Rylan Michel remains under the radar on a Nixa receiving corps headlined by Kael Combs. Likewise, if he’s had a drop this season it has escaped everyone’s attention.
“Maybe he has one, but I can't think of one off the top of my head,” Nixa coach John Perry said. “I can't think of one to be honest with you. He's been consistent and has great hands.”
“There was one questionable one,” Eagles offensive coordinator Dustin Baldwin said of a possible Michel drop. “But I think a (defender) got a hand in there. So, I would say that wasn't a normal drop.”
“If I did have one, I kind of moved on from it,” Michel said. “It’s not good to think about your mistakes.”
Indeed, Michel instead has had many memorable moments to recall. Entering the Backyard Brawl, he has 28 receptions for a team-leading 446 yards, to go along with three touchdowns.
Michel was mostly used as a big-play receiver a year ago, when he had 11 catches for 309 yards. This season, he’s remained a deep threat while also establishing himself as a possession receiver who has helped Nixa record repeated first downs.
“You kind of get the best of both worlds with him, possession (receiver) and breakaway speed,” Perry said.
"He keeps defenses honest in the slot,” Baldwin said. “They can't play him up close because he'll run by them and they can't play off of him because we'll run bubble (screens). Early, people were playing him up and close and we were able to get behind some people. We've seen the big throws to him and lately we've been throwing a lot of balls in the flat to him. He's almost an extension of our running game. He'll get 8-10 yards and keep the chains moving.”
Michel may have run far more sideline routes than anything last season, but this season hasn’t been shy about running crossing routes with linebackers all around him.
"That's not a very fun thing to do, they're a lot bigger than me,” the 5-foot-8, 150-pound Michel said. “But it's more about finding holes and where (quarterback Connor Knatcal) can hit me in between them and getting upfield as fast as possible.
“I've been happy with this season,” he added. “We’ve been spreading the ball out to everybody. I'm trying to help the team the best I can.”
