Clever coach Willie Howard reports the level of excitement surrounding the Jays has noticeably risen since the arrival of quarterback Rex Deters.
"We went from a seven or eight to a nine and a half or 10 really fast when Rex showed up,” Howard said.
Likewise, Deters relates his transfer from Glendale to Clever is going better than he could have hoped.
“The guys are great. I feel accepted by all of them. That's not usual for most people,” he said. “They've accepted me like I've been here for five years. I love these guys. We're brothers already.”
With Deters and his family not making the move from Battlefield to Clever until the first week of July, the Jays’ offense has taken on a whole new look since they went through 7-on-7 sessions in June.
Deters was groomed as a quarterback during his formative years and had the benefit of playing two years under former Glendale coach Mike Mauk, widely considered one of the nation’s best offensive minds.
Deters brings to Clever a unique knowledge of the spread offense.
“I've been around the Mauks basically my whole life, from fifth grade through last year,” Deters said. “They pounded (the spread offense) into my memory, so it comes easy for me.”
“It's fun to talk to him because he'll say, 'This guy is going to be open.' I'll be like, 'I wouldn't have even thought of that,’” Howard said. “He’s able to adjust to things and gets the ball where it needs to go quickly.”
Clever wide receiver Xavier Robinson feels Deters’ presence gives Clever’s offense big-play potential and allows the Jays to be much more elaborate in their pass routes.
“We can get the ball down the field easier now,” Robinson said. “Instead of having to run check-down plays or tunnels all the time, we can run a fade, a post, a corner or whatever we want. With him coming from a pass-only offense, he understands everything. We can audible and run any concept with Rex."
Deters played receiver as an underclassman, what with Glendale having QB Cole Feuerbacher, now playing for Missouri State. Last year, Deters played at QB in two games. In one half against Waynesville, he threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another touchdown. He also played one half against Rolla.
Moving back behind center has felt natural for him.
"I've been getting right back into it. It's been easy,” Deters said.
Howard noted he’s also been pleased to see Deters take on the responsibility of being a leader and how his teammates have responded to him in that role.
“Our kids have needed a vocal leader on the field and he's provided that,” Howard said. “They kind of defaulted to him, ‘You're our quarterback, you're going to be our leader.’ He's been that guy on the field to make people hold themselves accountable.”
“All you can do is encourage when things go bad and tell everyone to keep their heads high,” Deters said.
Clever’s showing at the Evangel Team Camp last week reaffirmed the Jays’ optimism. They finished last in the team standings, only because they didn’t take part in the first day of the camp. But their 41 points ranked third among the eight teams on hand for the second day of the camp.
“I've always felt like if you go a second day (of a team camp), you're rolling the dice on somebody getting hurt,” Howard said. “Football is a really tough game when you're playing back to back. You're just begging for somebody to get hurt.
“We executed,” Howard added. “There are some things we have to fix. We had some misses. But they'll adjust. It's really good to have smart, athletic kids who can communicate with each other.”
