A good receiving corps makes it look as easy as X, Y and Z.
St. Francis junior wide receiver Zach Washington’s second-quarter, 34-yard touchdown catch in the Spartans’ 35-21 win Friday over Loyola wasn’t a happy accident. He worked with a fellow receiver to spring him, and a quarterback who surveyed his options.
“A lot of times that safety is worried about me coming inside,” said senior receiver Ian Willis, an Illinois State commit whose 17 touchdown catches last year earned that respect.
“So I’ll come inside, get inside shade on that safety so that he can come down on me. That opens Zach up over the top, and Zach’s really fast so he’ll go and get it every time,” Willis said.
The duo did it again in the fourth quarter, Willis running an inside post drawing coverage while Washington flew downfield for a 39-yard Brady Palmer touchdown pass.
“It was time, it was opportunity,” said Palmer, who before the football was snapped saw Loyola’s Cover-4 defense creeping up, quickly analyzed where he thought St. Francis had “the best chance to win against that coverage,” and let Willis’ decoy and Washington’s speed do the rest.
There will be many more opportunities for St. Francis’ receiver group that includes Washington, Willis, Tanner Glock, Dario Milivojevic, and Gavin Mueller, a prototype 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end with 14 college scholarship offers.
Washington termed himself and Glock the receivers that “take the top off” defensive coverage with speed, while Willis said he and Milivojevic are more possession-receiver types.
St. Francis receivers coach Greg Kirkwood believes they’re all of the above.
“It’s kind of depending, obviously, on formation, but basically all of our receivers are hybrids, they can all do it,” he said. “They’re shifty, they all have top-end speed, they all have great hands. Their spacing pre-snap and knowing their roles and knowing their jobs is a big part of it.”
“Me and Ian, we’re both typically slot receivers,” Milivojevic said, “but now with the new addition of Gavin we have more tight end sets, so I’ve kind of become more versatile. So I also play on the outside when were in tight end sets, and still on the inside, more of a decoy, as Ian said, and pulling safeties away.”
Each of them but Mueller, a junior in his first season since eighth grade and used as a blocker Friday to give Palmer more time in the pocket against two-time defending Class 8A champion Loyola, have between 6 to 11 catches and 75 to 144 yards receiving for head coach Bob McMillen’s 3-0 squad.
But they know the job entails more than catching passes, particularly when offensive coordinator Dan Paplaczyk calls a screen pass or one outside the hash marks.
“Our wide receivers take big pride in our blocking. Coach Greg, he installs in our head that if you don’t block you’re not going to get the rock,” Washington said.
“A lot of, like, basketball technique kind of comes into blocking, with just shuffling your feet and staying in front of people,” said Mueller, a two-year starter in basketball who in football practice works with receivers in the pass game and offensive linemen for the run.
“Although I’m more of a runner I don’t mind blocking at all, it’s kind of fun,” he said.
“Sometimes a good block’s better than a good catch,” Milivojevic said.
That would be music to Kirkwood’s ears. The coach stresses effort and attention to detail, things his receivers can control.
They take note.
“Not every play is going to be about you, but you’ve got to do your most,” Glock said. “You’ve got to get out there and block, you’ve got to, most importantly, catch the ball and you’ve just got to be a team player sometimes.”