Georgia: Interview with Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy Difference Making RB Trevor Gear

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Stats, an outside view, and the possibility of getting too wrapped up into a story can sometimes cause one to have a skewed view of reality, but sometimes perception is reality especially in sports.

In 2014 running back Trevor Gear missed the first six games of the season for Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy due to Georgia transfer rules. From the sidelines the Class of 2017 running back watched his team start the season with a 0-6 record. Oddly enough when Gear was able to begin play, the Chargers won their next seven games making a run to the Class A state championship game before falling to Mount Paran Christian.

Reality could be that the Chargers got a couple of key pieces back at the same time as Gear, the regular season schedule got a little bit easier, or the team just finally started to gel as a whole. The coincidence that the 6’0”, 200 pound, talent hit the field rushing for 800 yards in seven games with 105 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns helps paint a picture leaning heavily toward Gear being an instant impact player.

The McDonough area talent is off to a hot start in the stat category in 2015 with 440 yards on the ground off 60 totes with four total touchdowns in four games played. The Chargers have put together a 3-2 start having played some pretty tough talent falling to Stockbridge and Greater Atlanta Christian. Eagle’s Landing has put together a two-game win streak defeating Mount Pisgah Christian 56-6 and Whitewater 38-0 playing against teams within their own state classification and opened the season with a 35-0 win over North Florida Christian (Tallahassee).

Gear’s talents have not gone unnoticed by top college programs. Although an offer has not been extended yet, teams like Clemson, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Georgia are all showing interest.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Trevor to get the inside scoop on how his season is going, how the Chargers look finishing out the rest of their schedule, and received a recruiting news update.

Interview

Trevor, the Chargers are 3-2 and at a pivotal point in the season where you guys can go on a run or just kind of linger. In your opinion how does the team look going forward?

“We look pretty good. When we played GAC, Great Atlanta Christian, our starting quarterback (Donald Hammond) and two of our starting wide receivers were out. Our entire offense was not in sync and we could not find our rhythm. Our backup quarterback is a freshman. We just could not get in sync that game.”

Will the walking wounded going to be back soon?

“They’re back now. We have everybody back now.”

Are there a couple of games left on the schedule that you are excited to play?

“This weekend we have Woodward (College Park, GA). They’re a good 4A school, they have a good running back too (Elijah Holyfield – Class of 2016 Georgia commit). It’ll be fun to compete against another good running back. They’re ranked second in 4A. We played another 4A team this year and we should have won that game. If we win against Woodward that’ll make a big statement against a powerhouse 4A school.”

Other than staying healthy, what does the team need to do this year to have a successful season like last year?

“Just work hard every day, keep working out, eat right, stay healthy, and stay focused.”

What are your strengths on the field as a running back?

“I’m quick, explosive, and I can catch the ball out of the backfield. I’m good at blocking, I’m physical when I don’t have the ball. I do whatever it takes to get an extra few yards for my team.”

What are your goals for the 2015 football season?

“My goals are to win a state championship and my individual goals are to go over 1,500 yards. Mainly just win state championship, that’s my main goal and our main team goal.”

Due to potential injuries and team depth, do you play other positions on the field for the Chargers?

“Yes sir. I play second string safety sometimes. I play safety every now and again.”

Do you like playing safety?

“Uh, I do but I like playing the running back position better. I love playing running back.”

What schools are showing interest in your right now with recruiting?

“There are a lot of schools showing interest but no one has offered yet. Clemson, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and Georgia.”

Which colleges have you been in contact with so far?

“I’ve talked to Coach (Tony) Elliot (running backs coach) from Clemson, Coach (Tommy) Thigpen from Tennessee (linebackers coach), and Purdue just started showing me a lot of interest over the last month. They want me to come down there but I have not talked to any of the coaches yet. I’ve received a lot of mail from them too.”

What type of feedback have you received from these colleges? What are they telling you they like about your game?

“They tell me that I’m explosive, quick out of the backfield, and that I catch the ball well out of the backfield. They also tell me they want to come down here for a game so they can see me play in person.”

Are you going on any unofficial visits this fall?

“Yes sir. I’m going to Notre Dame next weekend and I might go to Georgia Tech and Clemson coming up. I might go to Tennessee too. I might also go to an Ole Miss game this season I just don’t know when yet.”

In the offseason, which one-day college camps did you attend?

“I went to a lot. I went to Tennessee, Clemson, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, and Georgia.”

Pretty much all the schools showing interest in you that have got to see your athleticism in person other than Purdue of course.

“Yeah.”

What else did you do in the offseason to prepare for your junior season? What did you work on in the offseason to improve upon from last year?

“We worked out a lot. I did a lot of extra drills on the side trying to get faster and I worked a lot on my jump cut. I just tried to get bigger, stronger, and faster.”

What is your favorite part of playing football?

“The contact and the team. I like being with my brothers out there on the field.”

Trevor, good luck the rest of the way and thanks for your time today.

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

Photo credit: Jeff Hurndon Photography.

Photo credit: Gear family; Trevor finds running room up the middle.

Photo credit: Gear family; Trevor goes up high for a pass.