Former Panthers start coaching careers early

Two former Creston standout football players have learned how to turn adversity into opportunity.

Briley Hayes had worked his way into a starting role at running back at Simpson College this fall, after two seasons of part-time duty in the backfield and on special teams. His season, and career, ended in the first game when he suffered dislocated elbow while being tackled. He will graduate next May.

Chris Wilson tried to keep his football career going at Graceland University after undergoing knee surgery as a high school senior. During his first fall camp, he had issues again with the knee and made a lifetime decision to curtail his playing career.

While Hayes and Wilson may not be putting on the pads anymore, playing the game they love, they have found a way to stay involved and build a foundation for staying in the game for years to come.

Head coaches in both programs say Hayes and Wilson are providing valuable service as student coaches, working primarily with their former positions groups. Briley is particularly important to Simpson head coach Reed Hoskins, because Hoskins is also the running backs coach and doesn’t have much time to break away to speak with those backs while trying to manage the game.

Wilson works with Graceland offensive line coach and run game coordinator Josh Koppelman in practices and during games, often pulling aside individual linemen to discuss specific adjustments while the defense is on the field. He is a senior at Graceland and wrapping up his fourth season in the program.

Wilson hopes to continue coaching after graduating in May, either as a graduate assistant at a college while seeking a master’s degree, or beginning his teaching and coaching career at the high school level. He will do his student teaching assignment in Osceola next spring.

Hayes will graduate with a business management degree in May, planning to work at Farm Bureau Financial Insurance in Creston, where he served an internship last summer. Like Wilson, he has an interest in coaching and has spoken with his former high school head coach, Brian Morrison, about possible opportunities in the Creston program.

(Ironically, Briley’s younger brother Blake Hayes is out of action this fall as a sophomore on the Panther team after knee surgery. Another brother, Brennan, is a freshman at Wayne State and has moved into a varsity role after injuries hit the Warriors’ backfield. He had 68 yards and two touchdowns in his first appearance.)

Morrison is proud of both of his former players who have found a way to turn bad news into a positive experience.

“I know it was kind of sudden for Briley because this was going to be his last year playing and he was starting this season,” Morrison said. “I think he’s really enjoyed his career there. I talked to Chris last summer and he wants to get into coaching football in high school. It’s like a full-time job for him there at Graceland in addition to going to school. Just watching them and deciding what they want to do with their futures, I think they’ve made good choices in both football and their job futures. They showed loyalty to their programs.”

Hayes showed progress

Thanks to college credits earned at Southwestern Community College while in high school, Hayes is on track academically to graduate a year early in May. On the football field, the former Creston running back got time on the field in his first two seasons on kickoff and kick return special teams, and worked his way into a part-time role in the backfield as a sophomore.

“I spent my first two years behind a fifth-year senior who left after last year,” Hayes explained. “I was on special teams going down and making tackles on kickoffs, and blocking on kick return and defense. (His former Panther teammate Kayleb Howard, a transfer from Graceland, plays on Simpson’s kickoff unit this season as a reserve wide receiver.) I became kind of a third down back for pass blocking and catching a few passes. This fall I was finally getting my starting role as a running back.”

That all changed in the season opener Sept. 7 at Augustana College.

“I was running with the ball and got to the outside,” Hayes said. “One guy wrapped my ankle, and I went to post my arm as I was going down. I dislocated my elbow. It takes at least three months to heal, so I was done.”

Having his head coach as his own position group coach made it easy to spark a conversation about staying involved, despite the injury.

“We talked about finding my role now, to be a part of the team as much as I could,” Hayes said. “As a head coach he has a lot of things gong on at once during a game, so maybe I could take over that running backs coach role when he’s busy. At practice I can take over some drills and stuff when he’s busy.”

In the first weeks after the injury, Hayes found it difficult to watch his teammates get their pads on preparing for competition without him. But, the coaching role allowed him to help them succeed.

During a 66-14 home victory over Loras College on Sept. 28, Hayes was observed meeting with his replacement, running back Demarico Young and Young’s hearing-impaired interpreter, Dawn Habhab, behind the bench when the offense was off the field.

