Faith Academy linebacker Caleb Todd learning the game as he goes

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

MARBLE FALLS — For Faith Academy of Marble Falls senior linebacker Caleb Todd, the allure of the Friday night lights was enough to prompt him to play football this season.

“I have been homeschooled all my life until this point,” he said. “This is my last chance to go in and play sports and experience the brotherhood that football provides. I thought, ‘Hey this is my last shot. Might as well do it and not live with those regrets.’”

Todd isn’t a stranger to many Faith students, though. He has played in community sports leagues and on teams for homeschooled students.

Still, playing on those teams is different from playing at Faith, where you go to class with your teammates, eat with them and travel together to road games. Players spend a lot of time together, which develops that brotherhood that made Todd curious.

“The brotherhood aspect of football is much more than just you line up next to some guys, but you really suffer with them so that you endure trouble, you can go through wins and no matter what, you’ll be a constant for each other, no matter what goes on,” he said. “It’s really a special bond. … You have to be able to trust people next to you, and over the process of the preseason and the two-a-days and conditioning, you really get to know and rely on each other much more than I’ve experienced on other teams.”

Before he moved to middle linebacker, Todd played strong side linebacker, offensive tackle and defensive end.

The senior said watching the sport doesn’t compare to playing it.

“I definitely look at the sport of football through totally new eyes now that I am totally aware of what is going on versus who has the ball or who just got hit,” he said. “It’s much more of clock and all the little cogs meshed together, and it’s really a beautiful thing once you know what to look for.”

Todd concedes that he’s had a learning curve. Still, he credits his teammates and coaches for their willingness to share and teach the past several weeks.

“I’ve definitely had to play catchup and just learning basic terminology, which I assume some of my coaches go, ‘Oh he doesn’t know what that means,’” he said. “You got to smile through it and learn and just show that dedication and eagerness to play by being willing to humble yourself and start from the ground up.”

And sharing information hasn’t been limited to what’s happening on the gridiron, head football coach Randy Denton said.

“A couple of the more experienced guys have taken (Caleb) under their wing and kind of tried to help him and show him things like how to put pads in your pants,” he said. “He’s just never done these things, so it’s all new to him.”

Denton, who also is the assistant athletic director and head boys basketball and baseball coach, said Todd has been a welcome addition to the Flames.

“He’s growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “He’s like a couple of others we had who never played tackle football before, he played a little flag. So his instincts, he’s just now really learning them. And he’s been a good help to us, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He’s getting better with every snap, so I’m excited to see what leaps he takes this week.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com