Confident in his 1-2-3's and having mastered his ABC's, next he will be focusing on his XYZ's.as in routes and patterns run by a team's 'X,' 'Y' and 'Z' receivers.
Whether his present knowledge of such will aid him more as a wideout or blanketing an opponent at the next level didn't seem to worry Brody McGhehey Monday afternoon; the Wolverine senior looked more excited to simply declare his next destination as a student-athlete wouldn't be far away:
Fort Lewis College, located in Durango.
"Coach Rif, he's a great guy. He came up to me and a bunch of other guys, and he was saying that he wanted to keep.talent 'at home,'" McGhehey said of FLC head coach Ed Rifilato, who'd already recruited and recently landed Bayfield High School teammates Wyatt Freier and Noah Loutherback. "And he offered us kind of a deal we couldn't really resist. So if it's going to help pay for college and whatnot, it's a good opportunity!"
"I'm not completely positive, but I might go for a business major," he added. "It's nice to know that I can go to college.because I was going to go into the military after school! To have the scholarship.now I can go into the military after school as, like, an officer."
Which probably wouldn't surprise BHS commander-in-chief Gary Heide, who stressed the wide receiver/defensive back's leadership was just as vital to his-and the Wolverines'-success as his two-way talents.
"It's just a total commitment that you see when they're younger, and 'Will this hold all the way?'" he said, describing a coach's initial hopes for a prospect. "You know, you see the excitement. So when he gets to be a senior and he knows he's going to start, is he going to continue his hard work ethic and lead the team?"
"Brody did that; he was a great example off and on the field.and everything that went on previously. And I saw him grow.having mental toughness to say 'I'm going to play both ways' and 'I'm going to be great at both.'"
Offensively during Bayfield's 2015 Class 2A state championship season, McGhehey was credited with 75 carries for 564 yards (7.5 ypc) and three touchdowns, as well as 20 receptions for 316 yards (15.8 per) with another four touchdowns. Altogether he totaled 1,202 all-purpose yards by adding 105 kickoff-return yards and an impressive 217 (with a TD) on only eight reported punt returns, and was credited with 38 solo stops defensively in a relatively new role.
"Never did I hear an excuse," said Heide. "As a corner(back), he didn't play it much ever in his career but just went.with eyes wide open, with heart wide open and said 'Let's get the job done.' That was the mantra that I would say for all these seniors, but Brody was a standout in that regard."
"Having corners like Brody allows you to design the defense, knowing the corners are going to cover their wide receivers and take them out of the game," assistant coach Mike Wnorowski said. "Brody and Taed (fellow senior Heydinger), actually; having corners like that you can design a defense to stop almost anything."
Still, in the near future McGhehey expects to appear mainly in the NCAA Division II Skyhawks' offensive blueprints as what's traditionally been labeled a 'Y' receiver, targeted mainly for quick possession and production.
"From what I've heard, I think they want me as a slot receiver," concurred McGhehey. "And possibly a defensive back, but most likely a slot receiver."
And 'Y' wouldn't they?
"Later in the season we started using our pass offense more," he noted, "and showed it would work, obviously, through the state championship. And I feel like I could help the offense out a little with my abilities."
Fort Lewis, meanwhile, averaged 168.7 passing yards per game during its 2015 season, and totaled 1,856 at 7.9 per attempt and 12.6 per completion en route to finishing 7-4 (6-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
Similar in build to McGhehey (6'0", 170) junior Esley Simmons III (5'11", 167) will be FLC's top returning receiver (29-474, 3 TD) when the 2016 campaign gets underway. The Skyhawks are slated to start in Nebraska on Sept. 3 at Chadron State College, then return to continue RMAC work Sept. 10 at Ray Dennison Memorial Field versus Black Hills State (Spearfish, S.D.) University.
"If he plays offense in that slot-back, I can't wait to watch him catch those little slants, those little outs and run after the catches!" Heide enthused. "He's going to be phenomenal with that size and quickness. Because his forte is catching the ball and then making yards after-which in a high-school offense sometimes, you don't get a lot of opportunities to do, but he's exceptional at that."
"I want to thank all the coaches," said McGhehey,the son of Rob and Robin. "And for their helping me to get to this position.get a scholarship, and get to play at the next level in college!"
"I had to think about it, but yeah.it was definitely a choice that's going to be worth it," he continued, when asked about his opportunities to play baseball given his vital contributions to BHS' yearly diamond success. The Wolverines entered the week of April 18 still #2 in the CHSAANow.com Class 3A baseball poll.
"I had been talked to by some coaches, but.. I mean, it's no doubt I'm not going to be going pro in either, but I want to have fun in college. Football's a little more fun.and it's going to pay off in the end."
"I think he's a great find.for any system that wants to bring him in," Heide said.
