It’s not something Oakland football‘s big men do often, but senior Quentin Norfolk will be playing an iron man role for the Patriots in 2024.
The 6-foot-1, 255-pound Norfolk said he’s up to the challenge.
“I’ve been working,” Norfolk said after the Patriots’ 12-6 scrimmage loss to Lipscomb Academy on Friday at Oakland. “I’m bigger (up from 240 pounds last season), faster and stronger. I’ve been working in the weight room and especially out here, trying to get right for my teammates.”
Norfolk had a breakout season as a defensive lineman last season, earning first-team all-area honors after a season in which he had 63 tackles (10.5 for loss), two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in helping Oakland reach the 6A state championship game for the fourth consecutive season.
His role will expand considerably this season. He will be counted on to provide bulk on the offensive line as a tight end, as well as playing on special teams and taking over as the team’s punter.
“We’re asking him to play both sides of the ball. … Most of the time, our bigger guys don’t do that,” Oakland coach Kevin Creasy said. “He’s on every special team. He’s even our punter. If we have an injury at snapper, he’s our snapper. It will be old school. It’s iron man football when it comes to him. He’s going to have to get in the best shape of his life, because we’re going to rely on him.”
Oakland football finds punter in unlikely place
A team with a long tradition of outstanding kickers and punters, Oakland isn’t in that position this season, but Creasy found his punter almost by fluke during spring practice.
“We discovered Quentin on a water break,” Creasy said. “While everyone else was drinking water, Quentin is over there punting the crap out of the ball. It didn’t take us long to figure out the guy needed to be punting for us. We’ve been getting a lot of credit over the years for very skillful kickers. We inherited them and had a great kicking coach (Vlad Borombozin, now at Blackman).”
Norfolk had dabbled with punting in middle school but was always behind a more polished kicker.
“We lost Jacob (Taylor), so somebody had to step up,” said Norfolk, who said his best punt during practice has been around 55 yards. “I’ve been kicking for a while. It just comes natural.”
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Oakland still has holes to fill before its Aug. 23 season opener at home against Independence. But Norfolk, arguably one of the team’s top three players, has stepped up to fill some holes.
“He got a little playing time as a sophomore and made a fourth-down tackle in the state championship game, and that’s when he first got my attention,” Creasy said. “He grew up really fast that day. He had a good junior year, but he’s really come out with a vengeance as a senior. The sky is the limit for that dude. If he keeps improving like he has the last eight or nine months, he’ll be playing on Saturdays.”
Norfolk is hoping a big senior year helps garner more college attention. He has gotten interest from TSU and Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: How Oakland football defensive lineman Quentin Norfolk became a punter
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