MACON EAST: Nickles has been money in multiple positions for the Knights
Macon East quarterback Dalton Nickles has been a key player for the Knights’ defense this season. (File Photo)
By TIM GAYLE
CECIL -- Dalton Nickles stepped in as a freshman and played middle linebacker for Macon East Academy in 2020, but admits he wasn’t very knowledgeable at the position.
“I was just kind of winging it,” Nickles said. “I didn’t know where the ball was going. Coach ‘Dav’ (Tim Davenport) really didn’t teach it like coach (Duane) McWhorter has been teaching it.”
Nickles moved to safety last season but is back at middle linebacker this season and a big reason why the Knights are 5-1.
“Both our linebackers have to play really well for us,” Macon East Academy coach Glynn Lott said. “We play a front where we’re trying to protect our linebackers more. That’s who makes a lot of our tackles. But he’s bought into the system. He reads his keys and that’s the hardest thing with any defensive guy is to keep them from getting fooled with their eyes in the backfield, to read their keys.”
Last season, Nickles alternated between quarterback and safety, starting at quarterback early in the year as Deonte Powell recovered from an injury, then alternating with Powell after Nickles was hobbled by injury. Somewhat surprisingly, the junior said he doesn’t miss playing quarterback this season.
“Not really,” he said. “It’s kind of nice to just play on one side of the ball.”
And with Macon East replacing former defensive coordinator Bob Pickett with McWhorter this season, the Knights’ defense has a slightly different look, one that needs the focus of Nickles and fellow linebacker Thaddeus McKinney in order for the unit to be successful.
“Coach McWhorter is doing a really good job with me and Thad so it’s making our jobs easier at linebacker,” Nickles said.
“I think a lot of it is maturity,” Lott said, “and finally believing in it enough to try it. It’s no different than getting somebody to go into the weight room. They don’t like the weight room until they see results. And I think he’s seeing those results in the number of tackles.”
Nickles has a team-best 66 tackles in six games (McKinney has 61) and leads the Knights with seven tackles for loss. He is on pace to surpass the 124 tackles recorded by middle linebacker Teron Wright last year, provided the Knights can reach the semifinals of the AA playoffs.
“My goal is to have more tackles than Teron,” Nickles said. “As a team, I think we all want to play for a state championship, but we’ve got to get better and better every day.”
The first step to the playoffs can be accomplished on Thursday night in a Class AA Region 1 matchup with Edgewood Academy. A win over the Wildcats would earn the Knights their sixth consecutive trip to the state playoffs, tying a school record.
Throw out the Knights’ 49-7 loss to AAA power Lee-Scott two weeks ago and the defense has been fairly consistent, but Nickles noted the unit is “giving up too many points” and needs to play more physical on that side of the ball. Lott, meanwhile, just wants his team to put together four quarters this week.
“We’ve been a team of two halves,” Lott said. “But the defense has kept us in the game, especially in those games where we didn’t play well in the first half.”