Nikko Speer (43) of Camas pulls in a touchdown pass in front of Braeden Rucks of Stadium in a 4A state preliminary football game at Doc Harris Stadium in Camas on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Tim Martinez/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
To understand how Nikko Speer emerged into a go-to, reliable target in the Camas Papermakers’ passing game, flip the calendar back eight months.
That’s when Speer, Camas’ senior standout tight end and middle linebacker, got a pair of track spikes on the advice of eventual 100-meter school-record holder and fellow receiver Jack Macdonald and became comfortable using starting blocks.
At 230 pounds, Speer learned how to sprint.
“I had to learn everything,” he said. “Track actually helped me a lot when it comes to speed and being explosive right off the bat.”
If there’s ever the perfect poster-child example of how track and field benefits athletes, Speer might be it.
At 6 feet, 2 inches and 230 pounds, Speer clocked 11.72 seconds in the 100 meters, ran the 4×100 relay, and for good measure, qualified for May’s district meet as a 44-foot shot putter.
Participating in track and field for the first time last spring was worth it, Speer said. And he’s a better football player for it.
“I’ve learned to use my explosiveness better,” he said. “I’m really happy I did it.”
So is top-seed and undefeated Camas (11-0), which hosts Arlington (10-1) in Saturday’s Class 4A state quarterfinal at Doc Harris Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
This week, Speer repeated as the 4A Greater St. Helens League’s defensive MVP and anchors a front-7 defense in which all four Camas starting linebackers — Speer, Beau Harlan, Alex Hroza and Hayden Ollmann — earned all-league honors.
The defense is coming off one of its best performances of the season in a 41-6 win over Curtis: three interceptions, seven sacks, a safety and 85 total yards allowed.
Defense is Speer’s mainstay. He verbally committed to Idaho on Tuesday to play linebacker. But playing tight end is special in its own right, he said. It starts with the chemistry between teammates, being part of different position groups, and running more routes than ever.
“I like working with the O-line,” he said. “I also like to run routes — I kind of do it all. I’m motioning, shifting, running routes, blocking. I’ve got a hand down or I’m up as a receiver.
“Tight end is really doing it all.”
That’s also why head coach Adam Mathieson doesn’t call Speer a tight end or a linebacker.
He calls Speer a football player because how many players can alternate between making physical plays and finesse plays?
Speer can.
Like his third-quarter touchdown against Stadium two weeks ago that still has coaches and teammates buzzing: a corner-of-the-end zone catch made airborne with the awareness to get a foot down inbounds. He also finished with 13 tackles that game.
Speer has nearly doubled his receiving yards from 2023. He’s second on the team in yards (510), catches (36) and touchdowns (seven). Defensively, he has five interceptions, caused three fumbles and his team-high 118 tackles is one of three Camas linebackers with 100-plus through 11 games.
For Mathieson, numbers aren’t what make Speer stand out. He offers this line for a casual football observer who wants to see the undefeated Papermakers: Watch a game and share afterward what or who stood out. At Camas, there might be multiple choices, but there is also a common thread among those would-be answers.
“He’ll stand out all the time,” Mathieson said of Speer, “and he doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands to do it. He doesn’t have to be in on the tackles to do it. Just the way he moves and the way he orchestrates things.
“You’re going to know that No. 43 is a pretty good football player and that’s special.”
That special tag goes even further. Twice now, Mathieson recalls in-game instances of Speer’s selflessness during a pivotal moment on offense. Both times, Mathieson and other assistants were on their headsets about a play call, and Speer spoke up to make a suggestion — use himself as a decoy for the benefit of a teammate.
That’s special, Mathieson said. A linebacker. A tight end. A football player. And a special human, the coach said.
“And to me, that’s the key — he is a special human,” Mathieson said.
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