When college coaches walk into the weight room at Choctaw County, they will probably pick out Israel Whitmore pretty quickly.
But it won’t be long before they hear Calvin Talley getting on his teammates or urging a buddy to get one more rep.
Talley enters his senior year for Choctaw County as one of the leaders on the defensive front for the Chargers, making him the latest addition of the Choctaw Plaindealer/Webster Progress Times Eleven Players to Watch for the upcoming football season. Others already revealed are Whitmore and Tylan Carter of Choctaw County;, Parker Burleson and Conner Shurden of East Webster, and M.J. Thomas and Deunte Watson of Eupora.
While Talley is considered “undersized” at 5-foot-7 and 250 pounds, he makes his presence known for the Chargers.
“Calvin is a little undersized,” Roberts said. “He’s not very tall but he plays a lot bigger than he is. With his motor and his constant effort, if he was 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-2, a lot of people would be on him because he has a motor for days.”
Roberts said Talley plays a lot bigger than he actually is.
“I don’t think he takes too many plays off and that’s hard to imagine for a defensive lineman,” Roberts said. “He just doesn’t take a play off. That says a lot about somebody who wants to be successful. I have noticed him in practice and he has a chip on his shoulder and he wants to be the baddest dude on the field. I have talked to him about that because he’s going to have to be the baddest dude in the field because he is a little bit undersized and that’s OK.”
Last year, Talley had 35 tackles for the Chargers from his nose guard position and had 12 tackles for loss.
“He made has made a lot of plays in the past for this team,” Roberts said. “He gets a lot of tackles for loss. He’s a nose guard essentially or maybe sometimes a three technique. For the most part, he is a nose guard. He has a great first step and has great ability to bounce back into the play if he gets knocked off. He’s really quick on the inside and is going to play hard for four quarters.”
Roberts said one of the things that impressed him about Talley was the fact that he played hard every play of practice.
“He was hard for us to block this spring and was good work for our offensive line,” Roberts said. “He made the offensive line work because he was coming off the line every play, even if it was scout team or even second teamers going against the first team defensive line. It’s going to make them better because they are going against him. he’s going to make them better because he’s going so hard.”
Roberts said Talley is the very definition of a team player.
“He’s not real selfish in there either,” Roberts said. “If I tell him that he has to attack the center’s shoulder and push downward, he will do it. If you tell him to get upfield, I think he will do it. He is one that he is going to play hard every play. I’m pretty fired up about him. For a nose guard, you have to have the right kid to play that position. It’s not a glory position and those guys don’t get a lot of tackles. But he had a lot of tackles for loss last year.”
Robert says Talley is set up to have a good season.
“I think he could have a really good year for us,” Roberts said. “I think sometimes he may get overlooked because of his size. You look at him, and he’s hard to block. When he goes against a 6-foot-4 guard, he’s already got leverage on that guy. He’s got that low center of gravity. He’s got a good, quick first step off the ball. When it comes to good first steps, he’s got it. I’m excited to see how it plays out with him this year. I think he’s going to have a big season for us.”
While Talley is a defensive specialist, Roberts said he could possibly use him as a fullback in a goal-line situation on offense and would have no problem playing him on the offensive line.
Because of his size, Roberts said Talley isn’t getting much interest from the colleges but thinks he’s a guy that could play somewhere.
“He has a to have a really good year and put a good tape together,” Roberts said. “Coaches have to see him and say that he’s the best player on the field. All I know is he was hard to block and made a lot of plays at a position that’s not a glorified place to play.”
Talley said he learned pretty quickly that he was going to have to play hard if he was going to get on the field.
“I take a lot of punishment down there,” Talley said. “I just try to do what I’m asked. I like the physicality of defense. I like being down there in the trenches. When you are down there, you have to go full speed all the time. If you take a play off, you will get buried. You don’t want to take a playoff. You have to get after it all the time. You have to go hard every time, every play and not take plays off.”
Talley said when he’s not playing football, he likes to ride his four-wheeler and fishes a little but that’s after he has taken care of his school work. Talley is also a starter for the Choctaw County baseball team where he plays catcher and is expected to start at third base this season.
