Jaysen Shelvin is confident he can lead the Wildcats’ offense this football season.
Abbeville’s Jaysen Shelvin Confident running veer offense for the Wildcats
Being the trigger man in the veer offense isn’t easy.
You have to be able to read the defense, decide to hand off or keep the ball and know what to do to keep the chains moving on a drive.
It takes football intelligence as well as a physical ability to handle the position.
Abbeville High’s Jaysen Shelvin is that guy for head coach Roderick Moy.
“I trust him with the offense,” Moy said about his junior quarterback. “He may not put up lightning numbers throwing the ball but he’s going to make sure that everyone is in the right place and he’s going to be another coach on the field for us.
“We want to run the ball first and that’s going to be his greatest asset. That doesn’t mean that he can’t throw the ball. But the more we run the ball, the more open the receivers are going to be and the more the play-action pass will work.”
Moy has faith in Shelvin and how has he’s picked up the offense.
“He understands it,” the AHS coach said. “He’s not worried about the stats. He just wants to win.”
The 6-foot-1, 180 pound junior is in his first year as starter, but he did get some experience at the quarterback spot last year as a sophomore.
“I played quarterback for the Berwick games, the Crowley game and the St. James game,” Shelvin said. “It was a rush. It felt like I belonged there.”
The junior said he battled nerves, as well as being behind cente. He admits he made some mistakes in the pivot at first, including his first play ever at QB.
“We were doing a draw play with the quarterback and I ran into my wide receiver,” he said. “I have to admit, it was embarrassing.”
Even with the inauspicious debut, he felt good about playing the most important position on the field and is ready for his starring role this year.
“It’s extremely tough to play,” Shelvin said. “But I feel that we have a good team and we have to do our job and everyone has to give 100 percent.”
Shelvin likes running the veer offense.
“It opens me up a lot but it also opens up the passing game a lot as well,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, you have to have the right steps, you have to have the right hands and the right speed. You have to be smart with your eyes.
“That is, you have to be able to know where you are and where the defense is at all times.”
Shelvin said he worked on the position for two months straight during the offseason just to be able to get it down so he could run it the right way during the season.
The junior QB also has some high personal goals this year.
”I want to be a 1,000-,1000 guy,” he said, referring to the fact that he wants to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing. “And I think that I can get there.”
As for team goals, Shelvin wants to lead the Wildcats past the first round of the playoffs.
“We went into the playoff game last year with our heads too big,” he said. “We need to remember that we need to be humble and earn it on the field and show that Abbeville football is back.”
