Logan Trimmer is a bit of a jack of all trades.
He wears several different hats on Friday evenings, though he rarely gets to take his helmet off.
“I don’t even think about it,” Trimmer said of his numerous responsibilities.
The White House High football team is the beneficiary of the versatile senior’s talents.
“When he’s on the field, he’s laid back,” Blue Devil classmate Luke Hopkins said. “We’re really good friends. We’ve been playing six years together. We like to joke around a lot.”
The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder is a returning starter at tight end, defensive end and punter, but arguably, his greatest benefit has been as the team’s placekicker.
“He makes us a lot better on defense when teams have to start on the 20 (yard line),” Blue Devil head coach Jeff Porter said. “The best thing about him is that – as a kicker – you have to have a short memory. He has that.
“He has the characteristics the other kickers here have had. He wants to kick. They want to kick field goals, and he has the mentality that he’s going to make it.”
Trimmer added, “I know it’s getting points. I love kicking field goals.”
White House High senior placekicker Logan Trimmer attempts a field goal out of the hold of classmate Luke Hopkins at the conclusion of a recent practice.
Trimmer was a first team All-County selection as a tight end last season and earned the District 9-AA Most Versatile Award.
He has a team-leading 19 receptions for 318 yards and two touchdowns this season, in addition to 41 tackles (seven of which have resulted in a loss of yardage), five quarterback hurries and three pass break-ups on defense.
He filled in for injured senior placekicker Dillon Anderson for much of last season before Anderson reassumed the starting role once he was healthy. Trimmer made all five of his field-goal attempts and all 11 point-after touchdowns (PATs).
Trimmer isn’t perfect this season, but his productivity has continued. He has made 10 of 17 field-goal attempts – including a school-record 52 yarder in the team’s 41-3 loss to Pearl-Cohn – and 14 of 15 PATs. The school record for most made field goals in one season is 12.
“Our freshman year, he kicked one from 47,” Hopkins said. “He has a huge leg. I’ve been his holder since my freshman year. He trusts me, and I trust him.
“A lot of teams have to go for it on fourth-and-long (situations). To get points on (field goals) is big. I have a lot of confidence in him. I think the coaches have as much confidence as I have in him.”
White House High senior placekicker Logan Trimmer attempts a field goal against Portland earlier this season.
Porter added, “He’s a legitimate weapon from 55 and in. Clint Ruth had a very powerful leg when he played here (graduating in 2000), and he signed with (the University of) Kentucky. They are similar in their kickoffs and distance on field goals.”
Trimmer believes that he could improve on the 52-yarder.
“We don’t go any farther than 55 in warm-ups,” Trimmer said. “I think I can go from 60.”
Area assistance
That’s an increase distance from last year, which can be somewhat attributed to Trimmer’s work with former Hendersonville High and University of Tennessee standout James Wilhoit over the summer.
“I went to his Saturday Night Lights Camp … he’s helped me immensely,” Trimmer said. “I was a soccer kicker who played football. He’s showed me a lot.”
Wilhoit feels that the soccer foundation is beneficial.
“Having a soccer background is huge for a kicker,” Wilhoit said. “I think the key to Logan’s success is the ability to strike a ball from soccer but also the over-functional strength from lifting as a tight end. It’s core strength, mass in his legs and explosiveness from speed training. He trains harder physically than the average kicker, but he has exceptional ball-striking as well. He has the best of both worlds.”
The two worked together in June and July.
“There’s so much detail that people don’t realize,” Trimmer said. “You have to work on that. There’s a lot of training and drills to make yourself better.”
Trimmer’s progress was rapid.
“He made remarkable strides, probably one of the fastest transformations I have seen,” Wilhoit said. “It helps because he is so athletic and coachable.
“After working with him for two days at my small group camp in June, I was able to refine his kicking motion. His swing needed to be more efficient, and he was missing 15-20 percent of (his potential) power. After polishing him up, you could see the talent. He went from occasionally hitting 45-47-yard field goals to hitting from 52-55 yards consistently.”
White House High senior placekicker Logan Trimmer has made 10 field goals this season.
Trimmer has made 5 of 7 field goals from 40 yards and beyond, with the two misses resulting from blocked kicks.
“All my kicks, they didn’t have height,” Trimmer said. “I just drilled them. I’m coming through vertically (now). It’s distance too. He’s helped me so much.”
Many irons in the fire
However, Wilhoit believes that Trimmer’s future at the next level could be in a different role. He’s currently averaging 33.8 yards per punt, after averaging 36.1 yards per punt last season. Of his 27 punts, seven have resulted in field position inside the opponent’s own 20 yard line.
“What’s most impressive is that I think his potential as a college player could be as a punter,” Wilhoit said. “I saw him hit a 60-yard, 5.0-second-hang-time punt. He has Division I (college) potential.”
Trimmer – who attended camps over the summer at Kentucky, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University – doesn’t have a preference.
“I’d love to play tight end in college, but I thought it would be easier to just kick and punt,” Trimmer – who has received interest from the UT-Chattanooga and Centre (Ky.) College – said. “Guys in college are massive. I’m not in the weight room (to get bigger), because I’m playing other sports.
“There isn’t any preference, but punting is a lot harder. If I get to the next level, I’m happy (in any role).”
However, his versatility isn’t just limited to the football field.
Trimmer also plays for the school’s boys basketball and soccer programs, and he’s been a part of the White House Soccer Club ‘98 select squad.
“Year-round sports … I’ve loved it,” Trimmer said. “It’s just part of the routine.
“I don’t have a favorite. I love soccer and basketball just as much. I just haven’t looked to be recruited in college.”
Porter added, “He really cares. He really cares about this football program. He really cares about this school. He plays football, soccer and basketball. Whatever he plays, he gives it his all. What else can you ask for?”
Rest for the weary
It doesn’t leave time for a lot of hobbies on Trimmer’s rare days off.
“I’ll definitely sleep,” Trimmer said. “I’ll hang out with teammates and with my girlfriend. I need to give her some time.
“I don’t know if I like being busy. A day off is great, but if I do have a day off, I feel like I need to be doing something.”
Logan Trimmer
Trimmer is hoping that a win at Maplewood on Friday evening is in the works. That will be required if the Blue Devils hope to extend their streak of consecutive playoff appearances to 24 years. White House will have a tough road if the program hopes to reach the state quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive season.
“We’re getting to that point to where all White House teams get to and make that run,” Trimmer said. “We feel like we’re finally getting things rolling again. We’re finally coming together.
“If we can get in the playoffs, who knows what can happen. It’s been a long season, but it feels like things are coming together. We have to beat Maplewood.”
Porter is hopeful for the same, but regardless of how many games that Trimmer has left in his prep football career, the Blue Devils’ 29th-year head coach believes that he’ll be missed as much for his character as for his performance.
“He’s up there with the best of them,” Porter said. “I never remember him being in trouble. He makes great grades. He comes from a solid family. He’s team-oriented. He’s a tight end, a good blocker. As a defensive end, he’s a good pass rusher. He’s a guy who can punt. I’d say at least 80 percent of his kickoffs are in the end zone.
“But he’s going to be greatly missed because of how great of a person he is.”
Reach Craig Harris at 615-575-7138 or on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.
Former White House placekickers in college
Placekicker WHHS Graduation Year School
Josh Barton 1999 Ventura (Calif.) College
Clint Ruth 2000 University of Kentucky
Ryan Gardner 2002 Centre (Ky.) College
Matthew Gossett 2009 Carson-Newman College
Chase Dunlap 2013 Austin Peay State University