×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

Ouellette becoming a huge two-way Titan

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Sep 14, 2018

Staff photo by TOM KING Nashua North's Austin Ouellette hauls in a 43-yard TD pass from QB Mike Loveless during the first half of Saturday's 48-22 rout of Goffstown.

NASHUA – Austin Ouellette is said to be a big proponent of watching film on opponents the week of a Nashua North football game.

But what does the opposition see when they check out clips on Ouellette?

A movie star for sure.

But Ouellette isn’t acting when he gets 99-yard touchdowns, like he did last year and also when he was in the sixth grade. He’s simply being himself. “That,” he said of his sixth grade jaunt, “is when I noticed how fast I was.”

As his coach, North’s Dante Laurendi says, “If he’s got some space, he can take it the distance.”

In fact, Laurendi felt compelled to switch Ouellette, who runs a 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds, from quarterback to receiver when he was a freshman, playing with current Titans varsity QB Mike Loveless.

“They were kind of switching him and Mike as freshman,” Laurendi said. “And then we got to a point where they were throwing him some screens, and a 5-yard completion would turn into a 50-yard gain. So I’m like, ‘Well, that’s very explosive.'”

“I was fine with it,” Ouellette said of the switch to receiver. “I was fast enough, so it made sense to play receiver and switch. It didn’t matter to me, as long as I was on the field.”

“He’s explosive on offense, he can turn a game, so you’ve got to account for him,” Nashua North coach Dante Laurendi said. “Yet defensively he’s so sound. It’s a great kind of comfort to know you’ve got that experience back there.”

The 5-foot-10, 165 pound Ouellette said he became a film buff when he started playing varsity two years ago, taking his cue from the NFL.

“I started looking at some of the pros that do it, they watch a lot of film,” Ouellette said. “They said it just helps them get to know (opponents). And watch you start watching film, you get more confident, you know what you’re doing better.”

Laurendi certainly won’t argue with that.

“You’d like to have more of it (from other players),” Laurendi said. “He understands the benefit of it. He understands the other pass concepts from what the other teams are trying to do, routes, and trying to take advantage of his skills. It’s a great asset.”

Ouellette says as a receiver he breaks down what a defense will “jump on. I run whatever routs will work against them. Like if they jump a slant, I can get by (the defenders) easy.”

What does he look for when he studies film? He says he looks at “one or two specific people” each time he watches, and then maybe watch the opposing team a second time, pick out a number and focus on that player. He does it on his I-pad Sunday and Monday nights, perhaps an hour or two at a time. “And as we go through the week, as I get more comfortable with what they do, maybe less and less,” he said.

He certainly must study the quarterbacks well, for in two games on defense he already has three interceptions at cornerback. He didn’t play defense early on in his high school career, as he was protected as a QB. But once he moved to receiver, all bets were off and he became a two-way player.

Being a receiver, he says,made it easier to play corner.

“I kind of have an idea of what they want me to do,” Ouellette said. “I know both sides of it.”

This is a kid who likes to study,hoping to major in sports management in college.

“Yeah, he’s a bright kid in the classroom, top 40 or close to it,” Laurendi said. “He’s a bright kid on the field as well. He gets it, does his homework, communicates very well, and he’s a three year starter as a defense back. He’s got some great experience.”

“He’s made some great reads and some great jumps on the ball,” Laurendi said. “He’s confident knowing what we do defensively, how he plays different receivers.

“But you get the confidence when you know and kind of understand the opposing quarterback and receivers.”

Yet Ouellette prefers offense, knowing he can score more touchdowns that way. He also has a good connection with Loveless, “because where we both played quarterback, I kind of know what he wants me to do, see from his eyes.”

“He can run,” Laurendi said. “He runs good routes, knows how to set himself up.”

And now Ouellette is setting himself up for college. Would schools be looking at him as a receiver or defensive back? Ouellette says he’s had interest from schools like Assumption, University of New England, Merrimack College – some NE-10 schools and a few at the Division III level.

Ouellette knows he needs to work on his strength, “and I can always get faster.” That’s quite a vision.

“That’s a great question, I don’t know,” Laurendi said. “Probably offense. He could play defense, obviously, just needs to put some more weight on. He’s a pretty lean kid, strong, but with his grades, he’ll have his choice of where he wants to go to school.”

And with his film clips as well.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

Interests
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *