Toatley grows into potential force for 2-0 Lawrence
LAWRENCE >> Preparing to enter his senior season at Lawrence, Dan Toatley wasn’t content with weighing 190 pounds. So he devised a special meal plan with coach Nate Jones and made a living in the weight room during the offseason.
The reward for Toatley in 2016 is a beefy 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame in which he can flourish as a starting middle linebacker and tight end for the Cardinals.
“I’m not getting blown up as much,” Toatley said with a smile. “Last year, I just got blown off the ball a little bit. Now, I can hold my weight and give guys a harder chance to block me. So it’s a lot better.”
Toatley is this week’s 12th Man TD Club Defensive Back of the Week. In Lawrence’s 20-19 win Friday against Steinert, Toatley racked up 11 tackles and an interception in the final minute of the game, which sealed the victory.
How did he force the turnover? It all traces back to muscle memory from 7-on-7s in practice. One of Lawrence’s assistant coaches recently explained to Toatley that shallow and deep crossing routes are always executed in conjunction.
“I saw the shallow one (against Steinert) and I’m like, ‘There has to be a deeper one,’ so I went back, went back and then the ball just came right to me,” Toatley said. “And luckily I made the interception.”
Toatley, now in his third year of playing varsity, is much more prepared to make those kinds of plays than a year ago.
After playing defensive end at roughly 175-180 pounds his sophomore year, Toatley switched to middle linebacker midway through his junior season. The Cardinals needed a player at the position, and Jones felt Toatley fit the bill. He obliged without hesitation.
“I’ll do anything for my team if that means I have to switch my position or change my role on my team,” said Toatley, who offensively has played tight end all three years. “Anything to do to
get us the win, I’ll do.”
Still, Toatley says the transition felt “a little different” at first. Instead of sizing up offensive linemen, he was now scanning them from the second level of the defense. He’s since made significant strides in reading keys.
“He always had the natural aggression of a football player, and now he’s put the keys and all the other pieces to it, the weight room,” Jones said. “He’s just put it all together. He’s always a football player, but now he’s a smart football player.”
And he’s been integral in a 2-0 start for Lawrence following an 0-10 season in 2015. Both of the Cardinals’ wins are against teams that made the state playoffs last season. Toatley feels confident they can keep it rolling, unlike in 2014 when Lawrence only won one game the rest of the way following a 2-0 start in Jones’ first year.
“It’s a lot different feel. We have a lot of older guys this time around,” Toatley said. “The last time we went 2-0, we were still kind of young. We lost a lost of guys from that senior class that brought them to the (Central Jersey Group III) championship game. I think we’ve got a lot more experience under our belt, and we execute a lot better this year.”