Coal City – Sylas Nelson was the man of the hour Thursday.
With Independence hosting its annual media day, the junior showed those in attendance his versatility. Bouncing from sideline to end zone, he granted three interviews and posed for countless pictures.
He did everything that was asked of him with bangs over his eyes and a smile on his face.
It was a preview of what’s to come and in some ways, a continuation of his 2023 body of work.
Versatility isn’t anything new at Independence. It’s almost an expectation if you want to see the field for a program that’s been amongst the best in the state this decade.
Judah Price, the 2022 Kennedy Award winner, earned all-state honors as utility player in 2021 in Coal City before becoming the full-time running back in ’22. Trey Bowers, a first-team all-stater from 2021-23 played quarterback and receiver at various points throughout those three years.
Enter Nelson who carried the torch last year.
He started the year at receiver, leading the team in receptions (29), yards (456) and touchdown receptions (3). He swapped spots with Bowers at QB during a midseason contest against Bluefield and finished the year with 685 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. For good measure he rushed for 304 yards and five more scores, helping spearhead an attack that led the Patriots back to the Class AA semifinals.
In all he accounted for 1,445 yards of total offense.
“I don’t really have a favorite position, I just love playing football,” Nelson laughed.
Nelson’s versatility embodies the modern football player, making him a valuable piece. San Francisco 49ers stars Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel are amongst those who have capitalized on their versatility to make their offense the juggernaut it is. Both can line up in the backfield or line up at receiver and be just as impactful. It’s even more common on defense with the lines between safety and linebacker blurring in big nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six defensive backs) packages.
Expect that same versatility from Nelson this season.
After finishing last season at QB, he’ll give way to freshman Brock Green while also giving the rookie signal caller a veteran to rely on.
Independence head coach John H. Lilly doesn’t have any hair on his head but notes starting a freshman QB is liable to turn the hairs on his back gray. The presence of Nelson on offense may slow that process.
“We’re going to go Sylas at tailback,” Independence head coach John H. Lilly said. “But we’ll use him everywhere. You know, years and years ago there was a kid (Ken Fisher) that played at Magnolia when (Mark Cisar) won the Kennedy and they played him at wide receiver, they played him tight end and they played him at running back. And I would imagine that’s how we’re going to do Sylas. The offense will go through Sylas in some way, shape or form.”
Given Nelson’s versatility, the move is an unselfish one for the team and the long-term future of the program. It allows Lilly and Co. to groom a young QB who they hope will be a cornerstone player in real time while giving them a player that has experience as a skill player.
The Patriots have been known for the lighting-speed offense that can snap the ball within 10 seconds of the previous play being blown dead. Couple that with a player who can line up all over the field and shift from one alignment to another within those 10-12 seconds and it makes the offense and player that much more dangerous.
“We’re hoping you’ve got to find him,” Lilly said. “You know, you got to identify him really quick. We won’t be playing as fast as we have been the last couple years, but we’re still gonna go fast. Hopefully you’ve got six, seven seconds to find him and then move where he’s at and then we’ll just adjust off of that. The only way you can do stuff like that is if you have an unselfish player. Sylas is a quiet kid, and he’s very unselfish. He’s a total team player. He thinks he’s a better golfer than football player. That’s yet to be determined. He keeps his own score. So until we figure that out, you can’t be a great golfer if you’re keeping your own score. He’s very similar to a lot of guys we’ve had. He’s just very athletic and can do a lot of things. He’s very unselfish.”
Having spent time with and behind Price and Bowers, Nelson had two talented mentors to learn from. They’re also players who had to wait for their times to shine.
Price played the same position as Atticus Goodson, who won the Kennedy in 2021. He excelled in his opportunities when Goodson was hurt during that campaign and when he took the starting job the next season he shattered state records.
Bowers played alongside Goodson and Price, helping guide the Patriots to the semifinals last year after graduating 17 starters from the 2022 title team.
“I’m really grateful that I got to play with those guys because I did learn a lot,” Nelson said. “I learned really, really good stuff, a lot of good information. Just watching them do it, and watching their footwork and how they do stuff, it just helped me a whole lot to see how I need to do it. They gave me the blueprint.”
Now Nelson just needs to run with it.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
