Those who know Greg Schiano’s most underrated recruit insist he should be a four-star recruit, with offers from Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State, in addition to Rutgers, where he committed on March 19.
Shaquan Loyal, rated at three stars, is known at West Side High as a future NFL talent whose will is as strong as his genetics. His monster senior season is evidence of that, but there is much more to him than that.
His story is one of destiny, despair and perseverance -- with a dash of elite athletic gifts.
“He can do it all. He hits like a linebacker, covers like a corner, can catch like a receiver, and he runs the ball like a real running back does,” West Side coach Marion Bell said. “He could be the starting running back on any team in New Jersey. Any team. I’m talking St. Peter’s (Prep), (Don) Bosco, whoever. He could even start at receiver. Last year, we were going to have him play some quarterback, too. He can throw the ball 60 yards.”
Loyal attends Donald M. Payne Senior School of Technology (Newark, N.J.) and commutes crosstown for practice. Alongside fellow Rutgers commit, long-time friend and four-star linebacker Khayri Banton, Loyal has been dominant this season, with 393 receiving yards and four touchdown catches, more than 500 rushing yards and three rushing TDs, a kick-return TD, 29 tackles, five forced fumbles, three recoveries, two interceptions (one for a pick-six) and a scoop-and-score in six games. West Side is 5-1.
West Side players celebrate after a touchdown by Shaquan Loyal (11) during the football game between Columbia and West Side at Untermann Field in Newark on Saturday, October 31, 2020.John Jones | For NJ Advance Media
“Shaquan is having a phenomenal year on both sides of the ball and on special teams,” Bell said. “He’s like a super all-around athlete.”
So, how did the 6-foot, 190-pounder go unnoticed until June of last year, and end up staying home without so much as a fight?
Ballin’ with Berger
Loyal, born and raised in North Newark, has always lived in the same home. Despite playing with the top youth players in Essex County, Loyal was a man among boys -- explosive, aggressive and loved to hit. He began his career with the North Ward Cardinals, and became one of the first Brick City Lions when the program launched in 2012, spearheaded by Nasir Gaines, dubbed the most powerful man in N.J. high school football by NJ Advance Media last fall.
Shaquan Loyal and Jalen Berger side-by-side with the North Ward Cardinals around the age of nine. (Photo courtesy of Nasir Gaines)
“I took him up there to play flag football when he was young, and he was hitting,” said Shaquan’s father, Askia. “And the coaches told him he couldn’t hit and that he had to grab the flag. When we got back to the car, he was, like, ‘Daddy, I don’t want to play flag football. I want to hit.’ He was around seven or eight. That’s when I knew my son was different.”
Loyal played alongside future stars like Jalen Berger, who’s already making wakes at the University of Wisconsin as a freshman all-purpose back. But when the two paired on the Brick City Lions, Loyal played tailback while Berger played fullback -- the pecking order at the time.
“Shaquan was our guy back then,” Gaines said. “Berger was really good, too, but Shaquan was the guy we relied on. Anybody will tell you that. It’s not a secret. Had Shaquan played in the Big North and played all four years, he would be an All-American, too. They are identical body-wise and in a lot of other ways, too.”
Jalen Berger (top left player), Nasir Gaines (coach holding flag) and Shaquan Loyal (top right player) with the Brick City Lions. (Photo courtesy of Nasir Gaines)
In Berger, Loyal had a kindred spirit, of sorts. His build wasn’t the only thing that made it hard to separate the two on the field. They’d also switch roles from time to time.
“It was fun. He used to block for me. I played running back and he was our fullback. And when he would run the ball, I would block for him,” Loyal said. “That was probably my favorite year in Pop Warner, playing with Jalen. We had a good bond. We don’t say a lot, but we compete.”
Gaines is most impressed by Loyal’s physicality and mental toughness.
“He fears no man,” Gaines said. “He was always about contact, even at a young age. One day, we got him a new jersey because his was torn up from all the hitting, and he shut down and said he wasn’t practicing. He wanted his jersey with the battle scars back.”
Shaquan Loyal around 10 years old. (Nasir Gaines)
Losing Shakur
Everything changed for Loyal and his family on April 3, 2017. The eighth-grader was in school when his dad received news that every parent dreads: Shaquan’s older brother, Shakur, had been killed in a car crash. There was a knock at the door from the Newark police.
“They were looking for my wife, who wasn’t home,” Askia said. “Once they confirmed I was (Shakur’s) dad, they said, ‘Well, let me step in.’ And that’s when they told me he was gone. I thought he had just gotten in some trouble or something, but they gave it to me right there. And I just ... fell out. I couldn’t take it.
“I thought he was upstairs sleep. I had just seen him at 1 a.m. that morning downstairs. But when I went to sleep, he must’ve gone out. And he left us around four in the morning.”
Police said Shakur died in a high speed chase after allegedly stealing a vehicle. The death hit the Loyals hard, especially Shaquan, who admired his “big, little brother.”
Shaquan and Shakur Loyal prior to Shaquan's 8th grade social. (Photo courtesy of Loyal)
“We were all going through it, but it really rocked Quan,” his father said. “He misses his brother and uses (the death) as motivation. They were really close. They look like twins. They used to slap-box all the time. He used to tell Shakur that he was his big little brother when he got as big as him.”
Shakur Loyal (Photo taken from Facebook)
Loyal became the second man of the house at 15, while also braving the Newark streets.