“I was telling him to be patient, that Loras has some big defensive linemen and it’s taking a little longer to move them, but the holes are there if he lets them develop,” Hayes said. “It helps to have the I-Pad on the sideline and rewatch some plays together. We can go over things like hitting the right aiming points on run plays, and protecting the quarterback on pass plays.”

Hoskins said having an experienced voice helping his running backs in both games and practices makes the team better. Simpson is 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the American Rivers Conference going into Saturday’s game at perennial power Wartburg in Waverly.

“Briley is an outstanding young man!” said Hoskins, who came in as head coach during Hayes’ sophomore season. “After working himself into the running back rotation last season, he entered this fall as our starter and a member of our Leadership Council. Since his injury in our first game, he has transitioned into a student coaching role. He uses all of his experience from his high school and college career to help our young running backs on the field now. He’s doing a great job.”

Hayes sometimes gets wistful seeing running backs score touchdowns that he might have performed, but he’s embracing his new role.

“It’s tough, but this is a great way to stay involved.

Wilson decides early

Chris Wilson was an offensive lineman when he started out with the Graceland football team in the fall of 2022. He had been a tackle for Creston, mostly on the offensive side, and a wrestler for the Panthers in the 285-pound division.

As he was underway in fall camp, he realized his knee wasn’t going to rebound sufficiently from surgery to repair a torn ACL and lateral medial meniscus cartilage damage. He made a difficult lifetime decision.

“I tried coming back and it didn’t pan out,” said Wilson, slimmed to 245 pounds from his playing days at 310 pounds. “I just needed the best outcome for my future. I had a lot of osteoarthritis already, but I still wanted to be a part of the football program. I was given an opportunity and I’ve been thankful every day.”

Wilson gradually worked his way up through the ranks to take on more responsibilities, while still fitting in a full class load of 18 semester hours to stay on track for graduation next spring.

“My first year I did the scoreboard during practices, some film work with the drone, just anything they needed,” Wilson said. “Now, being a senior, I’ve helped with practice plans, running (offensive line) practice on days that Kopp (offensive line coach Josh Koppelman) can’t be here, breaking down film, helping in the weight room, sitting in on staff meetings and having my own headset during games. It’s a lot of hours but I appreciate the opportunity.”

Versatile role

Ross, hired as Graceland’s head coach in December 2022, appreciates Wilson’s contributions even though he wasn’t part of the coaching staff that recruited him.

“Chris is that guy who just helps with whatever needs to be done, whether it’s helping in the weight room, helping to run a drill during practice or just grabbing water for us,” Ross said. “He’s Mr. Hustle right now. We trust him, that’s the key thing.”

Getting a head start in his chosen field of work is a huge advantage, Ross noted.

“Chris is going to be great at it,” Ross said. “He’s a go-getter. If you sit back and wait, nothing is going to come to you. He’s taking the bull by the horns and helping in any way, while taking a full class load. He’s killing it!”

Wilson was busy during Graceland’s last home game, a come-from-behind 43-35 victory over Peru State that improved the Yellowjackets to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Heart of America Conference.

He was often seen meeting with the offensive linemen as a collective group behind the sideline when the defense was playing, or with individuals such as center Jarius Davis of Osceola.

“I was just looking at adjustments we could make,” Wilson said after the game. “The biggest thing was, their defensive end was crashing too much over the tackle’s face, so I told my offensive tackle he needed to take more of a better reach step to create a better seal block.”

Wilson works closely with offensive line coach Josh Koppelman, a native of a small town in Kansas Koppelman said he and Wilson have similar backgrounds and mesh well as a coaching tandem.

“He’s a great kid and works hard, so we love that,” Koppelman said. “We bounce ideas off each other. I have him help me run drills, or sometimes we’ll split off into groups and he’ll take the younger guys for some development work with them. He works a lot with them on technique, hand placement on pass protection, or what not. He has a good future.”

Wilson will graduate with a major in physical education with concentrations in health and special education, with a minor in coaching. If he pursues a master’s degree it will be in K-12 leadership to prepare for administration work, or school counseling.

“I know I want to coach,” Wilson said. “This has been a tremendous opportunity. I’ve been thankful every day.”

Graceland travels to Dubuque Saturday to take on Clarke University.