Nick Rutter, Gateway senior running back, safety, and placekicker, wanted to dispute an alleged fact.
The roster had him listed as a 5-foot-5 and 165 pounds.
"On a good day, I'm 5-6," he said. "In shoulder pads, I look 5-3."
And when he hits somebody, he seems 7-3, or something like that.
There might not be a more enjoyable player to watch - unless you're the opponent who has to try to catch him, or must absorb a hit that packs plenty of pop despite his small frame.
Rutter has been hearing about his height seemingly forever.
Yet it's no small feat what he has accomplished, or for that matter, what his Gateway team has done.
Gateway won one game over the previous two years and last season had to forfeit a game because it didn't have enough healthy bodies.
One of those missing was Rutter, who took last season off to concentrate on baseball, which happens to be his No. 1 passion.
"It killed me not playing football," Rutter said. "I felt bad for my team."
When new coach Steve Duncan took over, he spoke to Rutter about working out a schedule in which he could participate in summer football workouts in the morning and play baseball in the evening.
Rutter had been a two-way football starter as a sophomore, and his return to the team has been among the reasons for this season's renaissance.
Gateway is 2-2 after Saturday's 24-21 comeback win over Audubon. Rutter rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries and scored on a 38-yard run in the game. He also scored on a 57-yard pass reception from Tim Greene and kicked a 35-yard field goal that had plenty to spare. Rutter also was a force from his safety position, patrolling the secondary and coming up strong to make several tackles on running plays.
What's refreshing about Rutter is that he doesn't take himself too seriously. He has long been told that he's too small to play sports, especially one as physical as football.
"Everybody tells me that all the time, and I just laugh at it," he said. "They are probably right, but I don't get mad. I just go out there and try to have fun."
Right now, he's having the time of his life.
"Nothing compares to winning a football game," Rutter said. "It's the greatest feeling."
Much greater than how he feels the day after a game.
"I am always sore the day after," he said. "A lot of times, I will lie down and watch football."
Yet after the day's rest, he's ready to begin the grind again.
"He's just a tough kid and, like all of our seniors, is getting the job done," Duncan said.
