Charleston junior quarterback Ty Storey, an Arkansas commitment, added linebacker duties to his role in Friday’s game against Harding Academy and the extra reps caused him to cramp. Video highlights CLICK HERE
“Ty comes to me and said ‘coach I need some salt’,” said Charleston Coach Greg Kendrick.
The cramps were a given with Harding Academy having 92 snaps and Charleston snapping the ball 78 times for the game. Kendrick told Storey they had pickle juice but he requested mustard from the concession stand.
“During a time out he had about thirty packets of mustard just slurping them down,” Kendrick said.
Storey, 6-3, 217, 4.92 seconds in the 40 yard dash, saw his first action at linebacker since the ninth grade and overcame a little rust to record 6 unassisted tackles, 3 assisted tackles and a pass breakup.
“He has a nose for the ball,” Kendrick said. “He’s a great competitor He has a nose for the ball and he’s a very, very physical kid. You could see a little bit of rust because he hadn’t played linebacker for so long.”
Kendrick recalls Storey having 22 tackles in a half of a game as a freshman.
“His first three plays of the game, he had a pick six, he held their best receiver and he had a forced fumble,” he said.
Storey, who completed 22 of 36 passes for 534 yards and 7 touchdowns in Friday’s 48-21 victory, is 17 yards away from reaching the 8,000 yard mark for his career.
“He could’ve been one of the best linebackers in the state,” Kendrick said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Kendrick admits to being a little jittery about Storey playing on defense.
“I shut my eyes,” he said laiughing. “I couldn’t watch it. There wasn’t any holding your breath. I decided to turn away from it sometimes.”
Storey has shined throughout his career, but Kendrick believes he was at his very best on Friday.
“I’ve seen him throw great balls time and time again,” Storey said. “They were playing a lot of man coverage and blitzing the house and bringing more than we can pickup we can pick up. He set up under pressure and delivered some of the best balls I’ve ever seen him throw. He had a phenomenal, phenomenal night.”