Greenbrier East’s Kinder looks ahead to fit with William & Mary

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — A senior football season for Greenbrier East quarterback Isaiah Kinder where he threw for 2,096 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions has ultimately turned into an opportunity to play at the D-I FCS level with William & Mary.

“I had some other looks at the D-II level and Ivy League schools,” Kinder said. “But William & Mary is just a great place with a really nice campus. The guys are really cool and we bonded on those couple of days that I was there (on a visit).”

The opportunity to compete for a job at quarterback was the biggest clincher for Kinder.

“That was my big decision-maker,” he said. “That’s been my dream since day one and it was really nice to get that chance.

“To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen,” Kinder said of the recruiting process. “Just being from West Virginia and playing the schedule that we play – and then on top of that, my height (6-foot), a lot of schools wanted me to move to a different position. But, I’m glad William & Mary looked past that. I’m excited to get down there and play.”

William & Mary went 7-5 this past season, including a 24-17 loss in Morgantown to WVU where senior quarterback Michael Graham threw for 207 yards and a touchdown. Graham and Brent Caprio both received the majority of snaps this past season at QB – both are now gone due to graduation.

“I’m coming in to compete right away,” Kinder said. “I’m going to come in ready to learn and to compete because I would like to get some playing time just as much as they would.”

On the roster currently for William & Mary at quarterback are redshirt-freshman Jhalil Mosley, sophomore Steve Cluley, junior Christian Brumbaugh and senior Raphael Ortiz.

Kinder threw for 2,096 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions as a senior this past season with Greenbrier East.

Regardless, over the last couple of seasons, Kinder’s game has continued to progress – specifically throwing the football.

“My junior season, I was a better runner and a lot of people said that I wasn’t the thrower that a quarterback should be,” he said. “That made me want to work harder to become more of a passing quarterback, because I know that should come first. I worked as much as I could and worked out in the offseason.

“Just getting out there and knowing my guys (helped as well),” he said. “You have to know your receivers and know where they want the ball, and know where the ball should be placed. I just became more of a student of the game that offseason.”

And it’s that work ethic that will be ever critical for Kinder as he makes the transition to the next level.

“I’m going to just keep going over that same stuff, but look over defenses and coverages more,” he said. “I need to be able to find windows, because I’m going from linemen that are about my size to people who are 6-foot-7, 6-foot-6.”





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