“It was fun when I was younger. All my friends, my brother and I were always outside,” Loyal said. “We played basketball, football on the concrete. Now, you can’t even go outside because people don’t know how to act. And if you do, you better hurry up and get to the store and get back.”
Making his name
I was first introduced to Loyal in the summer of 2019 on the outer fields of Rutgers’ Passing camp by Coach Ronly London. Loyal certainly looked the part. But as I watched him, I realized he was more than an elite frame. He could really play. That same summer, Nasir Gaines introduced Loyal to Fran Brown -- Temple’s DB coach at the time. Brown would accept the same role at Rutgers in December.
“I brought him up to Temple when Fran was there and told him that Shaquan’s the best DB in the state hands down,” Gaines said. “And Fran was, like, ‘But, he’s like a phantom,’ because he didn’t have film. I said, ‘Trust me, he’s good.’ And he said, ‘I trust you, but not enough to risk my job. I’ve got to feed my family, too.’
“Fran ended up at Rutgers and finally saw Shaquan play when he posted his film, and they pulled the trigger immediately.”
Rutgers class of 2021 commit Shaquan Loyal. (Photo courtesy of Loyal.)
Gaines reconnected with Loyal, who sat out his sophomore year due to academic hardship caused by the loss of Shakur, who also served as his best friend. Shaquan played his freshman year at Barringer under London before he accepted the defensive coordinator role at West Side. Meanwhile, Loyal tried to forge a strong sophomore year, but the loss of Shakur had stifled his desire. So he took the year off from ball to recalibrate.
“It was crazy, I just couldn’t do anything,” he said. “Everything my family had gone through was in my head and I thought about it all the time.”
The break resulted in Loyal being overlooked instead of the four-star he was destined to be. But things improved heading into his junior year. He transferred to West Side due to his ties with London, who, along with Gaines, spearheaded his recruitment.
“That offseason, I began playing 7-on-7 for West Side,” Loyal said. “I was thinking about my brother, my mother and my father and how I can’t let them down. That’s when I started playing again. That’s when coaches started talking to me. Then I started the season strong and earned an offer from Kent State, which really boosted my confidence.”
Offers from Syracuse, Rutgers, Tennessee, UMass and West Virginia would follow, but Loyal pledged to Greg Schiano on March 19, ending his recruitment before it really started.
“It was the best for me,” Loyal said at the time. “It’s close to home and it’s best for my family. When I went on my visit, I liked the coaches and the staff. I felt like I was home. I told Coach Schiano straight-up, ‘I’m ready and I’m all-in. I want to commit now.’”
Mountaineer coaches still recruit Loyal hard while coaches from Notre Dame recently requested his transcripts. But Loyal is committed to staying home, though respectful to his suitors. As any recruit should be.
Shaquan Loyal of West Side (11) carries the ball during the football game between Columbia and West Side at Untermann Field in Newark on Saturday, October 31, 2020.John Jones | For NJ Advance Media
Staying home
Loyal is set to enroll at Rutgers in January, but almost never landed there at all. Few knew what Rutgers had in it had in its own backyard prior to last June as Loyal sat out his sophomore year, leaving no footprint to be found. Now, with two years of film under his belt, Rutgers has a good idea of what it has in Loyal. And it likes it a lot. Like Gaines, Bell, London and Newark football fans have felt for years. Because he can do it all.
“You put him at nickel, corner, kick return, punt return and you can put him in the slot against a smaller DB, or a bigger DB not as fast,” Bell said. “He’s got a 38-inch vertical (leap) and already runs in the 4.5′s (40-yard dash). Coming out the blocks, he’s super-explosive.”
Schiano sends Loyal cut-ups of plays he made and why. He and Fran Brown contact Loyal three-to-four times per week and have continued to build bonds.
“Coach Fran told me I’m doing great this year, and that I’m a monster and I’ve got a lot of heart,” Loyal said pridefully.
He’s open to wearing any hat at Rutgers, but paused when asked what he hopes to play most (understandable, considering there are plenty options).
“I would say corner(back). It’s the competition,” he said. “There’s always competition at corner. And the better the competition, the better I play. And when opponents talks trash, I’ve got to put them in their place. I don’t do a lot of talking, but I like to compete.”
Loyal’s coach concurs, dubbing him a coach’s dream after working with him for the last year-and-a-half. Bell is a former DB at Norfolk State and Ramapo, who prides himself in developing sound DBs and recognizing talent. And he’s high on Loyal. Because not only is he gifted, but he has the character to succeed in the Big Ten East.
“I’m telling you right now, Shaquan is going to be a pro,” Bell said. “If Greg Schiano and Fran Brown hold him to a high standard, he’s going to the league. And he’s such a good kid. He’s not going to say anything back to you. He’s not going to question you. You will never be able to say he was rude to you.
“That young man is special.”
Shaquan Loyal of West Side (11) makes a tackle against Michael Caines of Columbia (1) during the football game between Columbia and West Side at Untermann Field in Newark on Saturday, October 31, 2020.John Jones | For NJ Advance Media
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
"story" - Google News
November 25, 2020 at 12:50AM
https://ift.tt/378o2RQ
Destiny, despair and perseverance: The story of Newark’s Shaquan Loyal, a Rutgers commit - NJ.com
"story" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YrOfIK
https://ift.tt/2xwebYA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Destiny, despair and perseverance: The story of Newark’s Shaquan Loyal, a Rutgers commit - NJ.com"
Post a Comment