“We’re going to be cold,” (cold: used to describe something awesome or nice; used to describe something someone may be jealous of) said freshman running back and safety Tyson Grubbs when

asked about how next season is going to look.

The key word in that is ‘cold’; a word teammates and fans both use to describe Grubbs. This is accurate, because on Wednesday nights at Desert Vista freshman football games, it seemed as if you heard number seven’s name called on almost every play. Whether it was offense, defense, or special teams, his presence was felt in every game throughout an up and down season.

“Getting to play with my teammates; ‘cause it’s not fun without your teammates,” Grubbs

said when asked about his favorite part of the season.

Grubbs was considered by many to be the premiere player on the team. It may seem clear why teammates felt this way as well; most would assume it’s due to his production on the gridiron. However, it’s more than football. As one coach described it, there were cliques among the freshman players. Grubbs was not limited to one group, he bounced around and made everyone feel like a part of what was taking place. The entire team knew he had their back.

“Just worked hard; as hard as I could,” Grubbs said when asked about his game preparation. “I don’t like to be outworked. I work hard with everything I do basically.”

Hard work is exactly what you get out of Grubbs in everything he does. In the weight room, Grubbs demonstrates great focus and strength both mentally and physically. Every pushup, squat, or crunch with him has meaning. The results of a strong work ethic were clear on the field.

“Tyson Grubbs is a real humble guy; every time I see him score he is sure to congratulate the line who got him there,” said the father of teammate Miles Leblanc.

As one of the team’s top players, it would have been easy for Grubbs to have a huge ego, and put himself above the rest of the players. But that just isn’t him. Just as described by Leblanc, after every touchdown Grubbs scored, he would hand the ball to the ref, give the lineman a pat on the helmet, and grab some water before hustling out to help on defense.

“I play instruments,” Grubbs said when asked about hobbies outside of football, “I play piano and saxophone. I do other sports like track and baseball.”

A well rounded student- athlete, Grubbs has aspirations off the field. He does have a desire to play college football and beyond, but he said a backup plan would be something possibly in the engineering industry.

“I was excited,” Grubbs said about being moved up to varsity after the the freshman season, “I was like ‘aye we made it’. I was a little nervous because at the time, I was the only one who was being pulled up.”

After the outstanding freshman campaign Grubbs delivered, coaches from the varsity and freshman teams got together and acknowledged Grubbs’ success by asking him to play on the varsity team next season.

“The chance to shine I guess,” Grubbs said will be what he misses most about the past season, “It was fun being childish, but after freshman season you can’t be childish.”

Shine he did, scoring multiple times in a number of games this season. The childish aspect could be summed up by the light heartedness of the team, as many players would dance, crack jokes, and have a good time while still being focused at practice. Grubbs understands that this may need to take a backseat in order to succeed at the varsity level.

When asked to describe Grubbs, teammate James Crowl said,“Tyson is a great person on the field and off, showing his great character in all that he does.”