On a steamy day on the campus of Beaufort High School, Tyler Haley walked into practice to prepare for his freshman season. The young quarterback had shown promising signs over his time in middle school, and he was ready to make the jump to the varsity level under new head coach DeVonte Hollman. He never could imagine the wild ride that awaited him.
As a 7-year old, Haley began his football career as a running back, developing the quickness, agility, and fundamentals that paved the way for what was to come. He began to idolize quarterback Michael Vick, who revitalized his career in Philadelphia over Haley’s childhood. But his biggest love was Ohio State football, and he was inspired by Braxton Miller’s dual-threat play under center. He wanted to take on the role himself, and quickly won the starting job at Beaufort Middle School in his seventh-grade year. After two seasons of developing the traits he needed for the varsity level, Haley strode into Beaufort High School prepared to make an impact right away.
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It was a shorter career than he had hoped for in the NFL, but DeVonte Holloman knew he was meant to be a football coach. A neck injury in the 2014 preseason derailed his playing days in Dallas, and the former South Carolina Gamecock returned to Columbia as an assistant before making the trip down to the Lowco a year later.
When legendary Beaufort High coach Mark Clifford stepped down after 14 seasons, Holloman was tapped to take the reins. On his 2018 quarterback depth chart, two names headlined the list. One was senior Jeffrey Smyth, who starred on both sides of the ball and went on to continue his career at the college level. The other was Tyler Haley.
As the dog days of summer marched on at Beaufort High School, Holloman wanted to see what he had with his freshman quarterback prospect. The first-year head coach set a positive mindset for his first-year varsity athlete, and Haley quickly grew into Holloman’s new system and proved his playmaking abilities. As the season went along, Haley split time with Smyth and impressed with his poise, accuracy, and determination to make the big throws. He nearly led his Eagles to a playoff win in his freshman year with a go-ahead touchdown run, but Brookland-Cayce rallied back on a late score. It was a tough setback, but Haley knew he had the confidence to handle the big moments in the seasons ahead.
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Just as he was preparing for a big sophomore year under his young head coach, Haley was thrown for a huge loop. The head coaching job opened up at South Pointe High School, and Holloman couldn’t pass up the opportunity at his alma mater. After just one year at the helm of the Eagles, Haley’s coach was heading back home.
“DeVonte was great while he was here,” Haley said. “Going back to your hometown to coach, you’re not going to pass that up, so it’s all love for Coach Holloman.”
There are many benefits to hiring internally, but maybe the best is the continuity with the all-important player-coach relationship. It proved to be the case at Beaufort High, as offensive coordinator Bryce Lybrand was tapped to the head role just a month after Holloman’s departure. Haley was ready to take over full-time as a starter in 2019, and he had a man in his corner who knew how to take his game to that next level.
“I had a feeling he was going to be the head coach,” Haley said. “The things that he does offensively are amazing. He’s really disciplined, but he knows how to have fun when we need to. He gets the job done, and I’ve loved working with him.”
Lybrand tested his team early in that season, scheduling elite competition across South Carolina and Georgia as Haley obtained the reps and experience needed for him to hit the ground running in region play. But midway through that fall, his promising sophomore season was snatched away.
As he was diving on a loose ball at Effingham County, Haley’s shoulder collided with another player and he fell to the ground in throbbing pain. He showed his fight and came back in, but after struggling to throw a simple five-yard hitch route, he knew his worst fears were realized. The sophomore quarterback was diagnosed with a torn labrum, ending a season he had worked so hard to put together.
In the coming weeks, he watched as Daniel Phares led his Eagles to a magical Region 7-4A title, pulling off four straight wins after an 0-5 start. It was the kind of run that pushed Haley to work even harder in his recovery to get back on the field the next August.
“I learned that it could end really quickly,” Haley said. “It could’ve been bad, but luckily I got back to it. Watching Daniel, he’s a great leader. His skill set is amazing in what he was able to do with the offense. I really looked up to him most because of his leadership and what he can do to rally the team together. I tried to do that in my senior season, and I’m trying to do that even better going into this next game.”
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A serious injury can be a devastating blow to a player’s aspirations, but Haley couldn’t have been in better hands heading into his surgery. In fact, he received the blessings from an NFL legend who overcame the same setback in his storied career: Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. Former Broncos team doctor Mark Dean performed the surgery on Haley, just like he did on Elway years ago.
Then, the hard work began in the gym and in the weight room. After three months of simple exercises to reignite his movements, he went back to the weight room for some workouts as he inched back to full strength. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the midst of his recovery, his next start under center seemed incredibly uncertain. But Haley pushed forward, and dedicated each day to making himself ready for when that time came.
Even when he couldn’t be on the field, Haley was getting better. From the sideline, he saw the game differently, and Lybrand was by his side to help him process it.
“He stole reps when he was injured just mentally,” Lybrand said, “making sure he was getting down what we were doing, why we were doing it.”
It paid off in his junior season, when Haley earned Class 4A All-State honors after passing for 1,271 yards and 10 touchdowns and adding 471 yards and five TDs on the ground. And he has been even better in his final season, throwing for 2,533 yards with 16 TDs and eight interceptions while rushing for 558 yards and nine scores.
And he has been at his best when it has mattered most.
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On a mid-November afternoon in the Lowcountry, a group of motivated Beaufort Eagles set foot on their bus, the adrenaline already pumping for the night that was ahead. The destination was the Grand Strand, a 60-mile stretch of beach across the state. In the middle lies Myrtle Beach High School, a venue the Eagles had their eyes on reaching as the playoffs began.
This Beaufort team had a chip on its shoulder, and Haley had all the motivation after the heartbreak of a year ago. Hosting his school’s biggest game in over a decade, the junior quarterback let the opportunity slip away against Myrtle Beach, throwing a costly interception to TJ Auston and putting the Eagles’ comeback effort out of reach. But this was a different year, and Haley was ready to make his own statement against the top-ranked team in Class 4A.
Three hours and one clutch touchdown pass later, the Eagles slayed the Seahawks and sent shockwaves across the state.
On the day after Thanksgiving in front of his home fans, Haley did it again. It was a showcase of all the work he put in over his career, wrapped into one memorable night. With a dazzling display through the air and a pair of blazing runs on the ground, Haley put it all together against West Florence in a night that will go down in Beaufort High lore. As the final whistle blew and his teammates surrounded him at midfield, Haley took it all in, but knew the job was far from done.
Haley remembers the moment when his football career flashed before his eyes on a Friday night in Effingham County. There was no guarantee that he would get that second chance. But as soon as the door cracked open again, he took full advantage of every single snap.
Now, just one obstacle remains between the senior quarterback and an unthinkable SCHSL 4A state championship. And it couldn’t have been scripted any better. On Thursday night at Benedict College, Haley will ready his team for battle one more time against the man who began molding his standout varsity career.
“The atmosphere’s going to be crazy. I’m excited for Coach Holloman and his team, but I’m also excited for our team,” Haley said. “We just gotta execute and be ourselves, we’re really good when we just go out there and have fun. I feel like we can play with anybody when we play like that.”
No one believed that Haley would have the talent to pick apart a stout Myrtle Beach defense two weeks ago. He’s answered every challenge that has come his way, and there’s no reason to doubt he can do it one more time against South Pointe, and give his Beaufort Eagles their first state championship in 76 years.
“It would mean everything,” he said. “I’m getting the chills right now just thinking about it. It’s been a while. Beaufort needs this one.”
By Wes Kerr
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