At first glance, Odessa High’s Jayven Gonzales can be found patrolling the back end of the Bronchos’ defense at safety.
Moments later, he could be standing alone awaiting a kick as Odessa High’s primary punt returner.
Still, Gonzales can sometimes be found behind center, taking snaps at the quarterback spot.
He is a Swiss-army knife of sorts for the Bronchos this season.
“Gonzales has been on varsity since freshman year and he’s a do-it-all type of player,” Odessa High coach Dusty Ortiz said. “We’re just asking him to do a little bit of everything (for the team).”
This season, Gonzales has completed four of five passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
He has one punt return for five yards.
Gonzales has also made 21 tackle, including two tackles for loss and an interception.
Ortiz jokes that he’s even asked the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Gonzales to play the three-technique at times.
“I’m sure if we asked him to play defensive line and get him there and stick his head in there, he would do it,” Ortiz said with a smile.
Gonzales credited his coaches for understanding the different methods and approaches he has to take on the various facets on the field.
“They’ve really helped me a lot on the whole aspect of like getting my techniques down, knowing how to hedge squaring up my shoulders and stuff,” Gonzales said. “They just really have done a good job on helping me throughout everything.”
When asked about how he understands the playbook on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Gonzales’ answer was simple.
“I just try to do what’s best for the team,” Gonzales said. “If they need me at quarterback I’ll try to focus in on quarterback.
“I know what I’m doing in the secondary role. And on special teams, I just try to help as much as I can on that too.”
His defensive backs coach, Clayton Roberts, had a different approach on how Gonzales views the game.
“(Playing quarterback) helps Gonzales on the defensive side of the ball,” Roberts said. “He has an understanding on what the offense is trying to do and he can adjust to it defensively and make plays,”
Football is not the sole sport Gonzales plays for the Bronchos.
In the spring, he is a right-handed starting pitcher for the baseball team
According to PerfectGame.org, Gonzales throws “up to 81 (miles per hour) with the fastball with slight cut action at times, and shows a good feel for the curveball with 11/5 shape when he landed it.”
The website also mentions that he has a “good feel for the barrel connecting consistently” as a hitter and “flashed good upside with arm showing low carry on accurate throws and a quick release” as the primary outfielder for the Bronchos.
So, how has his baseball skills translated to his versatility on the turf?
“Baseball has really impacted me on my speed and agility, as we run a lot of bases,” Gonzales said.
That allows Gonzales to stretch sideline to sideline while also spying on the opposing quarterback during games.
His lateral quickness helps on punt returns, along with finding open running lanes on quarterback scrambles.
Gonzales also has five rushes on the season for 30 total yards as the Bronchos’ primary backup quarterback.
As for Gonzales’s answer regarding the different tendencies between a starting right-handed pitcher and a backup quarterback, with different arm releases?
“It takes me like about like a week just to get back into the motion of throwing a football versus throwing a baseball,” Gonzales said. “I usually get the hang of it pretty good.”
>> Follow Sameer Malla on Twitter at @OA_SameerMalla
