When you think of multi-talented, do-it-all athletes in football, they usually have numbers ranging from 1-40-something. They’re the skill guys, the quarterbacks and ball carriers.
Tyrone offensive and defensive lineman Kyler Suhoney defie that view.
One play last season against Bald Eagle Area encapsulated Suhoney’s tremendous upside, a play where strength and brute force combined with speed and coordination to produce an impactful , game-changing moment.
Playing at left defensive end, Suhoney took on a blocker, sealed the edge, sniffed out a screen, and batted the pass in the air to himself. He then took off on a 45-yard return that put the Eagles ahead early in what became a 21-14 victory.
Aside from the raw power he showed in easily dispatching the would-be BEA blocker, the play truly demonstrated Suhoney’s speed. Once he pulled in the tipped ball, no one was catching him from behind.
Few defensive linemen have that component to their game, and it’s one of the things that makes the senior a special talent, one Tyrone fully intends to build around this season.
“He’s someone we can move around to different parts of the field,” said Tyrone coach Jason Jones. “The nice thing about him is when you have a new idea, he’s open about it. He wants to try new things. He would do anything to help the team. We’re very pleased with his progress and what he’s shown so far.”
Suhoney was an integral part of Tyrone’s defensive plans last season after emerging to fill a starting role midway through his sophomore campaign. Last year, he recorded 60 tackles, including 8 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
In the spring, Suhoney was one of the area’s top hurdlers, as well as a top-notch thrower in the field for Brad Kanuch’s track and field team, and it’s that unique blend of speed and power that has Jones thinking he can be used in a lot of unique ways to disrupt offenses, whether it’s blowing through blocks to get to a ball carrier or using his quickness to pressure a quarterback.
“With his playing style, he’s going to help us in multiple ways,” Jones said. “We’re very anxious to see what type of year he has. It’s going to be a good one.”
He’s someone we can move around to different parts of the field. The nice thing about him is when you have a new idea, he’s open about it. He wants to try new things. He would do anything to help the team.
Tyrone Coach Jason Jones
Defensive gifts notwithstanding, where Suhoney may prove most valuable will be on the offensive line, where Tyrone is tasked with replacing all five starters from 2025. At 6-foot-2 and almost 200 pounds, he won’t have the look of a typical lineman, but he can go strength-for-strength with anyone. In fact, Jones recognized him at the team’s Meet the Eagle ceremony on Friday for being one of two players on the team to eclipse 1,200 pounds in the program’s recent lift-a-thon, which charts totals in the bench press, squat, and deadlift.
As a player who could be used to pull and get out in front of a ball carrier, or someone asked to move in space to pick up blocks in pass protection, Suhoney has a lot of potential.
“Offensively, I don’t think there’s anything he can’t do,” said Jones. “We’re very excited to see how he progresses.”
Along with his physical attributes, Jones credited Suhoney for the leadership he has shown throughout the summer and the early part of practice, which really makes Suhoney the complete package. The Eagles will need him to be good every week if they’re to have success this season, but Jones believes he’ll do just that.
“We want him to be a guy who leads us not just the first and second Friday, but every single Friday out there,” Jones said.
ORANGE AND BLACK 