Grayson County High School senior Kaylor Decker signed to play college football at Greenville University on Wednesday afternoon.
Decker, a two-year starter for the Cougars at quarterback, passed for 814 yards and 6 touchdowns while also adding 400 yards on the ground in eight games last season.
He announced his commitment to play for the Panthers in October 2021.
“I just really liked the small-town environment,” Decker said about Greenville. “From the start, it seemed like they really cared about who they recruited and I felt like if I went there I had a chance to play.”
Joining him at the ceremony were his parents, Christina and Shane, along with his two siblings and Cougar football head coach Bryan Jones. His relationship with his parents is something he really cherishes.
“They mean everything (to me),” Decker said. “Dad (Shane) being a coach helped a lot. Mom (Christina) got me from Caneyville all the way back to Wilkey in junior pro and helped me tie my cleats even though I couldn’t in sixth grade.”
His relationship with his coaches, beginning with former head coach Ed Smart, really helped him grow as a quarterback and a person.
“Coach Smart, he really put that Christian lifestyle that Greenville has into me whenever I got there as a freshman,” Decker said. “Coach Jones really helped me with my throwing technique and how to read a defense.”
“Coach (Trey Waltermire) really the last two years I got a lot closer to him talking about what I can do to get my back leg through quicker, get more distance and velocity on my passes,” Decker added.
His parents were gleaming with pride while the official national letter of intent was signed.
“We’re extremely proud,” his dad, Shane, said. “From an early age, me and Kaylor have had that bond of football.”
It was how he battled through adversity that was a constant theme throughout all conversations about the quarterback. He missed three games this past season due to an off-the-field health issue. While some kids would have let that affect the person they are, Decker made sure that it didn’t happen.
“We’re just really proud of the kid he is to battle through adversity and still keep his cool and his calmness about some things,” Shane Decker said. “The teammate he is what I am most proud of. A lot of kids in his position could have been worried about losing his position or his spot. He wasn’t. He was always right there to help (backup quarterback Hunter Felty).”
During one of the games that Kaylor Decker was forced to miss, he joined his dad on top of the press box with a headset to act as an assistant coach. It was that moment that his dad will always cherish.
“Being able to stand next to him in the coach’s box was really special,” Shane Decker said. “It was really neat to be able to hear the game through him and listen to the conversation he and Coach Jones were having because probably still at this point knows more than I do, especially about the offensive side of the ball.”
His head coach echoed the sentiment that having a high schooler be able to do that is not something seen every day.
“I was very comfortable about the week that he went in the box,” GCHS head coach Bryan Jones said. “That was one of the first things I thought about when I knew he wasn’t going to play but was well enough to be around. Let’s put him on the headset. He knows what we are trying to do and he could be an assistance to me throughout the game. There’s not many high school players I have been around that could do that.”
Last year, the Cougars had three players signed to play college football at Campbellsville University. One of the three was Mason Miller who Jones said had many of the same characteristics as Decker.
“Kaylor is another one of those kids that we can’t really replace,” Jones added. “His knowledge of what we were wanting to do and understanding of our offense as it has evolved over the four years he has been here. It’s just what you want out of a high school player but what you rarely see.”
While primarily a quarterback over his four years in high school, he also was forced into playing defense late in his senior year due to injuries in the secondary.
“Late in the season, he hadn’t really been practicing defense, but the last couple weeks of the season it was very easy to be him in (at safety) because he absorbs everything by listening and seeing what was going on,” said Jones.
Greenville is an NCAA Division III school in Illinois. The Panthers finished the 2021 season with an 8-3 record. They are coached by Robbie Schomaker who has been the head coach of the Panthers since 2013.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
