With a full season in front of him, Tanori ready to showcase his skills for Gauchos.

Jacob Tanori is excited to see what he can do in a full season wearing an El Capitan uniform.

The junior was forced to sit out six games last season after transferring from Stone Ridge Christian. Tanori will get plenty of opportunities to showcase his skills because Gauchos coach Frank Solis doesn’t expect to take him off the field much.

“I feel a lot different this year,” Tanori said. “I’m ready to go. Sitting out those first six games last year effected how I played in the last four. This year I’m ready to get out there.”

Tanori can play just about anywhere on the field. He saw time at receiver and running back last year on offense and played safety on defense.

With quarterback Kevin Reid nursing a sore shoulder early in the season, Tanori will start this year at quarterback.

“I like to play everywhere,” Tanori said. “I’m ready to ball out at safety. That will be one of my main positions. Kevin isn’t feeling too well with his shoulder so I’m filling in at quarterback.”

Tanori’s knowledge of multiple positions makes the transition easier. At practice, he’s often like another coach on the field. He helps some of the younger players in drills, making sure everyone is on the same page.

“He’s taking the reins out there,” Solis said. “I know at the start of the season, he was in the backup role at quarterback. He wasn’t getting a lot of reps. I don’t know if this will be a permanent move. It helps that he knows the position. He knows where everybody else is supposed to be. That position needs to be like having another coach on the field.”

Reid moves to slot receiver while his shoulder recovers. He gives the Gauchos a shifty target who is dangerous when he gets the ball in space.

The Gauchos have a deep threat and a big red zone target in Ronald Harris at receiver. The senior has speed to go along with his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame.

Ethan Meza gives El Capitan a nice threat out of the back field.

“As far as skill players, I feel we have the best skill guys in the area,” Tanori said.

Senior Jake Leonardo anchors the offensive line. The left tackle is hard to miss because he’s always talking on the field, cracking jokes.

“That’s one thing, he does talk a lot,” Solis said. “All joking aside with Jake, he gets all the guys in the right spot on the line so they can make the right blocks.”

With a roster just over 30 players, most of the players being asked to make plays on offense will be the same players to play key roles on defense.

Solis wants his best players on the field and if he has to use timeouts to give his players breaks in games, he’ll do it.

“They are way more physical,” Solis said. “Some of them weren’t getting playing time on defense last year. They’ve brought a physicality to the defense this year. A lot of these guys have done it before when they were part of a JV team that had 22 on the roster and only 15 guys dress.

“It’s more opportunities to make plays on both sides of the ball.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 7:55 PM.