The quarterback position is one of the most crucial roles in football; having a quarterback with leadership, talent, and grit is essential for greatness. Sophomore Brayden Tillman shows these qualities on the field as West Senior High’s starting quarterback.
As a new season begins for football, Head Coach James Wagner and the offensive staff start observing and deciding who should fill each position. One of the candidates for the quarterback position was Brayden Tillman.
Tillman has put in the work from spring and throughout the summer to make his name known in the coaching staff. Wagner was impressed with many good attributes that Tillman showed.
“He has level headedness, and does all the right things, shows up to the workouts on time, his effort is outstanding when we ask him to do, and he is able to make all the throws across the field, hash to hash, numbers to numbers,” Wagner said.
As well as being a team player who puts in the extra effort, Tillman is also a great leader for his team. “I played on freshman, so I was a big leader for my group, but this year I think I stepped up as a leader,” Tillman said.
As the season goes on, Tillman forms and improves the connections and relationships with many of his teammates.
“I like throwing to all my receivers, I like throwing to Drew [Esper], I like throwing to Aiden [Jacobs], Will Turnquist, Cade [Laurent], Robert [Councilor], and the running backs,” Tillman said.
Tillman’s positive attitude towards his teammates goes both ways. Junior Max Ranger is a wide receiver for West and has a great respect and admiration for Tillman.
“He’s got great character, he’s good in school, out of school, and plays with heart,” Ranger said.
Fans are a big part of influencing football by their loud cheering and showing their love for their team. It can be beneficial for the home team and detrimental to the opposing team’s mindset. When Tillman plays on the road, he notices a difference in the atmosphere during the game. “When we went down to Grand Blanc, they had a nice student section, their talking was getting in our heads a little bit, but yeah, that’s what a student section does,” Tillman said.
As part of the bucket brigade for West, it’s important to have appreciation and respect for everyone on the team. Student Governor Addie DeGood leads the student section and acknowledges Tillman’s talents on the field.
“I think he’s definitely got the confidence to be a good player, and when he executes passes, it’s pretty awesome,” DeGood said.
Tillman has worked hard to be the great player he is today. By working hard during the offseason through training camps and workouts, building chemistry with his teammates and coaches, and arguably the most important thing, improving his leadership. Leadership must be continually developed to be effective, and that is one of Tillman’s goals for his future in football.
“As time goes on, by junior and senior year, I expect to be an even better leader,” Tillman said.
