Do not blame French Camp senior Rob Surrette if he is a little tired after Friday nights this fall.
Surrette will rarely leave the field for the Panthers this season as he starts on both offense and defense while also handling the kicking duties.
“Rob gets after it and is happy to play wherever he needs to play for the team,” French Camp Coach Nathan Wright said. “He’s a do-it-all kind of kid. He played tight end for me last year. Last year, he started on defense at outside linebacker. But this year, he may move around a good bit. He may play wide receiver, field some punts, do some special teams. He does all the kicking and punting. All of these seniors, I can’t say anything negative about any of them.”
Wright said he could even see Surrette playing multiple positions on offense and defense this season.
“He may end up playing something besides outside linebacker this year, but I haven’t decided that yet,” Wright said. “I’ll just have to see what we’ve got and where I need him the most at. But he’s the kind of kid that you can move around and he will be just fine. He has gotten a lot faster and may end up being a safety for us before it’s all said and done.”
On offense, Surrette, who is 6-foot and 180 pounds, played tight end for the Panthers last year.
“He did both for us last year,” Wright said. “He’s a good target at tight end if we can get enough time to throw it to him. Again, he had a great summer and looks really great when I stretch him out to throw it to him. I can bring him in tight or flex him out wide. He can even run some super back kind of stuff at the H-back. I will move him around a lot on offense.”
While he was mainly used for offense, Wright said he sees is offensive role expanding this year.
“He’s not the space player that Macon (Bentley) is, but I think he will be able to give us some key blocks and catch some passes,” Wright said. "I think he can get behind some people. He’s not a blazer but he’s a 4.7. He’s one of those that if you aren’t careful, he can get behind you really fast. He’s had a really good summer and we just have to figure out the best way to utilize him.”
On defense, Surrette started at outside linebacker last season. Last year, Surrette had 40 tackles with seven for a loss and one interception.
“I would say that he brings some speed to the defense side and is a good tackler,” Wright said. “Being that he might be moving to safety, he is going to have a learning curve because that’s quite a bit different than outside linebacker. But I don’t know that I’m going to make that move. If I keep him at outside linebacker, I know that I have experience there. He knows what to do and knows what to do. He’s good out in space and made some good open field plays for us. There were times when I was concerned that guys were going to run right at him, but he held his own. He is physical and held his own and didn’t give up ground.”
Wright said his biggest challenge is finding time to get Surrette a break on Friday nights because he kicks off, kicks extra points and punts. Surrette was 38-of-47 on PATs and made his only field goal attempt.
“I am really expecting a lot out of Rob this season. His thing is going to be doing so much. When you do kickoffs and are on kick return, playing tight end and receiver and then going to play defense, you have to find time to get him a break somewhere,” said the coach. “But a lot of our guys are that way. When you are doing all the kicking, it makes a big difference and takes a lot out of you.”
Surrette also plays baseball for Wright, moving between first base and outfield.
“Rob plays first base and some outfield. That’s an interesting combination. He was my four-hole hitter for me this year. Same kind of thing, he didn’t grow up playing a lot of sports. He was a home-school kid and came to us in the ninth grade. He has picked it up and can hold his own,” Wright said. “It’s nice that he can do that and you see that you don’t have to grow up doing the travel baseball and still hold your own on the baseball field. You don’t have to do that to be competitive. You can do that a different way and still be competitive.”
More than his athletic talents, Wright said he is always impressed with Surrette’s willingness to be a servant.
“He’s one of those that does a really good job in the classroom as well. I’m not going to say he’s a straight A guy, but he’s that ‘yes sir, no sir’ kind of guy,” Wright said. “Rob is one of those that is quickly asking me what he can do and what do I need help with. He’s always going to be that kind of guy. He’s an A-B guy, but he works hard at what he does.”
