Chase Webster knocked on Danny Servance’s door.
It was still bitter winter outside, with a cold chill hanging over campus in January or February in the football offseason, but as Odessa High’s captain and quarterback stepped into his head coach’s office, he was already focused forward.
Yes, as he took a seat across from his coach’s desk, he may have briefly thought back — back to how he had always wanted to play quarterback at Odessa High; how, back in middle school, his dad took him to see Derrick Teegarden and the rest make their playoff pushes; how he dreamed of one day doing the same behind center.
But, as he spoke, and his coach listened, Webster’s focus wasn’t on himself.
Webster walked out of that meeting no longer a quarterback for Odessa High — but a Bronchos captain and leader all the same.
Tonight, Webster is set to suit up for the first time as a receiver and linebacker for Odessa High when the team plays its season opener against Lubbock Monterey at 7 tonight at Lowrey Field in Lubbock.
It marks the first game of Webster’s senior season — and his first game since that day in the offseason, when he told his coaches he wanted to change positions with the team’s success in mind.
“I’m excited,” Webster said with a smile this week.
As a junior, Webster split time with then-sophomore Trey Smith at quarterback, with both taking snaps all through the 2016 season — but now, as a senior, Webster’s looking forward to a chance to catch passes from Smith, or make tackles on the defensive side of the ball.
“If you want to win, you do what’s best for the team,” Webster put it simply. “That’s what I had to do.”
Webster spoke as he kicked pellets up from the turf on the Bronchos’ practice field after their workout Tuesday.
Just days before kickoff, he liked the idea of him and Smith being on the field on offense at the same time — and he laughed at how much fun he’s had playing on defense for the first time since he was little.
For some, it could be strange to see a player give up the quarterback position just ahead of his senior season — but for the Bronchos, it’s no surprise Webster would make that kind of call.
“He’s a guy who was just willing to do whatever it took in order to get on the football field, and whatever it took to help the team win,” Servance said, looking back to that meeting, and to how he’s seen Webster work ever since.
“That’s just his mentality. He’s a kid who puts his heart into what he does. He has a great, great desire for this team to be successful.”
Webster started each game for Odessa High last fall, but he still itched to get on the field at times, as he spent long spells on the sideline when Smith was in at quarterback and given his share of snaps later in games.
That’s part of what drove Webster to meet with Servance. As he did, he didn’t realize Servance and the rest of the coaches were already considering playing several players on both sides of the line of scrimmage starting in the spring.
“I asked if I could play slot. And then he said, ‘What about defense?’” Webster recalled.
“I said, ‘Man, I don’t care. I don’t care what I play.’”
For teammates like Zay Brown, a fellow senior, seeing that drive out of Webster is nothing new.
“I’ve known him since he was young. He’s always got the mindset of, he just wants to be on the field,” Brown said. “If it’s the best move for the team, he’ll do it.”
Since then, it’s looked like it.
Webster got to work immediately, hammering down footwork with teammates, running routes with Smith in the offseason, and then after spring training, all through the summer.
“I worked hard, man,” Webster said. “I had to make sure I got faster and quicker, running routes and stuff — and just timing, really.
“It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t hard. I know what he’s thinking. I know what Trey’s thinking while I’m running my route.”
All through it, Smith said that he found footing in Webster’s vote of confidence behind him, and fellow junior quarterback Kameron Gonzales, as far as the trust in them taking the reins of the offense behind center.
“I feel like he’s my example of what I’ve got to be, what I’ve got to lead to,” Smith said. “Him crossing over and moving positions, just gives me confidence. He lets me know, everybody has confidence in me, and he has the most confidence in me.”
As for Webster, his senior season isn’t starting the way he had always envisioned in some ways — but he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“Help out the team, man,” Webster puts it simply. “People who are lower classmen: Things don’t go how you think that they’re going to go sometimes.
“Make an adjustment, help out the team. Be a leader.”
That’s something Webster never stopped being.
“He’s always had that leadership trait,” Brown said. “Even if he’s the smallest guy on the field, he’s always got the biggest heart.
“That guy right there, he’s going to set the example for everybody on the field.”
It’s a good example for the Bronchos to follow.
“I’ll do anything,” Webster said. “I really will, honestly.
“I love this team. I love my school. I love football.”
It shows, Servance says — and it will show on the field this season.
“He’s going to contribute to this football team, in one way or another,” Servance said. “He knows that, and we’ve let him know that. I think he’s confident in the role that we have him playing.
“You’re going to see Chase Webster do some great things this year.”
