1,574 yards rushing in a single season sits atop the record books in CHS football history.

In the 2014 football season Tyler Melvin, a junior at the time, broke this record previously held by one of his role models to whom he credited his successes: class of 2012 graduate, Tyler Walker.  

Melvin said about Walker, “Tyler has always pushed me to go my hardest but recently he told me as a senior I have to step up and start a new atmosphere for everyone around me and Clayton football.”

However aweing this record may have been, Coach Gene Gladstone expects Melvin to be more than one of the best running backs in CHS football history: “Last year he was a great contributor to the team,” Gladstone said, “This year, that contribution is expected and his role now has become that of leadership. He has become a guy who has taken on an example’s role for the rest of the team.”

Melvin has embraced this new role of leadership in stride coming into his senior year. “Starting football my freshman year I was quiet. I mean I was always good, one of the top players, but I never really spoke up or was a leader of the team or gave my opinion,” Melvin said, “This year I’m getting all the guys together, I’m more vocal, I’m fixing mistakes. I’m more of a leader.”

As much as he is sliding nicely into a strong line of senior leadership, Melvin keeps himself humble and tries to focus on the team. “We were very close as a team [last year] and this year we are even closer.”

Melvin also mentioned many role models that have helped his football career as it has progressed, ““My dad, he’s my number one, my mom. Some of my own teammates like Kerry, Robby, Josh, Will. Those guys push me.”

Gladstone noticed Melvin’s commitment to the program and drive early on: “Well we started together on January the fifth, when we came back from winter break and during that time we had 120 workouts that guys were able to make and Tyler made over eighty percent of those.” Gladstone said, “So we got good exposure to him and who he is and what he’s about during that time. What we have seen is a steady maturation as an athlete and as a person and it’s lead him to the point today where he’s a real leader of our football team.”

Melvin commented on the change in coaching and how it affected the atmosphere around the program: “Yeah it improved us a lot all around. We are a better team. Everything is different. It is a new environment.”I noticed this new environment as I stood on the sidelines for two hours of a three hour practice that started at 8AM last Monday. There was not a cloud in the sky on that 90 degree day on partially mowed upper-Gay. I saw the usual laughing and goofing around that you see in a group of high schoolers, but one thing I noticed that was different was the passion, togetherness and most of all the respect that each one of those guys gave each other and the entire coaching staff on that field. This respect and togetherness is something that defines teams that not only have an abundance of talent, but also an abundance of character. Standing on those sidelines, I could see guys like Tyler Melvin were not thinking about a season of 1,574 yds rushing or any number of personal stats. They were concerned that every guy on that field was pushing himself to the max. Standing on that sideline, I could not have been more proud to have this group of guys represent me and the rest of our school.