Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Seasoning Enhances Lloyd’s Quarterback Demeanor
SECOND YEAR SIGNAL CALLER COMPREHENDS POSITION
LINCOLN — Last season Lincoln shifted Caleb Lloyd from tailback to quarterback out of necessity to line up with someone bringing experience and a sense of leadership to the position.
Lincoln head coach Don Harrison’s philosophy features a no-huddle offense capable of operating at a break-neck pace. Opponents slow to line up or adjust could find themselves eating dust as a well-oiled machine rapidly returns to formation after executing each play.
Harrison emphasizes doing routine things with a sense of urgency in an offense designed to go full speed, all the time. Harrison believes practicing and rehearsing that mindset will carry over into game situations empowering the Wolves to manage the clock and keep defenses constantly on their heels.
In order to successfully do that, Harrison knew he had to have a quarterback. It mattered not to Harrison that Lloyd never previously played the position. He knew Lloyd possessed physical skills and an on-the-field demeanor to lead his football team as an extension of the coach in the huddle.
“He can throw the football cause he’s been playing baseball his whole life,” Harrison said. “A lot of what I’ve had to do in the past is go find baseball players and get them. When I went there, Tyler Wilson, at Greenwood, one of the reasons I liked him when we first got to Greenwood, he was a ninth grade kid, who he was a baseball player.”
Harrison built an impressive record as head junior high coach at Greenwood and Wilson went on to quarterback the Arkansas Razorbacks.
During his first season playing quarterback as a junior Lloyd completed 156 of 315 passes for 1,912 yards and 18 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. His completion percentage was 49 with an average of 191 passing yards-per-game.
“He was a baseball pitcher,” Harrison said. “He played baseball so I knew he was going to have a strong arm and he was going to continue to have a strong arm throughout his career cause when you throw that baseball, you just keep throwing it and throwing it, it really does strengthen your arm. Throwing a football is a little different, but it’s almost the same really, so Caleb does a great job.”
“Last year we needed somebody that had some experience,” Harrison said. “Maybe, not just quarterback, but just playing and Caleb had played for two years at running back as a freshman and sophomore so we put him there.”
Harrison acknowledges Lloyd experienced ups and downs playing quarterback last year, yet remains undaunted explaining Lloyd learned from both successes and failures. Lloyd’s exposure to various scenarios, including demonstrating capacity to get back in the game after facing a 27-0 halftime deficit in week two against Keys, Okla., in 2017, translates into better appropriation of the football and increased confidence in his ability to carry out the game plan.
“He’s moved on,” Harrison said. “I think he’s doing a lot better this year, understanding the position, taking on some leadership roles.”
While his 2017 numbers weren’t bad for a converted tailback, Lloyd expects the flavor of Wolves’ football to be much improved for fans hungering for another trip to the postseason, something the Wolves have only accomplished four times in school history, 1995, 2011, 2013 and 2015. The seasoning has set in and Lloyd knows it.
“For my senior year, we expect nothing less than the playoffs,” Lloyd said. “We’re not just trying to make the first round, we’re trying to make a bang in it. This being our senior year, our class is really trying to go out with a loud noise.”