ARLINGTON — Arlington’s Devon Nutter is multi-talented.

The senior is a jazz musician but he’s pretty good at football, too.

He was All-Wesco last season as Arlington’s running back. He gained more than 1,000 yards in both rushing and receiving, coach Greg Dailer said.

“He plays musical instruments, he’s very good in the classroom, and then he loves playing football,” Dailer said. “You don’t often see someone that well-rounded.”

Nutter complimented Arlington’s impressive passing attack last season with his running, being able to pick up yards and score touchdowns. He admits he doesn’t keep track of his own stats.

“I enjoy playing football, but I don’t get into the numbers,” he said.

The grit of the gridiron contrasts with his more-creative side. He plays trombone for Arlington’s jazz band, an instrument he’s played since he was in the fifth grade.

He’ll hang with his football friends to throw the ball around but will also hang out with the jazz musicians. It makes him more rounded, he said.

“I don’t like confining myself to a particular group of people,” he said.

Nutter also plays outside linebacker, even though he’s only 5-foot-8 and weighs less than 180 pounds. He loves defense, but running the ball is his passion, he said.

He wasn’t always a running back. He started out as a lineman playing center for a long time, until he became a runner when he was in the fifth grade.

“It was quite the transition,” he said.

Naturally, he liked running the ball more.

“Running is a lot more intuitive,” he said. “You can juke or run.”

“There’s a lot more freedom as a running back,” he added. “As long as you run in the right spot and gain yards, you can pretty much do whatever you want, which is really cool.”

With the ability to catch and run and a motor to keep driving his feet upon impact, Dailer said he will be looking to use Nutter a bit more than last season to take a little pressure off of the new quaterback, junior Hudson Campbell.

“He’s versatile, he’s really strong so he’s fine between the tackles,” Dailer said. “But he’s also shifty, so he’s a great all-around back.”

Nutter describes himself as calm and collected but pain certainly fuels his fire when carrying the ball. “I actually run harder,” he said. “If I get hurt, scratched or stepped on, then I get mad and start playing some football.”

Nutter is one of the few seniors left on the team to return from last year. Along with running and defensive duties, he also must serve as a leader for the young team.

“I feel ready,” he said. “I guess there’s going to be a little bit of nervousness, but not when leading the team.”

He’s handling his own nerves well, but he’s been helping the rest of the team battle theirs, he said, which is what they have been working on in practice prior to their season-opening game against Redmond last night.

“I’ve been telling people to just show up on Friday nights,” he said.

Dailer added, “He’s a lead-by-example kind of guy.”