YORKVILLE – Logan Brasfield is a big kid with a little kid’s heart.

Yorkville football coach Dan McGuire considers that a compliment to his 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior lineman.

Those opponents that have the unfortunate circumstance of crossing paths with the mountain of a young man with scruffy red hair and beard, whom teammates fittingly nickname “Big Red,” probably don’t think of it as an endearing quality.

“He is tenacious. There is an edge to him, there is no doubt about that,” McGuire said. “He’s got the athleticism, the size and the heart.”

[ Photos: Yorkville football practice ]

Brasfield will be the heart and soul of the Foxes up front heading into the 2023 season. Yorkville is coming off a 10-2 season in which it reached the playoff quarterfinals for the first time since 1999.

Graduation subtracted significant pieces from what was one of the fiercest front sevens defensively around, and Yorkville’s backbone, but Brasfield discarded the notion the Foxes will take a step back.

“The culture here hasn’t changed,” said Brasfield, a Coastal Carolina recruit. “There is turnover, obviously, but there is turnover everywhere. I think we’re going to make some noise. People say we lost this guy and that guy, but I think we’re going to surprise some people.”

Brasfield speaks from experience, which he has in spades.

He’s one of a group of third-year varsity starters that also includes Harvard recruit Ben Alvarez at linebacker and fullback and Luke Zook at safety, players that are invaluable to McGuire and his coaching staff.

“When I went to West Aurora, it seemed like every year they had a third-year varsity basketball player, and I felt like that was done by design. It helped them in big-game situations,” McGuire said. “That’s something I really enjoy having is that third-year player, and that is what a guy like Logan has.

“When the lights are on, it won’t be too big for him. You think about the big games he has been in. It’s a great opportunity to lead by example.”

Brasfield has had the benefit of following the example of talented linemen that came before him such as Andrew Laurich and Andrew Zook – both also three-year varsity starters. He’s taken it to heart.

“The way they carried themselves – they all just stayed level-headed, all were leaders, really led the team, kept the team together during highs and lows, kept the team together as a flat line,” Brasfield said. “I definitely feel it’s my time to take on more of that leadership role.”

Brasfield’s nasty competitive streak and his athleticism for a kid his size shouldn’t surprise given his athletic background.

He started playing hockey when he was 8 years old, and at one point thought that sport held his athletic future. He played goalkeeper for a club team from West Dundee and didn’t start playing football until his freshman year at Yorkville.

Brasfield made the sophomore team during the shortened 2021 spring season, and the varsity later that fall. McGuire anticipates rotating him on the defensive line, as well, this fall, one of a number of Yorkville kids who are expected to contribute both ways.

“With his athleticism, not only does he have experience, but he’s big, and he’s an athlete. That is something we want to take advantage of,” McGuire said. “I think a lot of times when kids grow up big, they don’t want to hurt anybody, but Logan is not that way. Logan is a big kid, and he has a little kid’s heart.”

Brasfield is the anchor of an offense that Yorkville will lean on more this season.

Last year, with a defense that posted five shutouts, the Foxes frequently played it close to the vest offensively. This season, the Foxes have the experience to open things up more with second-year starting quarterback Michael Dopart, Brasfield up front and returning skill-position players like Josh Gettemy at running back, Alvarez at fullback and Dominick Coronado at receiver.

“We didn’t take as many chances last year, because we didn’t want to put our defenses in tough situations,” McGuire said. “I think we will have to be a little more aggressive offensively. I think our defense will be good again, but offensively we’ll have more experience. I’m excited about that.”

Coronado is excited about his connection with Dopart, who shared reps last season at quarterback with Kyle Stevens but is the man this fall.

“We’ve been playing together for eight years, been working together since we were kids. The connection is a very strong bond,” Coronado said. “We think our receiving corps will be good.”

Indeed, McGuire is bullish on his receivers, even after Isaiah Brown, who led the Foxes in receptions as a sophomore last fall, transferred to Batavia. Coronado and junior Dyllan Malone lead a deep group.

“You look top to bottom, one to nine, there is not a dropoff,” McGuire said. “Our depth at the receiver position is pretty amazing.”

The Foxes, who open at Plainfield South before the Week 2 home opener versus New Trier on a new artificial turf field, sure don’t expect a drop-off this season

“The culture is here,” Coronado said. “I think we’ll take another step.”