Standing 6-foot-7, New Trier junior wide receiver Brian Kaiser is a quarterback’s best friend and a defensive back’s worst nightmare.
That was evident during the Trevians’ fourth possession of the game against rival Evanston on Friday, Sept. 23, in Northfield. Kaiser, matched up on the outside against 5-7 sophomore cornerback Malik Ross, ran a go route. Trevians senior quarterback Clay Czyzynski threw a jump ball near the right pylon that Ross had good position on. However, Kaiser quickly adjusted to the throw and reached over the top of Ross to snag the ball in mid-air for a 33-yard touchdown.
“He’s a monster,” Czyzynski said. “I’m just going to say that right now, I’m one of the luckiest quarterbacks to have him on my team. He’s a monster.”
Later in the first half, Czyzynski scrambled out of trouble before launching a 59-yard pass to Kaiser to set up New Trier’s third touchdown in an eventual 38-17 Central Suburban South victory.
Asked after the game how he managed to find Kaiser so far downfield, Czyzynski laughed and said, “I mean, he’s 6-7, so it’s kind of hard to miss him.”
While being tall isn’t new for Kaiser, playing wide receiver is. From fourth grade through sophomore year the only position he played was quarterback. But with Czyzynski entering his third year as the starter, Trevians coach Brian Doll and his staff saw an opportunity to better utilize Kaiser’s natural gifts.
“I wasn’t mad that I wasn’t going to play quarterback because whatever I could do to help the team, that’s what I was going to do,” Kaiser said.
The move has paid off for the Trevians. Kaiser has 10 receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns through five games and has become more involved in the offensive game plan, as evidenced by the Evanston game. While Doll believed Kaiser could adapt to the new position, his production has still been somewhat of a pleasant surprise.
“He was a quarterback, so he had a good understanding of the game coming in, but for him to adjust and be able to run at that size is really what’s impressing me the most,” Doll said. “He’s got great speed and unbelievable hands. I think it’s just his instincts. He’s played quarterback probably his whole life. For him to make the adjustment knowing that we’ve had a three-year starter there now, it’s just been awesome.”
Part of what Doll believes has made the transition easier for Kaiser is his background as a volleyball player. Having played outside hitter, Kaiser’s an adept jumper with good instincts and timing, and that somewhat translates to going up for a jump ball on the outside against a defensive back.
Kaiser, though cognizant of his size advantage, views it as much less valuable than other skills needed to play the position.
“I don’t really think of height as a factor,” Kaiser said. “Every good wide receiver, they all have something in common. They have the speed, the hands and agility. And that’s what I’ve got to work on to get better. My height is an added bonus, but in the end, it’s all the fundamentals that will get you places.”
Perhaps the most significant development in Kaiser’s transformation from quarterback to receiver is his willingness to block. Doll recalled watching the film from the first game of the season against York and being shocked at how skilled Kaiser is at blocking. Doll rewound the video several times to make sure he was seeing the play correctly.
“It’s new for me and I’m loving blocking a lot more than anything else, honestly,” Kaiser said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
While Kaiser still has plenty of room for improvement — he dropped a couple passes against Evanston and is still fine-tuning his route running — his impact on the New Trier offense has been undeniable. And as the season wears on, Doll knows he has a weapon at his disposal that many teams do not.
“I think in general really, after Week 2, we started saying we’ve got to take some chances with him downfield. He can change the game,” Doll said. “Our hope is that people are going to put so much focus on him that other things are going to open up also. So after a game like (Friday, Sept. 23), I know people are going to say you’re going to have to find where No. 2 (Kaiser) is, so that only helps the rest of our team.”
Brett Christie is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @BChristieDTH
