Well-liked Millsap perfect fit for Airedales
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Zach Millsap doesn’t always have a smile on his face. But you couldn’t convince his coaches otherwise.
“He doesn’t ever have a bad day at all and the kids around him are attracted to him; he’s a magnet,” Alma football coach Rusty Bush said. “He’s an All-American kid who, you’d like to have all of them like that.”
Millsap and the Airedales host upstart Farmington Friday in a key 5A-West game. The Cardinals erased a late two-touchdown deficit with a 43-40 win over Harrison last week.
The Airedales beat Clarksville last week, 45-14, for their third straight victory. Millsap said he learned as a wide-eyed sophomore to appreciate the moment.
“Last year with Joe (Trusty), he was someone that, after watching him play my sophomore year, I was like, ‘I’m going to have to play my butt off for this guy because he could play on Saturday.’ Jackson, I think he can play on Saturdays, too. His playing well just motivates the O-line to play better. We’re going to push each other; we’re going to be pretty tough in the conference.”
“It’s huge to have experience, just from the standpoint of trusting someone to prepare well and compete,” Alma offensive line coach Eric Marsh said. “He’s seen all the defenses, he’s familiar with our scheme, and he could almost coach it.”
Marsh said Millsap is a product of having strong parents.
“If you’re positive, but you have no grit about you, you will shy away from a challenge and can’t be counted on,” Marsh said. “Zach is a rare kid who is both. He has been raised right, and most importantly, his faith in Jesus is genuine. He strives to have great character, is humble, and takes correction well, and is a kid I am glad has been an example for my son (Cooper).”
Millsap has been a fixture at center since the first time he put on a pair of shoulder pads. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
The key cog in Alma’s offensive line is a two-year starter.
“I was always a lineman,” Millsap said. “Ever since Little League, I was always a center. I kind of just put it on me … the other linemen have to trust me to have a good snap. If they’re (teammates) having a bad day, they can lean on me and we can get it figured out and we can turn the page.”
Millsap and Co. had to do some page-turning in the middle of the season, no less, when starting tackle Eli Waldrop went down with a shoulder injury.
Back in June, in fact, the Airedales adjusted their offensive line by moving guard Eric Johnson to defense.
“Richard Taylor took his place. They (coaches) thought Eric would be a better fit on defense,” Millsap said. “He’s (Johnson) faster and more agile. Eli Waldrop, our right tackle, had an issue with his shoulder, so they moved Joey (Lynn) to right guard and (Jayden) Parker to right tackle.”
Millsap grew up in Airedale green and gold, though his parents, Keith and Monica, went to high school in Mulberry and Van Buren, respectively.
“My dad went to Mulberry and my mom was a Pointer, so we just kind of met in the middle,” Millsap said. “It’s a tradition to win around here. You see all the conference championships, and in 1997 and 1998 we won the state championship and we were runner-up in ‘99. It’s a standard to win.
“We’re just a bunch of boys that want to play some football and give it our all.”
And now, with six regular season games left on the schedule, Millsap has become a little sentimental.
“It’s pretty said. It’s something you’ve poured all sorts of time, blood sweat, and tears into,” he said. “There’s nothing like Friday nights out here — the student section is going crazy and the crowd’s going crazy. Nothing against other sports, but you can’t get good vibes like you do at the football game. Being an Airedale, I hear everyone talk all the time … ‘There’s only one Airedale!’ No other team does it like us. We’re going to work harder than the other team.
We’re going to bust our butt and try to show out for Friday night. It’s special wearing the green and gold.”
Snapping for Millsap is a reincarnation of sorts of what the pair did as seventh graders. In fact, Millsap has been Daily’s center for five of the last six football teams the two have played on — seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, JV (last season), and now varsity.
“I know JD’s going to make the reads and he’s going to make the right call,” Millsap said. “He shows it during practice and he shows it during the game. He’s averaging good numbers. When a quarterback does well, the O-line is going to lean him; we’re going to block our butts off for him.”
“Everybody around me I feel comfortable with,” Daily said.
The bigger picture, Bush said, is that Millsap is always accountable.
“Zach’s a kid that’s been in our program since seventh grade and does everything right,” Bush added. “He’s here every day, he’s got a great attitude, he’s a great teammate, and he’s been our starting center going on two years. He’s a great locker room guy.”
“If you’re a hard worker, but you’re negative and are going to be an energy vampire, others around you are going to be affected,” Marsh said. “(But) Zach is a positive guy who knows how to work. That’s the combination you want in your people.