‘The Iron Man’

Ty Detraz displays the kind of work ethic that Abbeville High head football coach Roderick Moy would love to see out of every player on his team.
Detraz, who will be starting at center for the third straight year for the Wildcats this fall, will also fill another role for Abbeville this season as a starting linebacker.
“The work ethic speaks for itself,” Moy said. “As far as attendance goes, you’re talking about a kid who’s missed one workout in four years, and that speaks to who he is and his level of commitment to the program and a guy we can get behind.
“We talk about it in this program all the time, ‘lead from the front.’ He’s a guy we see doing it the right way every day. He’s not the biggest, he’s not the fastest, he’s not the strongest, but he’s going to do everything he can to put the team first, and then he’s also going to do what we ask. And that’s what we try to build the program around.”
That one workout Detraz missed was the day of his mother’s funeral, Moy said. Even then, he wanted to work out, and Moy had to tell him to stay away that day.
Detraz said he enjoys practicing every day.
“I think it helps me,” he said. “It’s a place where you can just get away.”
Detraz is already an iron man for the team, but Moy said that will be the case this year as he starts at inside linebacker in addition to his offensive duties.
“Now he’s going to have to add on the task of playing inside linebacker for us,” Moy said. “With the heat, we’re getting right now, we talk about kids getting soft, but if anybody can play both sides of the ball for us, it’s that kid right there. I’ve got no doubt in my mind about it.”
Detraz said he’s not concerned about being on the field for virtually the entire game this year.
“Oh no,” he said. “Because when I get on the field at linebacker, it’s a shot of adrenaline.”
Detraz said he’s played on the defensive line but hasn’t started on defense.
Moy said that the starters on the offensive line have become so used to playing alongside each other that Detraz doesn’t have to say a lot. He’ll have to be a more vocal leader on defense, the coach said.
“(I’m looking for him) just to be more vocal all the way around,” Moy said. “You’ve got to make some calls. You’ve got to line up the guys in front of you.
“He and his buddies to his left and right on the offensive line can almost do it now, unspoken, but on defense, he’s got to be a little more vocal. And that’s not really his way, so we want to see if he can bust out of his comfort zone and be that vocal guy defensively to make sure that not only does he take care of his job, but the guys in front of him do what they’re supposed to do so we can be a well-rounded defensive unit.”
Being a leader on defense will be different than being a leader on the offensive line.
“I’m the first one to call anything on the O-line, the first one to move,” Detraz said. “(On defense) I’ll have to call strengths like where the tight end is at or help the defense if they don’t know exactly where to line up.”
Having played offense for so long helps him as a defender recognize what the opposing offense is doing, he said.
Detraz said the Wildcats don’t have a massive group of seniors, but all will be called upon to lead the team.
He’d love to see the team go 9-1 in the regular season and make a deep run in the playoffs.