Hatley making most of opportunities with Savage Storm

Daulton Hatley succeeds by taking advantage of his opportunities.

He did so as a Clovis High quarterback, with his opportunities to run, his passing opportunities to find open receivers downfield.

He took advantage of a partial scholarship to Southeastern Oklahoma State University - alma mater of Reba McEntire and Dennis Rodman - which provided him the opportunity to play Division II collegiate football while earning an Occupational Safety degree.

In Southeastern Oklahoma State's football program, Hatley is taking advantage of any opportunity to get on the field. The 2017 Clovis High graduate and Southeastern Oklahoma State redshirt sophomore is in a rotation with senior Rollin Kinsaul. Entering the weekend, Hatley had played in less games than Kinsaul - five as compared to six - and had less passing chances - he was 42-of-85 for 551 yards and four touchdowns as compared to Kinsaul's 93-of-163 for 951 yards and five scores - but Hatley is getting quality snaps, quality time.

He's again making the most of his opportunities.

"It's 60-40, I'd say," Hatley estimated about the rotation's snap percentages, with Kinsaul getting 60, Hatley 40.

Hatley says head coach Tyler Fenwick doesn't have a set plan for playing time. It's often a hot-hand situation.

"If one of us isn't playing great, he'll put the other one in," Hatley said. "Or if we haven't scored, he'll put the other one in. It's whichever one gives us the best chance to win."

Hatley, a lifelong Clovis resident, has come a long way, and not just distance-wise to Durant, Oklahoma. Football-wise, Hatley is quite a long way from the little kid who started out playing flag football. He doesn't even remember how little he was back then.

"Oh dang, I'd say I was probably like four or five years old," Hatley said. "I was super-young."

He didn't play football exclusively, but by the time he reached high school he decided it was probably his best chance of playing beyond that. While he was at Clovis High, Hatley cherished being a Wildcat.

"Clovis football meant a lot to me," he said. "All my family played for Clovis, some of my family still coaches for Clovis. When you were a kid what you wanted to do in high school was play for Clovis ... try to get good enough to play varsity football on Friday night."

One of those family members, his cousin Drew, is currently the Wildcats' varsity defensive coordinator. When Daulton was a Clovis High sophomore in 2013, Drew was the junior varsity coach. Each cousin remembers it well.

"I was the quarterback for his team," Daulton said, "so obviously you're going to have people saying it was favoritism."

Far from it, actually.

"He was definitely hard on me to make me as good as I could be," Daulton recalled.

"I love the kid so much, I refused to let him be mediocre," Drew said. "And him being family I knew I had to coach and demand a whole lot more out of him. That's kind of how our family was raised - we were going to demand excellence out of each other. I enjoyed coaching him. I probably was a little too hard on him when he was a young sophomore, but I love the kid to death. He's like my own son."

Daulton Hatley played in the last years of the Eric Roanhaus coaching era, and was glad of it.

"He's really an old-school type of coach," Daulton recalled. "I think the thing you learn from that is coming to practice and being ready to work. ... I think the work ethic is the biggest thing I learned from Coach Roanhaus."

During Daulton's high school career, Cal Fullerton - the Wildcats' current head coach - was one of Roanhaus' assistants. Fullerton has only good memories of what Daulton brought to the Clovis program.

"Daulton was the type of kid that leads his team and just slings it around all over the yard, man," Fullerton said. "Got one of the best arms I've ever seen on a high school kid. Really, really a kid that's a leader. ... Just one of the top kids that's ever come out of this school, for sure."

"He's a good kid, he's just a really good kid," Drew Hatley said. "He's got a good head on his shoulders, makes really good decisions, is pretty mature for his age. One of the best things he did was get away from Clovis and go to Oklahoma. He's matured a whole lot."

Daulton redshirted his first year at Southeastern Oklahoma due to a broken thumb. Last year he got into three games.

Entering the weekend, Daulton had played in five games, with his most substantial playing time coming against Southwestern Oklahoma on Sept. 5 and at Southern Nazarene on Sept. 28. Against Southwestern Daulton completed 14-of-25 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions. At Nazarene he was 11-of-27 for 193 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

His most challenging day this year, completion-wise, was Sept. 14 at Northwestern Oklahoma, when he was 5-of-15 for 80 yards. He did throw a touchdown pass and had no interceptions.

Against Ouachita Baptist on Oct. 5 Daulton was 8-of-14 for 72 yards, with no touchdown passes or interceptions.

And in last Saturday's 9-7 home loss to Arkansas-Monticello that dropped Southeastern Oklahoma to 1-5, Daulton played the most sparingly and effectively he has all season, going a perfect 4-of-4 for 52 yards. He again had no touchdown passes or picks.

Whether Daulton throws four passes or 27, he always expects to play, always prepares like a starter.

"Oh yeah, you've always got to be ready," he said. "If you're a back-up, playing a sport like football you're one play away. So you've always got to be ready."

Southeastern visits Southern Arkansas this Saturday. Daulton will wait for any opportunities he gets, and make the most of them when they do come.

Which won't surprise his relatives one bit. They expect it of him, especially Drew Hatley.

"We're family, but we're also really good friends now too. We're almost best friends," Drew said. "He'll never understand how much I love him and care for him, but I still demand the best of him when I talk to him. I tell him, 'Get your dang degree, take care of your business, so that you can be a productive member of society one of these days.'"