High school football: Snow Canyon's Timo switches to quarterback

ST. GEORGE — Adam Timo has been a household name to high school football fans, especially those in southern Utah, ever since he burst onto the scene during the state tournament his sophomore year. His notoriety proceeded to shoot through the roof after committing to BYU early in his junior season at Snow Canyon High School.

With so many accolades already to his credit, it's hard to believe the 6-foot-2, 190-pound tailback still has his senior season of high school football ahead of him.

"He's the total package, he's just an athlete," Snow Canyon coach Rick Secrist said.

That athleticism will be tested like it never has before. Timo was recruited by BYU to be a running back, and that's where he's played almost exclusively during both his sophomore and junior seasons. The scenario is much different this time around.

Snow Canyon graduated 19 starters from last year, and the coaching staff will be leaning on Timo more so than ever.

"We're lucky in a way we have Adam Timo, as a coaching staff we're figuring out ways to best utilize him. He's our best player, and my philosophy is if I'm going to go down I'm going to go down with my best players on the field," Secrist said. "We're going to ask him to do things he hasn't done at Snow Canyon yet."

Most notably he'll be Snow Canyon's starting quarterback, and defensively he'll either start at safety or linebacker.

"He knows for the first time in his high school career he's the man. With 19 seniors last year he could kind of hide behind those guys, but this year he's going to have a big X on his back," Secrist said. "I think that's made him more determined."

Timo rushed for 1,276 yards and 25 touchdowns last year in only nine games, but in Snow Canyon's spread offense he'll still carry the ball plenty from his quarterback position. Secrist says Timo is a skilled thrower as well. During 7-on-7 camps throughout the summer, he really started to grasp the offense and understand what reads to make in what situations.

As for being one of the only returning starters, Timo says he loves the challenge.

"I feel a bit of pressure, but it's great to have the seniors from my grade coming up and we're all pulling together. It's like a brotherhood, and we're getting the job done. All of practice we've been working hard. I'm looking forward to it a lot," Timo said.

Snow Canyon plays twice in Utah County this season (Aug. 29 at Orem, Sept. 12 at Timpanogos), enabling BYU fans to get two glimpses of their future tailback.

Timo hopes to put on a defensive show as well.

"I love to be aggressive, and that's where it mostly happens on defense," Timo said.

Region 9 (4A) projections

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