Westlake linebacker Elliott Schaper’s competitiveness made him our top defensive player

Whether it’s a simple Ping Pong game with friends or leading the Westlake defense, Elliott Schaper thrives on competition.

It’s one of the reasons the junior linebacker excelled for the Chaps this season and plays into why he was selected as the American-Statesman’s defensive player of the year on the 2023 All-Central Texas Football Team.

Described by Westlake coach Tony Salazar as the “quarterback of the defense,” Schaper terrorized opposing offenses with 108 tackles, nine sacks, nine quarterback hurries and two interceptions as part of a dominating defense that had five shutouts and yielded more than 14 points only three times. Westlake finished 14-1 and reached the Class 6A state semifinals.

Westlake linebacker Elliott Schaper, the American-Statesman’s defensive player of the year on the 2023 All-Central Texas Football Team, finished this season with 108 tackles and helped lead the Chaparrals to the Class 6A Division I state semifinals.

And while Schaper will find contests in every-day activities like racing teammates to a car, it’s being on the football field that brings out the best in him.

“Being at linebacker you do everything on defense: play the run and pass, sack the quarterback, cover a running back or wide receiver, and call plays,” Schaper said. “And being a competitive person, I love it.”

Though Schaper makes doing the responsibilities of a linebacker sound simple, he’s the rare breed that can do it all. Salazar noted that he’s athletic enough to go from stopping big running backs at the line of scrimmage to covering fast wide receivers down the field.

“It takes a special skill set to do that,” Salazar said. “There were so many big games this season where he was making six or seven plays in a row. … And in a lot of those he wasn’t the guy that was free to make the tackle but…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/westlake-linebacker-elliott-schapers-competitiveness-130241691.html

Author : Austin American-Statesman

Publish date : 2024-01-14 13:02:41

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