PREP PREVIEW: Trinity's Handey a key in all aspects of the game

Trinity’s Joe Handey has plenty of important roles for the Wildcats but handling long snapping might be the most important. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Joe Handey has enough to do as Trinity’s long snapper and inside linebacker, but he’s just as eager to fill an overlooked role as a blocker on the Wildcats’ offense as well. 

“Blocking is so important,” said the senior, who will alternate between H-back and tight end in the Trinity offense alongside four returning offensive linemen. “Our line is going to be solid -- we brought a lot of them back from last year -- so I want to go along with them and just punish people off the ball and make a way for our guys to run the ball.

“It starts with the line. If your line’s not doing well, you’re not going to be successful. That’s where it starts and we can be very successful because of that. When you’re playing for your brother and not yourself, that makes it so much better. You want to represent your school, your coaches, your family and we all do it for each other.”

Handey is one of those handful of players who won’t come off the field much during a football game. Most starting inside linebackers who also play offense get a break when the special teams unit takes the field, but Handey has one of the most important roles on the team as the Wildcats’ long snapper.

“My grandfather helped me out with it, just getting a spiral through your legs,” he recalled. “That was when I was younger, before I was even playing football. In middle school, I think it was the eighth grade, I started doing it and the coaches liked that I had longer arms, more leverage to get it back there.

“It’s important. It’s something that everyone expects shouldn’t be a problem. If you have a bad snap, you don’t even give your punter a chance to punt the ball. You can’t mess that up.”

Finding the right players for the right positions is a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, but Handey’s place on special teams was already secured when Granger Shook took over as head coach of the Wildcats last season. 

“He’s been doing that for several years and that is a position you don’t really think about until you need one,” Shook said. “Him having the ability to do that saves a lot of headache. And he’s pretty good at it.”

Defensively, Walton Cherry was the leading tackler for the Wildcats last season and called all the alignments after getting the signals from the sidelines last year. This year, that task will fall to Handey.

“Walton was the leader on our defense last year,” Handey said. “He was in on just about every tackle. He was the quarterback of our defense. I knew coming into this year I was going to have to fill his shoes and I’m doing my best. You’ve got to be the vocal leader and you’ve got to lead by example. Big shoes to fill, but I think we’re ready for that on defense. I’m excited to see what we do.”

Handey is the only returning starter among the linebackers, the biggest question mark for the Wildcats as they prepare for Thursday’s season opener at Ragsdale-Boykin Field against Alabama Christian.

“He’s extremely important to us, not only athletically, but just as far as maturity, as far as leadership,” Shook said. “He’s been in our defense going on three years now and this will be his second year starting. He is going to be a key, key piece to the puzzle this year.”

Then there’s the offense, where Handey fills a role both at tight end and at H-back, where Shook expects him to contribute as a receiver.

“I think the coaches who went against us last year saw No. 9, Coleman Ellis, catch some crucial passes and catch a couple of touchdowns in big situations for us,” Shook said. “So we’re looking for Joe to merge into that role. I definitely see Joe touching the ball several times a game.”

Offense, defense, special teams. That doesn’t leave Handey much time for rest.

“That’s one of the things we work on,” he said. “At a small school, everybody’s going to have to play both ways. That’s why we work on our conditioning. I think I’ll get to come off the field on some special teams. On the others, I’ll be snapping. And we’ve got some depth at our linebacker position so I think I’ll be able to come off the field knowing that Harrison Johnson and Chapman Pouncey can handle the inside linebacker position if I need to come off.”