.
(Above, Keystone seniors Kyle Nellis, left, and Tyler Albright.)
Running the ball? Sure. Catching it? Check. Returning kicks? Yes. How about fumble recoveries and interceptions? That, too.
Nellis, a senior linebacker for the Keystone football team, is sort of a Swiss Army Knife for the Panthers. If there’s something to do on the gridiron, he can probably do it.
“It’s great,” Nellis said. “I like the games that you just kind of blow up and pretty much can do anything. It’s nice to score touchdowns in a lot of different ways. It’s just a great feeling. Especially when you do it here on your home field and the whole town is watching. They’re loud and cheering for you. That’s something I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.”
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Nellis scored touchdowns in five different ways last season. He scored seven rushing touchdowns, two receiving TDs, returned a kick for a score and also took an interception and fumble back for points for Keystone.
This season, he and fellow senior Tyler Albright will have somewhat different roles on both sides of the ball for the Panthers under new head coach Todd Smith, who spent the last two season as the offensive coordinator for Butler and its high-powered attack.
There’s a lot to digest. There’s multiple formations and multiple responsibilities to learn and get down. Keystone will line it in everything from the spread to the I to the wing-T, and the Panthers will do it all in the hurry-up most of the time.
For Nellis and Albright, all of that is exciting.
“It’s a lot more diverse,” Nellis said. “It’s going to be good for us. One of our goals this year is to keep the defense on their toes, so it’s nice to switch up the different formations and have them kind of be all out of whack once we come out because they don’t know what we’re going to be in. We’re hurry-up this year and that will keep them on their toes, too.”
For Albright, a wide receiver who led the team in receptions with 19 for 439 yards and four touchdowns a season ago, he’ll be more involved in the run game.
Albright smiles at the prospect. It’s more chances for him to get the ball in his hands.
“I’m getting quite a few more handoffs,” he said. “It’s all starting to come together. I think we’re finally understanding all of our roles in the offense and defense.”
Keystone will get a chance to see all of that in action Friday when the Panthers host Coudersport for the season opener against the Falcons.
“I mean, we’ve been doing this for several months now,” Albright said. “Maybe at the beginning it took a little bit of time, just to get used to the new terminology and that kind of thing. But we’ve been repping it out for a while now. I think we’re ready.”
The pair’s roles on defense have also changed, even though their positions haven’t.
Nellis moved from defensive back to linebacker last season. He’ll be at linebacker again this year.
“I’m glad they moved me to linebacker,” Nellis said. “I don’t want to go back to DB. We have a whole new defense that we’re putting in and it’s also coming along really well. We have a really good linebacking crew that likes to hit hard and we’re good in pass coverage. It should be a really good year.”
Albright will still play safety, but he’ll have the green light to be a ballhawk and also come up on run support.
“I have a lot of freedom back there to fly around the field and pick some balls off, or come flying up getting in on the run game,” Albright said. “I’m going to be involved in both levels.”
Smith said he has no doubt Nellis and Albright can handle all the new things they’ll be asked to do this season.
“They both have experience and they’re both good athletes, versatile athletes,” Smith said. “We’ll try to use them both in the running and passing game.”
Smith said both have also been invaluable leaders throughout the transition.
“They both lead by example,” Smith said. “In that sense, they’re good leaders for the rest of the team because the rest of the team sees what they do. They’re two of our best players and they see how hard they work and that sends a good message to the rest of the team and the rest of the program.”
The only message Nellis and Albright want to send this year is that the Panthers aren’t going anywhere.
Keystone won the Small School South Division title last season — a fact that is sometimes overlooked.
“Last year we came in as an underdog and still pulled it out,” Albright said. “I think that’s a good spot for us to be in. I think we can get that championship again. I don’t see why we can’t go two years in a row.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
