HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NITRO BASKETBALL STANDOUT IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE

Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 08/14/2007
Page: 1B
Headline: HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NITRO BASKETBALL STANDOUT IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FOOTBALL EXPERIENCE
Byline: TOM ALUISE DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER

Editor’s note: This is the first of 12 previews involving teams and players from Kanawha and Putnam counties leading up to the start of the 2007 high school football season.

It didn't take Nitro High School basketball star Brett McClanahan long to figure out one difference between the sport he's best known for and the one he's playing now for the first time.

"There's a lot more contact than basketball, that's for sure," said the 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior, who decided to join Nitro's football team this fall. "But it's about what I expected."

McClanahan and Adam Tate, a 6-5, 260-pound post player for the Wildcat basketball team, are the two high-profile additions to Nitro's football program in 2007. Tate, however, at least played the sport in middle school.

McClanahan is wearing shoulder pads and a helmet for the first time in his life.

Which begs the obvious question. Why now?

The pure-shooting McClanahan averaged 23 points for the Wildcats in basketball last season and was a Class AAA first-team All-State pick. He is projected as a Division I college player.

So, why, with his all-important senior year of basketball on the horizon, would McClanahan risk his health on the football field?

"I just figured it was my senior year and I'm not going to be playing football in college," said McClanahan, who'll start at a receiver spot in Nitro's pass-happy offense. "It's my last chance. I'm not going to get another chance."

McClanahan began thinking about football over the summer and talked to Nitro receiver Marcos Valentine about possibly joining the team.

"He said it was fun, so I figured I might as well play and get out there with him," McClanahan said. "My dad wasn't crazy about it. But when I finally said I really wanted to play, it didn't bother him as much."

Nor did it bother Nitro basketball Coach Dean Lee.

"Coach Lee let me make my own decision," McClanahan said.

"He wasn't going to interfere one way or another. He backs me whatever I choose. When I chose to play, he was behind me 100 percent. That's something I always appreciate about Coach Lee."

Nitro football Coach Scott Tinsley also appreciates it.

"I told Coach Lee the other day," Tinsley said, "that if we have any success at all, he'll be our MVP."

McClanahan said he has not and will not dwell on the possibility of an injury that could jeopardize his basketball future.

"Of course, everybody tries to avoid injuries," he said. "But if you worry about stuff like that, you're not going to go anywhere.

"I'd rather think about the positives than the negatives. I'm an optimistic guy."

So is Tinsley. He pointed out that Nitro's receivers rarely suffer serious injuries.

"We try to play where they're (defense) not," Tinsley said. "We're not going to try and out-tough people."

It hasn't taken McClanahan long to prove himself on the field, where Nitro is coming off a 10-2 season.

In Nitro's scrimmage against Bluefield last Saturday, McClanhan caught seven passes for 106 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, he made four tackles from his free safety spot.

"That's not bad for the first time out," Tinsley said. "Obviously, he has a lot of little things to learn. But as far as running and catching the ball, he has really soft hands.

"And he's really picked up quickly learning how to run routes. That was one of the things I was most concerned about."

Oh, and there was one other thing.

"I was concerned whether he would be able to tackle anybody," Tinsley said. "But he got them down."

McClanahan said learning how to read offenses has been more difficult than mastering his role in Tinsley's spread offense.

"Personally, I think Coach Tinsley is an offensive mastermind," McClanahan said. "If you can catch on to what he's doing, there's unlimited possibilities for anyone who plays for him.

"Playing defense is kind of free-lance and having never played, it's tough to pick up knowing where you're supposed to go."

There's one thing, though, McClanahan is certain of.

“So far it's been a blast," he said.