Central Holmes Coach Mitch Womack will tell anyone that if he had a team full of players like Noah Steen, there would be no stopping the Trojans on the football field.
Steen enters his senior season for the Trojans and will be a jack-of-all-trades for Womack.
While the senior will wear many different hats for the Trojans this season, he has one very important one.
“We only have four seniors and are going to lean heavy on those kids. They are taking the reins with that so far. Noah is a kid that in the past he has always been a leader and is going to be one of our hardest workers we have on the football team. The kids on the team respect him and the coaches respect him,” Womack said. “He is a kid that a lot of the younger kids look up to. He is a great role model in the classroom and on the field. I look for that to carry over to this season on the football field. In summer workouts, he is the first one here and the last one to leave and that’s what you look for out of your senior quarterback.”
Steen started at quarterback for the Trojans last season and will enter this season as the starter, splitting snaps with sophomore John Ward.
“He was our starting quarterback last year and did a good job for us,” Steen said. “Right now, he is running quarterback and we are putting him in some other positions on offense. He’s versatile and very smart. Noah is running the first team and we have a 10th grader that we are also taking some snaps with.”
When Ward is at quarterback, Womack said Steen will play a variety of other positions on offense.
“I told them both that we are going to put the best 11 on the field and both of them are also playing other spots and tailback too,” Womack said. “We have to get the best matchup for us and Noah is comfortable with that. He is not a kid that is going to hang his head down because we are going to run a two-quarterback system. This is his senior year and he wants to make the best of it.”
Steen said it does not matter to him where he plays as long as he is helping the team.
“Wherever they need me most or whatever helps the team the most is where they are going to stick me. Hopefully, I can help us win a couple of ball games. I’ve been taking most of my reps at quarterback. It’s more of a running position than a throwing position,” Steen said. “We have a lot of team speed and are trying to spread people out and use that speed. The line is not very experienced but we are trying to use the speed that we have.”
On defense, Steen will be moving from an outside linebacker spot to a free safety position and be the “quarterback” on that side of the ball as well.
“In the defense that we run, the three-stack, Noah can play inside or out,” Womack said. "We will probably put him at safety so he can help get people organized because we are so young over there. You need a veteran back there who can make sure that everybody is aligned right and in the right position. He has to know where is supposed to be.”
Womack said being the quarterback and free safety is a lot for one player to handle but Steen was up to the task.
“Noah has a lot of football IQ. He watches a lot of football. That’s a lost art because kids aren’t watching football. He is watching it all year around. I know last year, he was coming in and asking me if I saw what happened on Saturday and in the NFL,” Womack said. “That’s where football IQ comes from — watching it — and he has played a lot of football from pee wee up until now. It’s a sport that he loves. Some kids play football because it’s something to do while he’s in school but he plays because he loves it.”
Steen is also a standout in the classroom, boasting a 4.0 GPA and ranked in the top three of his class.
“He’s a straight A student and has a 4.0 and is at the top of his class,” Womack said. “He has great ambition and desire and Noah falls into that category. You would love to 20 kids like him. He may be undersized but he plays with a lot of heart, desire and tenacity. Everything he does, he gets totally committed in it and you are going to get maximum effort from him.
“Whether you are winning by 30 or losing by 30, you are going to get everything he’s got on every play. He has carried that leadership and has done that since his sophomore season. He has that drive and ambition and as a coach, you can’t have enough of those kind of kids on your team.”
Steen is also a standout baseball player, starting at as he pitches, catches and plays shortstop for the Trojans. Steen said he would like to play junior college baseball and eventually become an optometrist.
“He is a good baseball player,” Womack said. “I think he could play junior college baseball. If he doesn’t, it won’t be because he hasn’t put in the effort. He has some things to work on in baseball. He knows that and has been addressing it. He has got a shot at playing some juco baseball.”
