BURLINGTON — Troy O’Neill still wears a No. 5 quarterback’s jersey, but now thinks with the mentality of a receiver and lineman.
The Burlington-Edison senior has made two position changes this season for the Tiger football team, going from quarterback to tight end on offense and defensive back to lineman on defense.
“We used Troy. When we put him on defense, he made big plays, made some big hits, made some big sacks,” Tigers coach Bruce Shearer said. “That’s what Troy’s about. He likes to be in the limelight. A lot of good players feel like they’re not being used to their fullest and they get upset. He was able to help us offensively and defensively, and that kept him happy. All he wants to do is win.”
O’Neill got the team’s starting quarterback during the summer, and worked behind center all summer, preseason, and then in the first three games
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O’Neill sat out the Tigers’ fourth game for team discipline reasons, Shearer said, giving sophomore Dylan Boe the opening he needed. Boe had the job for good by the end of the night.
“The quarterback thing didn’t really work out. Dylan Boe got an opportunity to step in, and did pretty good in the game he played in,” O’Neill said. “It was kind of tough at first. It’s really cool to be the quarterback and I was really excited about it but, when it came down to it, it made the team better, me going to receiver. I bring a lot more to the receiver slot than I do at quarterback.”
O’Neill is no stranger to the receiver position. He had started as a wideout in both his sophomore and junior seasons and had 31 receptions for 702 yards and eight touchdowns coming into the year.
He moved to the other slot, filling the role held by Jake Anderson the previous two years.
“I missed receiver. I actually have a lot more fun at it,” O’Neill said. “When I took some more reps at it I fell back in love with it. I’d much rather be a receiver.”
Boe’s emergence, in a sense, has made the Tigers stronger at two positions. O’Neill has become Boe’s leading receiver with 27 catches for 459 yards, lining up both as a tight end and wide receiver.
“Under the circumstances, with him (O’Neill) being disciplined, it was kind of his doing,” Shearer said. “We almost gave him player of the week because it was a such a find to find that our young quarterback could help us win. Dylan made the offense work better. With Troy, the receivers position automatically got better.”
On defense, he has moved into the defensive end slot from the secondary, bringing more speed to the position.
“I played it a long time ago when I was little,” O’Neill said. “I brought a pretty good pass rush at D-end in practice. I did my job pretty well, and it happened to work out. I made the team better.”
Shearer’s son, Stetson, made the change the opposite direction, showing a player could do both.
“It gives us that quick edge, where he can match the speed (of opposing backs),” Bruce Shearer said. “If we think they’re going to start going outside on us, he shuts that down. It complements Corey Kleppe, who is the other end. He’s really quick, so teams can’t just run away from Corey. They can’t go one side or the other.”
• Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at
