High school football: Simley’s Tayvion McCoy shines on both sides of the ball

Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
·5 min read

It didn’t take long for Simley football coach Chris Mensen to realize he had something special in Tayvion McCoy.

When McCoy was in ninth grade, Mensen stopped by the field to watch a freshman team game, and the athlete stuck out in all the best ways.

“The amount of guys he made miss on a 3-yard run was super impressive,” Mensen said, “And we knew that year that he was someone we were going to lean on a lot come his senior year.”

And, frankly, quite a bit before then.

McCoy was playing wide receiver for the varsity squad the following fall. As a junior, he started, and excelled, on both sides of the field. A year ago, McCoy finished with 538 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on offense, to go with eight interceptions at defensive back, with another eight passes defended and 43 tackles. He’ll start on both sides again this season, which opens Friday when the Spartans take on St. Louis Park.

How can a player be so adept at both sides of the ball? Don’t ask McCoy.

“I’m pretty quick and stuff. I don’t know, it’s just weird,” said the 5-foot-11 receiver and cornerback. “I like to attack the ball. When I see the ball, it just makes me go get it, make a play for your team.”

Many, many plays. Mensen noted the Spartans instilled a “Tayvion quota” of sorts last season, with a simple logic behind the strategy.

“We knew the more often he touched the ball, the more chances we had of big plays,” he said.

That proved true, particularly late in the season. Simley started getting the ball to McCoy more out of the backfield. The result was a trip to the Class 4A state tournament.

Simley’s offense also relies on star running back Gavin Nelson — a top wrestler committed to grapple for the Gophers — but the plan is to find as many ways as possible to get McCoy the ball, whether that’s via a deep ball, a jet sweep or a quick-hitter in the passing game. Of course, he’ll go out and find his own touches on the defensive side. McCoy is aiming for the moon, hoping to double his interception total from a year ago. That may not be unrealistic. Mensen would be thrilled if the senior just got another eight picks.

“I don’t think teams will throw at him. They’re not going to test him,” Mensen noted. “He was a ballhawk last year, and that really elevated his game to me, because teams throwing his way had to be nervous.”

At the end of last season, Mensen sat down with McCoy and asked if he had an interest in playing college football. The answer was an emphatic “yes.”

“And I told him, a Division I or Division II college football player will go above and beyond, and they’ll put in the work when no one is watching,”

That player was McCoy this offseason, going out to the field at noon on summer days to set up cones to work on his route running. He has trained in various ways to make sure he becomes the best player he can be.

“I just think about it like why be at home not doing nothing when I can be on the field getting myself better?” McCoy said.

It’s that mindset that has helped McCoy improve on a year-to-year basis, and others have taken notice. He noted he “put myself on the map” last fall, and only hopes to go up from here.

McCoy attended junior days at Minnesota, North Dakota, St. Thomas, Minnesota Duluth, Sioux Falls and the South Dakota schools this summer. McCoy was intentional about listening to coaches at each stop and figuring out what they wanted from recruits, so he could learn, grow and put their wishes on tape.

Ideally, he would love to play slot receiver at the next level. Whether or not he lands anywhere by the early signing period is still to be determined.

“I’m hoping he’ll fall somewhere where he’s happy and he feels comfortable and feels wanted,” Mensen said.

There’s a lot of football to be played between now and then. McCoy will shoulder a large load this season for the Spartans, both in terms of leadership and production.

“He’s just someone that we, as coaches, have to almost get more creative to figure out ways to get him the ball,” Mensen said. “It’s fun, he also likes to talk and jabber a little bit on the sidelines. He’s just a fun kid to have around. I’ve had him for four years now, and I love him to death.”

Along with those interceptions, McCoy’s listed goals for this season include 10 receiving touchdowns and 1,000 yards, and most importantly, another trip to state — with a strong push at winning the whole thing.

“I feel,” he said, “like this is our year to take it.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Here are some other notable East Metro football standouts to watch for in 2022:

Woodbury linebacker Kayode Amusan

Woodbury quarterback George Bjellos

Lakeville South running back Carson Hansen

Spring Lake Park lineman Beau Johnson

SMB lineman Peyton Lange

Centennial linebacker Reese Littlefield

Irondale lineman Trevion Mack

Lakeville North lineman Antonio Menard

Lakeville North defensive back Najee Nelson

East Ridge tight end Jaylin Reese

Hill-Murray running back Sawyer Seidl

Stillwater quarterback Max Shikenjanski

Eagan lineman Keenan Wilson

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