’25 LB/TE may have played in the shadow of the national rushing leader
Hayden Dameron may, in ways, be a bigger college prospect than was his former teammate and now member of the UVA-Wise football team, Daniel Thomas. Demerol has a good frame at 6’1,” 215-pounds for the LB position, bench presses 315, squats 500 and led the team in TFLs and QB-sacks while finished second in tackles, receptions, receiving yards, TDs receiving. This guy can literally do it all.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, KPGFootball
There is a reason through the years we have been such proponents of the weight room. Height, length, the ability to jump, a person’s running speed, a person agility these are all things which can be augmented we suppose; but, sans augmentation, these things aren’t earned.
You’re born with them. I am 6’3,” for instance. Do you know what I did to attain such a height? Not a single, solitary thing.
Three-hundred plus pound bench presses, five-hundred pound back-squats, these are earned. No one is born pressing over 300-pounds. No one is born going nearly to the ground with a quarter-ton only to rise to the standing position once more.
Take, for instance, Daniel Thomas, who is set to graduate in a few months from Bell County High. He has signed to play in college with UVA-Wise.
Thomas is the reigning national rushing leader. In ’23 he gained 3,817-yards rushing from scrimmage, averaged over 9.5-yards per carry, and scored 54-rushing TDs, ALL IN A SINGLE SEASON.
Thomas helped lead his team to the 3A title game. He was 5’9,” and weighed 180-pounds.
Five-nine, 180-pound kids who gain nearly 4,000 in a season, score 54-rushing TDs, and have 4.07 GPAs are once in a lifetime
Friday Night Fletch
Five-nine, 180-pound kids are a dime a dozen. Five-nine, 180-pound kids who gain nearly 4,000 in a season, score 54-rushing TDs, and have 4.07 GPAs are once in a lifetime.
Thomas took what the Good Lord gave him, worked tirelessly on his craft, and ended up a Saturday player. Thomas went to work and didn’t put down the weights until he emerged from the field house a consensus KHSAA “Mr. Football.” Thomas outperformed, and won, Kentucky-wide recognition over prospects imminently more coveted and recruited.
The point is Thomas did the work. Thomas put in the effort. Now, Thomas has been rewarded, but without the work and effort he extended it is doubtful any of us would even know his name.
Dameron, on defense, registered 104-tackles, 15-TFLs, 7-QB sacks, 2-FFs, and a FR
KHSAA Statistical Website
Hayden Dameron, ’25, TE/LB, sort of hung in Thomas’s shadow in ’23 in spite of his accumulating quite the statistics in his own right. Dameron, on defense, registered 104-tackles, 15-TFLs, 7-QB sacks, 2-FFs, and a FR. He was 2nd on the team in tackles while being the team leader in TFLs and QB-sacks.
Dameron played TE on offense. Now, no amount of throwing/receiving statistics will impress many about the Bell seasonal stat line. The Bobcats pound that ground.
However Dameron was 2nd on the team in receptions, 2nd in receiving yards, and 2nd in receiving TDs. Dameron was 4th on the team in scoring.
Heading into the ’24 season, Coach Dudley Hilton had a sophomore at QB, a sophomore as his top receiver, and two juniors as his top defenders (Blake Evans and Dameron). Many pieces are back for the Bobcats to challenge in 3A again in ’24 in spite of missing the nation’s top rusher and Kentucky’s top rushing TD scorer.
We’re assuming (of course) Dameron and the gang are willing to put in the work and effort. The weight room gains would indicate that assumption is being safely made.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
If you enjoyed this article and wish to gain full-access to the site, then subscribe monthly to Kentucky Prep Gridiron by following the prompts!
© The information contained on this site is the copyrighted intellectual property of KPGFootball. Any unauthorized dissemination of this material without the author’s express written consent is strictly prohibited!
Leave a Reply