‘Get up and get it:’ Plano, second-year coach Kyle Tutt showing plenty of spirit during offseason work

As Plano coach Kyle Tutt has made the hour-long daily drive from Streator to Plano, he found words in the title of a Drew Green country music song to inspire his team.

“Get Up and Get It.”

Condensed down to “GUAGI” for football motivational purposes, it’s been a rallying cry for the Reapers during the offseason months.

“I feel like it is motivation to be a captain, to show up every day, to be a leader and lift up our team,” Plano senior Kolten Schimandle said. “Motivate them to show up every day and be a great team.”

The Reapers certainly looked like a spirited, energetic bunch at a 7-on-7 event on Tuesday at Kaneland.

It’s the culmination of Tutt’s second offseason as Plano coach, but the first complete one. He was hired in July of 2024, days before the Kaneland event last year.

A whirlwind it was, and a 2-7 season followed. A year later, Tutt has his feet on the ground with his hands on the steering wheel as he listens to words of wisdom.

“Long drive, listen to a lot of songs and that one just hit me,” Tutt said. “As a team this past year with all the transition and things that happened it was about getting up and doing what we want to do, and how we want to do it, and you can hear how they have developed.

“With our staff we’ve been able to have a nice offseason together and get things in line, and I think you can see some of the effects. The kids are great. We are able to do this because we have great kids that are listening.”

Kids like Schimandle and Isaac Uhrich, another senior on Plano’s eight-man leadership team.

“They’re working hard to build the team on the football field but also the culture of Plano Reaper football that traditionally has been strong,” Tutt said. “They are the ones laying those bricks and building that foundation for us.”

That foundation, to Uhrich, starts with 6:30 a.m. daily wakeup calls to work out as a team.

But it’s also a togetherness that has been built beyond the weight room and football field. The Reapers look like a group that enjoys each other’s company, players and coaches alike freely mixing it up.

“I like the bonding we do in our free time,” Uhrich said. “We get out on the field, throw the football around, play some games, outside of football we played kickball the other day, run the bases. Just like stuff we do. We have a lot of fun together.”

Schimandle, second on Plano in tackles last season and an All-Kishwaukee River Conference selection, will be back at linebacker this fall along with tight end and running back. He’s been spending the offseason lifting as much as he can, putting in the work in the weight room while getting on the field to improve his speed and communication.

“We’re learning a lot and developing more as a team,” Schimandle said. “We are developing our communication and finding out about ourselves, developing as players in our pass coverage.”

That’s the kind of work that Plano can’t just simulate practicing against itself, so the 7-on-7 event proved beneficial.

“It’s hard to simulate the game speed in practice, especially against these teams from bigger schools in the 6A and 7A [classes],” Uhrich said. “It’s good for us. Coming back down to play other 4A schools will be a lot easier.”

Schimandle and Uhrich, penciled in at wingback and leader, are two of a group of Reapers that Tutt anticipates will play both ways.

Plano opens its season Aug. 29 at home against Ottawa.

“We do have some two-way guys but they will do all the great things like take care of their bodies,” Tutt said. “Probably have some other guys playing both ways. It’s part of where we are at, the things that we are building, hopefully transition from that.”