Rick CantuAustin American-Statesman
Anderson coach Donald Hatcher has a theory on how Ed Small managed to earn major college athletic scholarships for football and baseball while also maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
"He's a freak," Hatcher said.
He means that as a sincere compliment. Hatcher says he has never coached a football player as versatile as Small, his 6-foot, 205-pound wide receiver. Small is bigger and stronger than most defensive backs who try to cover him. And he's a major reason why Anderson expects to have a great season, which begins Thursday night against McCallum in the annual Taco Shack Bowl at House Park.
Small has traveled a long, winding road to get to his senior year. When he was a freshman, he accepted a scholarship offer from Texas to play baseball. But after two spectacular seasons in football, he made a major life decision last year by decommitting from his Longhorns baseball offer and instead committing to TCU to play football. He's a three-star prospect and the 53rd-ranked receiver in the country, according to 247Sports' composite ratings, and earned a spot on the American-Statesman's All-Central Texas preseason team.
"I surprised myself," Small said recently inside a cluttered Trojans locker room. "I was only playing football because I'd played it my whole life. As a freshman, I was playing football to have fun, but then I started to get recruited (for football). I said football is what I want to do. It was an easy decision."
And college football teams took notice.
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Small emerged as one of the best receivers in the state his sophom*ore and junior seasons when he combined for 136 catches, 2,237 yards and 34 touchdowns.
It wasn't easy telling Texas he would not play baseball for the Longhorns after all, he said.
"It was more difficult for my parents," Small said. "They wanted me to play baseball in the beginning. My mindset to change from baseball to football took place between my sophom*ore and junior years. I didn't have a great baseball summer, and I started to enjoy football more."
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Small was a boy for all seasons when he took up sports about the time he started elementary school. He played football, basketball and baseball in area recreation leagues and said he liked all three equally. His father, Clint Small, was a coach and mentor for young Ed.
And then there was the family tree.
His father played center at Vanderbilt. Grandfather Edward Clinton Small was a tight end for Texas and great-grandfather Charles Clinton Small played center for the Longhorns. Not to be outdone, Ed's mother, Allison, remains the all-time leading scoring for the Denison (Ohio) University women's basketball team.
Dominating opponents started when he was a kid
Clint Small said his son was always a little bigger and stronger than kids he played against. Ed played Little League Baseball when he was 4 years old even though the rules stipulated that players had to be at least 5. The family lied about his age and signed him up.
"He was playing against kids who were 5 and 6," his father recalled. "I wouldn't say he was already better than the others, but it was noticeable that he was more aware of the game. How he processed the game stood out."
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Small said he and his wife had mixed feelings when Ed decided to switch from Texas baseball to TCU football.
"Ed was always a two-sport star, but baseball was something that he could play year-round with summer ball and select teams, and that has become a big part of our lives," Clint Small said. "You build deeper relationships with people during summer ball when you're playing in tournaments in different parts of the country. It's a different bond than football."
While football is in Small's future, he hasn't completely shut the door on baseball. When he asked TCU football coach Sonny Dykes about playing college baseball for the Horned Frogs, the coach said he would support him. Small will wait a year, though, before considering playing both sports in college because he figures to be busy when he enrolls in January.
2024 could be playoff year for Anderson football
For now, Small said he's more focused on his final football season at Anderson. This is the most talented team he's been part of in his four years. With the team's drop from Class 6A to Class 5A this season, competition won't be as tough. He added that new starting quarterback Max Gerlich, a UTSA pledge, will be a fine addition to the offense.
"Max was outstanding during the state 7-on-7 tournament," this summer," Ed Small said. "He's more elusive than people think. He had a knee problem last year, but that's completely gone now. He can make throws on the run, and he can run the ball, too."
Hatcher has enough pieces for Anderson to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Trojans have eight returning starters on offense, seven on defense. Small will be complemented by a pair of capable senior receivers, Zayden Sharp and Tristan Waidelich.
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If football and baseball don't pan out for Small, perhaps he can lean on a different sport. During the pandemic in 2020, he taught himself how to play golf by watching YouTube videos. His best round is a 73 that he shot at Morris Williams Golf Course.
Hatcher, for one, said Small is capable of doing just about anything he wants to do.
"He's one of a kind," the coach said.
