When the Queen Creek Bulldogs take the field this fall it will be easy to spot sophomore tight end/defensive end Isaia Glass. Outside of senior quarterback Devin Larsen (6-foot-5), the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder certainly stands out in a crowd.
A two-way star on the Bulldogs’ freshman team last fall, Glass has used the off-season to refine both his skill-set and his body.
“I’ve been lifting and gaining weight,” Glass said to Sports360AZ.com. “Last year I weighed 195. I’ve also been working on my blocking and running better routes. I want to be more explosive off the ball.”
You could say Glass is a self-starter.
It’s that sort of attention to detail which has already caught the eye of his head coach.
“His work ethic is something that sets him apart,” Travis Schureman explained to Sports360AZ.com. “He’s been out here and he just works his tail off trying to get better. It’s been pretty neat to see.”
Glass is a quick study.
He also puts in time away from the field watching some of the NFL’s best perform under the brightest lights and on the biggest stage.
“I definitely watch Von Miller, he’s good,” Glass said with a smile. “I watch a lot of Rob Gronkowski. ‘Gronk’ is just so aggressive and so big no one can stop him. I like to try to play that way. Maybe I’ll be like that one day.”
As for settling in at one position Schureman believes this super sophomore, who also plays basketball and participates in track, could play on both sides of the ball quite frequently over his next three years at Queen Creek.
“There is no ceiling for a kid like that,” he said without hesitation. “He’s working hard in the weight room and he’s getting more confident. I think he feels like he believes and he belongs with these guys.”
That’s bad news for QC’s opponents for the next three years.
Hard work usually does pay off.
Isaia Glass is living proof of that.