Finding his place

From a youth league striper on the line, to a water boy on the sideline, to Most Valuable Player at quarterback for the Coal City Coalers. That’s the path that Cody Onsen has taken over the last 10 years.

This past season, Onsen put up astounding numbers in Coal City, leaving a set of statistics that won’t likely soon be eclipsed.

“He’s put up some very impressive numbers over the last two seasons,” Lenny Onsen, Cody’s coach and father said recently.

That may be something of an understatement.

This year alone, Onsen set Coalers single-season records in touchdowns (28), completions (131) and passing yards (2,235). He was also the Coalers leading rusher with 351 yards and ran for another 10 scores. Along the way, the senior became the all-time leading Coal City quarterback in passing yards (3,578) and overall total yards from scrimmage (4,056).

Cody Onsen says that he never even knew he was on such a record breaking pace until well into the season this fall.

“My junior year I put up some good numbers and that gave me a lot of confidence, but I didn’t even know it would happen. Even this year I didn’t know how close I was to the school record until about week seven when someone came up to me and told me I could break it,” he said.

“All around, I’d say it was a good high school football career.”

One that many people may not realize began as a lineman when it first got underway.

Coal City Miners

An astute evaluator of talent on the football field, Lenny Onsen didn’t see his son fitting the quarterback role when Cody first began playing youth league football.

“We never thought he’d be a quarterback. In youth leagues he was a striper, playing on the offensive and defensive lines. It’s because he was too big,” Lenny Onsen said. “But by the eighth grade he was wanting to play the position. That’s where he learned the position. There and in the arena league up in Lockport. They wanted him to play quarterback because he’s a big athletic kid.”

A striper in youth leagues can only play on the line due to their size compared to their age, so Cody had little choice but to play there at the onset. According to senior Coal City center Sam Turner, his friend was a pretty good lineman, too.

“We’ve been playing together since we were six. Back then he played offensive and defensive line just like me,” Turner said. “He could play offensive line right now if he wanted to because he’s fast and strong.”

Onsen currently stands 6-2 and weighs 220 pounds, and he explains the transition from lineman to quarterback back in the day.

“Mainly I played the defensive line when I was younger. I was a striper even in the lightweights when I was eight and could only play on the line,” Cody Onsen said. “It was my eighth grade year with the Miners. I used to play quarterback in the back yard all the time and I always thought I could be good at it. That’s where I ended up playing from the eighth grade on.”

Turner said that he knew all along that Cody could play the position of quarterback, even before all the coaches did.

“I could see it because I have known him for a long time. Even when we were in the backyard playing football you could see that he can throw the ball,” he said. “He also knows the game real well, which is a good quality for a quarterback to have.”

Mechanics of the position

According to Cody, he always had the ability to play the position, he just needed to smooth out the edges over the last five years.

“Mainly we worked a lot on my footwork. My dad would make me do the ladders drill in the gym. That’s where it started,” Cody described. “I also went and worked out at the Athletic Republic in Morris and that made me a lot better. I owe a lot to them for improving my speed.”

While athletic skills are certainly important to play quarterback, Turner said that Onsen also knows how to be a leader — something as important to the position.

“He took on a lot of responsibility. He was a leader both on an off the field,” he said. “Off the field if anyone had a question, they go to him and ask. And on the field he was always making the big plays when we were counting on him. When we needed a big pass or a big run, he made it.”

Since he grew up playing the line, he also didn’t mind calling out members in the huddle if they whiffed on a block.

“When they weren’t doing their jobs I’d tell them not to be soft and to hit someone,” Cody said. “I always expected them to go hard all the time, even at practice.”

It was that leadership role Turner will remember the most.

“We’ll all remember the numbers that he put up, not only that but I’m going to remember him for the leader he was,” Turner said.

Running the spread

For the first time this year, Coal City ran out of a spread formation under the guidance of offensive coordinator Jim Mikula. That decision only enhanced what Cody did at the quarterback position.

“He did a nice job of throwing out of the spread this year. Not only that, but he was also our top runner this year,” Lenny Onsen said. “It wasn’t a secret that he made our offense go. He’s the one we looked to when a play needed to be made.”

Lenny Onsen points out that when playing a team in the spread offense that you have to always account for the quarterback.

“Against the spread, at least when we’ve faced it, you have to take the quarterback into account on every play,” he said. “We always made someone accountable for the quarterback by putting a spy on him. We always want to know where the quarterback is because we want to keep him under control.”

Something few could do to Cody this fall.

The next step

So far, Cody has been in contact with Indiana State, Illinois State University, Valparaso and Xavier and he’s looking forward to playing football at the next level.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to finding a school to play at,” he said. “A place where I can go and play and be successful.”

In the meantime, Onsen has been a role model for those in Coal City who are going to come in and play the game in the coming years. He said his best advice for the youngsters in the Miners who want to be a quarterback for the Coalers is to simply work hard at training.

“I’d tell them to work hard on the fundamentals and keep working on your game,” he said. “That and for them to be a leader for the team.”