By Nick Hampton
Growing up, kids often have role models that vary from pro athletes to celebrities to a relative and for Madill senior River Shaw that role model has always been his father, Scott.
“My dad played football all through school and went on to play at Baylor. All our relatives tell stories about how scary he was on the football field. He’s always been there to push me even when it was something I really didn’t want to do like run,” said Shaw, a VYPE TOP 100 pick for 2022.
Shaw plays tight end and defensive end for the Wildcats where he had 65 tackles last year along with including 15 tackles for loss and nine sacks and has been a two-way starter for three seasons.
“He’s a very intelligent kid (33 on his ACT) and is versatile,” said his coach, Chad Speer. “He’s also played nose guard and outside linebacker some for us on defense. On offense, the tight end spot he plays is the most difficult to learn other than quarterback because what you do in either the passing or running game can vary based on the defensive front and what run scheme we’re blocking. He’s worked real hard in the weight room this year and we plan to get the ball in his hands more this year because he can be dangerous with his speed and with his size (6-3, 235) he’s not afraid to just lower his shoulder and run somebody over.”
While football is River’s love, he also plays pitcher and first base in baseball,
throws the shot and discus as well as running the 400 meters and the 4X100 and 4X200 relays in track and plays the post position in basketball which he says is the most fun to play.
“I just really enjoy the competitive nature of basketball and it’s a lot easier just to grab a few guys and be able to play which you can’t do so easily with football and baseball,” said River.
Like his father, Shaw is the high-energy kind of player that’s all in whether it’s a practice or a game and as a senior leader that trait can sometimes lead to exasperation.
“It frustrates me when people aren’t going full speed in drills at practice because if you don’t do it at practice, it will be hard to adjust during game conditions.”
Outside of athletics, Shaw is also active in archery, National Honor Society and FFA where he takes part in the Environmental Natural Resources program where you learn about different species of animals through their pelts, tracks, antlers, etc. and then compete against other chapters. And that background will benefit River down the line as he hopes to play football in college and study some kind of environmental science.
