Coronado gets boost in the form of 6’8″ offensive lineman Jack Niland

The Coronado football team is getting a big boost for the 2018 season with the return of 6’8″ offensive lineman Jack Niland.

Of course, Niland was considerably smaller when he last attended Coronado as a freshman.

But in the past two years he’s added a few inches of height and some muscle while attending IMG Academy in Florida. And now he will present quite a considerable obstacle to opposing defensive linemen with his seven-foot wingspan.

“There’s a lot of advantages based upon, frankly, intimidation,” said Niland. “If someone sees how big I am, they may or may not be scared. I don’t know. But there’s definitely a factor there.”

Niland says he currently has an offer to be a preferred walk-on at the University of Miami. He also told ABC-7 Wednesday that he has recently started talking with UTEP.

Though playing at a division one university would be nice, Niland says his focus right now is on helping the Thunderbirds win games.

“I don’t want to put myself above the team at all. I put the success of Coronado High School before anything that I do,” he said.

And he’s confident that success is just around the corner at Coronado.

“I think we’re going to be able to surprise some people, honestly,” said Niland. “And, you know, I want to have a good team. And I feel like we’re prepared to have a good team.”