Published: Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wesco 3A Player to Watch: Tanner Southard
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Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Glacier Peak wide receiver Tanner Southard hauled in 85 passes in two seasons.
Give Glacier Peak’s Tanner Southard an inch and he’ll make you pay for it.
The third-year Grizzlies wideout embarks on his senior season without record-setting quarterback Zach Richter, but that doesn’t worry Southard.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound dual-sport star won’t have to adjust much to new quarterback Kevin Campbell, his pee-wee football teammate.
Southard, noted for his body control, sure hands and deceptive speed, has hauled in 85 passes in his two varsity seasons, amassing 1,510 yards and 20 touchdowns with an eye-popping yards-per-reception average of 17.7.
You might as well nick-name him “First Down.”
The Grizzlies return fellow receiver Jack Bonner and running back Alex Stepanchenko to a team that reached the state 3A quarterfinals in 2009, so opposing defenses won’t be able to smother Southard without leaving other solid players wide open.
As part of the Grizzlies basketball team that placed fourth in the Class 3A state tournament last March, Southard hopes to carry over that winning attitude to this year’s football team.
Two sports might not be enough
Southard already has basketball and football on his schedule. He admittedly loves them both, but wants to play football in college because, he said, he’s better suited for the gridiron.
“Football, I’m better at, so I’ll stick with that through college,” he said. “I love basketball. I’ve played basketball since I was a tiny, tiny kid. I like how fast basketball is.”
Southard said he might also turn out for the Glacier Peak baseball team this spring. He hasn’t played baseball since his sophomore year.
No learning curve
Southard has played with Campbell, Glacier Peak’s new QB, since they were young, so he knows the signal-caller’s tendencies well.
“I’ve known him since I was in kindergarten,” Southard said. “We played on the same little-kid teams way back when. We’re pretty good friends and we click pretty well. He can throw right on the money and he knows what to do, when to do it.
“I think he’s a good quarterback.”
Sage advice
As a young Glacier Peak receiver, Southard made the mistake of going half-speed for one play, only to be jacked up by a defender. That was the end of that. Southard said former Washington State University receiver and Glacier Peak assistant coach Mark Bircher told him to “never quit, always finish the play.” So that’s what Southard has done ever since.
A big-game performer, Southard had 118 receiving yards in a 14-10 win over Miramonte (Calif.) last season, 104 yards in a 34-28 loss to Wesco 3A rival Meadowdale, and — exploiting an advantageous matchup in the red zone — four touchdowns in a 49-48 winner-to-state double overtime playoff victory over Peninsula.
“He’s a gamer,” Glacier Peak coach Rory Rosenbach said. “He’s going to come to play.”
The third-year Grizzlies wideout embarks on his senior season without record-setting quarterback Zach Richter, but that doesn’t worry Southard.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound dual-sport star won’t have to adjust much to new quarterback Kevin Campbell, his pee-wee football teammate.
Southard, noted for his body control, sure hands and deceptive speed, has hauled in 85 passes in his two varsity seasons, amassing 1,510 yards and 20 touchdowns with an eye-popping yards-per-reception average of 17.7.
You might as well nick-name him “First Down.”
The Grizzlies return fellow receiver Jack Bonner and running back Alex Stepanchenko to a team that reached the state 3A quarterfinals in 2009, so opposing defenses won’t be able to smother Southard without leaving other solid players wide open.
As part of the Grizzlies basketball team that placed fourth in the Class 3A state tournament last March, Southard hopes to carry over that winning attitude to this year’s football team.
Two sports might not be enough
Southard already has basketball and football on his schedule. He admittedly loves them both, but wants to play football in college because, he said, he’s better suited for the gridiron.
“Football, I’m better at, so I’ll stick with that through college,” he said. “I love basketball. I’ve played basketball since I was a tiny, tiny kid. I like how fast basketball is.”
Southard said he might also turn out for the Glacier Peak baseball team this spring. He hasn’t played baseball since his sophomore year.
No learning curve
Southard has played with Campbell, Glacier Peak’s new QB, since they were young, so he knows the signal-caller’s tendencies well.
“I’ve known him since I was in kindergarten,” Southard said. “We played on the same little-kid teams way back when. We’re pretty good friends and we click pretty well. He can throw right on the money and he knows what to do, when to do it.
“I think he’s a good quarterback.”
Sage advice
As a young Glacier Peak receiver, Southard made the mistake of going half-speed for one play, only to be jacked up by a defender. That was the end of that. Southard said former Washington State University receiver and Glacier Peak assistant coach Mark Bircher told him to “never quit, always finish the play.” So that’s what Southard has done ever since.
A big-game performer, Southard had 118 receiving yards in a 14-10 win over Miramonte (Calif.) last season, 104 yards in a 34-28 loss to Wesco 3A rival Meadowdale, and — exploiting an advantageous matchup in the red zone — four touchdowns in a 49-48 winner-to-state double overtime playoff victory over Peninsula.
“He’s a gamer,” Glacier Peak coach Rory Rosenbach said. “He’s going to come to play.”
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