Trevor Brown is mature beyond his years, and the fact the Waverly lineman already has a full beard just days into his sophomore year of high school just scratches the surface.
As a freshman, the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder started all 12 games at left tackle on Waverly’s 9-3 team that reached the Class B state semifinals. Just how important Brown was to the Vikings up front came to light in the opening possession of their quarterfinal win over McCook. They ran behind him on the left side almost exclusively on their touchdown drive that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Brown was just as impressive as Waverly’s 285-pounder on the wrestling team. He finished with a 53-4 record and took third at the Class B state meet in a weight class usually dominated by juniors and seniors.
He finished off his freshman year as a thrower on the Vikings’ track team.
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The honor roll student isn’t wasting time to make his mark in the classroom either. Brown played trombone in the school band last year, but he’s had to drop that activity to account for a heavier load of classes as a sophomore. He’s doubling up on science classes this fall (chemistry and biology) as Brown begins setting the groundwork for pursuing a degree in the medical field when he gets to college.
And speaking of college, Power Five conference football programs will probably begin throwing scholarship offers his way over the next few months. Brown, a running back in middle school who scored 30 touchdowns in six games as an eighth grader, runs the 40 in 4.8 seconds, bench presses 315 pounds and already owns the Waverly school record in the squat at 545 pounds.
Those numbers will only improve with three more years under Waverly strength and conditioning coach Anthony Harms.
Brown played very little defense last year as a freshman, but first-year head coach Reed Manstedt expects him to be a disruptive force as a defensive tackle this fall. That’s probably the position he’ll play in college, Manstedt said.
“Trevor has great feet for a big guy, and that makes him really hard to block,” said Manstedt, the head coach at Crete before coming back to Waverly, where he was an assistant earlier in his career. “He’s an explosive kid with great upper-body strength. I’m glad we have him for three more years.”
Brown is the only returning starter on the offensive line from a year ago, and he admitted being a little nervous starting alongside four other seniors.
“Those guys took me under their wing and showed me what I needed to know,” Brown said of the seniors. “The seniors last year taught me a lot about leadership, how to communicate and get everyone playing together as a team.”
Graduation hit the Vikings hard last spring. Gone are four all-staters -- a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Rhett Jordon and running back Kaleb Canoyer, and offensive lineman Cade McKibben and linebacker Logan Schuelke.
The cupboard, however, is far from bare. Mason Nieman, a 6-2, 190-pound senior, adds quarterback duties to his responsibilities as a physical safety in the secondary. Junior Evan Canoyer (5-8, 180) rushed for 307 yards last season backing up his older brother and is ready for the lead role.
The senior duo of Mike Larsen (5-10, 210) and Barrett Skrobecki (6-0, 185) combined for 87 tackles last season as starting linebackers. Senior Noah Stoddard (6-0, 175) has starting experience at wide receiver.
“Class B is physical football and I think these guys are up to the challenge,” said Manstedt, whose team hosts Seward in the season-opener on Aug. 30. “We’ve got a group of guys who compete their butts off and represent our school and community well.”