When a wide receiver arrives at Plano High School, they know what they’re signing up for even before they don their purple and white jersey.
“Any time you come to Plano as a wide receiver, you know you’re going to block,” Plano coach Kyle Tutt said.
After all, the Reapers are a run-happy team. They carried the ball on 70% of their offensive plays last season. That shouldn’t change much with Cooper Beaty now taking handoffs from new quarterback and fellow junior Ryder Knapp.
But when Knapp gets to use his arm, he’ll have a dynamic platoon of wide receivers at his disposal in seniors Ethan Taxis, Logan Martin and Finley Winter.
Taxis, who also plays defensive back, was a mainstay for the Plano offense last fall. He led the team with 26 catches for 219 yards and added 235 rushing yards, scoring four total touchdowns.
“Ethan Taxis coming back is going to give us a great opportunity,” Tutt said. “He’s one of the kids that had a high volume of minutes on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball last year. We plan to see him continue to grow in that role.”
Taxis is also the most seasoned member of the trio, but not the oldest. That distinction belongs to the 18-year-old Winter, who is known amongst his teammates as “Unc.”
“All the kids on the team look up to him,” Taxis said. “The younger guys look up to him because he always knows what to do, everything right to do. If you need to learn something, he’s always there for you.”
Winter played exclusively on defense last season, playing outside linebacker in the final six games and totaling 37 tackles and a forced fumble.
Now the Reapers are tapping into his potential on the offensive side of the ball.
“Not only is he going to be a great wide receiver, but he’s also a great blocker for us,” Tutt said, “and I think you’ll see that in our formations and the things we do with him.”
Like Winter, Martin is waiting to record his first varsity catch. He was one of Plano’s starting cornerbacks in 2025, recording 43 tackles and three interceptions, including a pick-six.
This year, Martin will also line up as the X receiver – a spot well suited for a track athlete with blazing speed.
“He’s going to burn that DB,” Winter said.
Still, it’s a run-first offense in Plano, and Tutt says his wideouts know where they fit into the equation.
“They have taken that ownership of doing that [blocking],” he said. “They take that lead from the offensive line that we have this year, and that we are going to be a physical, upfront team, and they want to be physical on the edges.”
More importantly, the three have embraced their roles on the team’s six-man leadership council, alongside Beaty, Niko Bandyk and Quinn Lyle.
“They’re half of our leadership team that work together to facilitate our program and our culture,” Tutt said. “We put a lot on their shoulders, and they’ve done an excellent job leading our team this summer.”
The Reapers enter their third year under Tutt’s command, looking to wash away last fall’s 1-8 record.
Plano opens the season Aug. 21 with a nonconference game at Ottawa, but another opponent has the seniors’ attention: Sandwich.
The archrivals will meet Sept. 4 in the final “War on 34″ matchup for the foreseeable future as the Indians prepare to jump ship for the Illinois Central Eight next year.
“We lost to them last year. I want to beat them this year,” Taxis said. “Senior year, I’m coming for them.”