FRUITPORT – Is playing quarterback sort of like riding a bicycle?
You do it once, then you can hop back on and be just fine a few years later?
That may not be the case for all QBs, but Fruitport senior Collin Jolman has been playing like he has more experience than he actually has.
Before this season, the last time Jolman was a full-time starting quarterback was in the ninth grade, when he played the last half of the season for the junior varsity team.
[1]He moved up to varsity as a sophomore to become a starting cornerback on defense and serve as the backup to starting QB Gavin Reames.
Reames was a standout with an excellent arm, and he stayed pretty healthy during his time with the Trojans. That meant that Jolman saw limited game time as a quarterback for his first two years of varsity.
But Fruitport head coach Nate Smith was very confident that Jolman could step in and do the job this season, and it looks like he was correct.
Jolman’s first game as the starter, in the season opener against Kenowa Hills, was solid.
He completed 9 of 16 passes for 138 yards and rushed for 108 yards, with the highlight being an electric 81-yard touchdown run in the second half.
[2]Then last week, in the game at Grand Rapids Christian, Jolman really started to hit his pace.
He gave Fruitport a 14-7 lead with an eight-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then helped the Trojans build a 34-7 lead with three touchdown passes in the second quarter – a 15-yarder to Cody Nash, a 19-yarder to Paschal Jolman and another 19-yarder to Nash Cooper.
His final numbers were strong enough – 76 yards and three scores passing and 63 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
More than anything, the performance showed that Jolman is feeling comfortable under center and is capable of putting points on the board.
“I feel like I’m starting to get comfortable with where I’m at,” said Jolman, who will lead the Trojans into their O-K Blue conference opener on Friday against Allendale at Hope College. “It’s starting to come back to me just a bit. It takes a minute.”
[3]Jolman said it was always the plan for him to back up Reames, learn as much as he could about being a varsity QB, then step in as a senior.
He said he didn’t mind the wait and learned a lot from Reames over the past two years.
“It was good to have someone in front of me who was really good,” Jolman said. “It really helped out. I learned that I have to have confidence when I’m back there and lead the squad, because everyone is counting on me, and I learned not to hesitate.”
Jolman’s three TD passes showed he can remain calm in the red zone and find his targets when it matters the most.
“They felt good,” he said about the scoring throws. “That’s where the ‘don’t hesitate’ came in. You have to learn how to throw that second. Once you start throwing the ball more you learn to just let it go.”
[4]Fruitport head coach Nate Smith says Jolman continues to make progress every game.
“Collin is getting more confident in what he’s doing out there,” he said. “He’s adjusting to the decision-making and processing. He continues to grow on the mental side.”
Smith really liked the way Jolman’s three TD passes last week played out.
“Two of them came on fourth down and he had to pick it up,” the coach said. “There was a little added pressure there. And his touchdown throw to Paschal was a secondary read, which was really encouraging to see. The first receiver was not open, and we still ended up with a touchdown.
“He’s really starting to understand what’s going on. The game is slowing down for him.”
Smith said Jolman’s overall athleticism, and the understanding of defensive schemes that he gained as a defensive player, make him a good fit at QB.
[5]“He has a pretty strong arm, he throws the shorter passes really well, and he can go deep too,” Smith said. “He also has speed. He’s deceptively fast. He can take off at any time and break one.”
With Jolman at quarterback, the Fruitport offensive backfield has become a family affair.
Collin and Paschal Jolman are twin brothers – Paschal is about two minutes older – and for two years they were teammates making most of their big plays on opposite sides of the ball.
Now they’re together scoring a lot of points, and Jolman says it’s fun working hand-in-hand with his All-Conference running back brother.
“We have a great time in the backfield,” he said. “I get to hand the ball off to him, see what he sees, and watch him have great success.”
The brothers are close, but that has only been the case for the past few years, since they’ve both matured and learned to appreciate each other’s abilities, according to Jolman.
“We always had a strong rivalry with each other,” he said. “In the past I think we always tried to prove who was better in everything we did.”
While Jolman is settling in nicely at quarterback, he understands that his team has some serious challenges to address.
That became apparent last Thursday when the Trojans lost the 27-point lead that Jolman’s touchdown passes gave them and ended up losing to GR Christian 41-34.
“We definitely slowed down,” Jolman said. “It’s important that we always keep fighting like the game is 0-0, and we definitely have to pay more attention to the little details in the game.
“We were very disappointed. Nobody wants to feel that way. It was not a good feeling. The whole team was silent afterward, like it was a big weight on everyone.”
What’s important is how the Trojans process the stunning loss and what they learn from it, Jolman said.
“We’re a team,” he said. “It’s one group effort, and we have to keep fighting together. We will learn from what happened and stay hungry. We don’t want to have that feeling again.”
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