By Justin Feil

Drae Tyme’s position switch after his sophomore year for the Hun School football team opened up an opportunity and rekindled his career goals.

Tyme always wanted to play Division I college football. He came to Hun as a quarterback from Canada, but after two seasons without many snaps he saw another chance to get on the field and reinvented himself at tight end.

“I just went into it with an open mind,” said Tyme, who now lives in Princeton. “I was like, if I’m more athletic and I can be put somewhere else that will get me to play college football, I’d do it. I just want to find the best opportunity for me. And it was obviously switching to tight end. So I think it was just being open minded about it and just accepting what it could mean.”

Tyme has become a reliable target for fellow senior Jack Moran this year. He’s made a big step in his contributions since last season. Tyme caught one of Moran’s six touchdowns in a 51-14 win over the Hill School (Pa.) at Hun’s Homecoming on Saturday night. Tyme’s touchdown reception was his ninth of the season on 24 catches. He had one touchdown last year on 11 catches.

“It’s just getting comfortable with the position and knowing what to do,” said Tyme. “Last year as my first year at tight end, I’m still trying to get used to it and now that this year I have the grasp, I’m getting more comfortable with it. And I think what was kind of the bigger change was the fact that I am able to do a lot more this year, both blocking and catching because I felt more comfortable and I was just doing it and not thinking.”

Tyme also has sprouted from his 6’1, 205-pound quarterback frame of three years ago to now being 6’4 and 235. Like stellar NFL tight ends Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Jimmy Graham, Tyme is a tall, strong, fast athlete who also plays basketball.

“I do think I fit that mold and I’ve had people tell me that’s kind of the common thing,” said Tyme. “So I would say it’s a good comparison.”

Tyme’s change helped him reach his ultimate goal when he committed to continue playing Division I college football at Holy Cross.

“Holy Cross liked what they saw in my film and they recruited me and I loved the coaching staff and the energy they were giving me,” said Tyme. “It’s a great place for me. It was a really good option. My family loved it and I loved it. It was the best option for me.”

Tyme’s father would have been thrilled to see his son’s development. Dave Tyme inspired Drae to start playing football at age 9. He played football at Saint Mary’s University and he played tight end. The elder Tyme passed away suddenly in June, 2022. He never had a chance to see his son play his new position, but he’s always on Tyme’s mind.

“I wake up every day and then I thank God that I’m here and that I know he’s watching over me and he’s here with me every step of the way,” said Tyme. “This journey is dedicated to him. He put so much time and effort into when I was younger to make sure I was the best of where I was at and made sure I put the work in and now it’s just all dedicated to him and I think about him every day.”

He would be proud of the weapon that Tyme has become in a potent Raiders offense and impressive Hun team. Tyme finished Saturday’s game with three catches for 75 yards in a win that helped Hun improve to 7-1 with two games remaining in the season. The Raiders had won their first six games in a row before losing to St. Frances Academy of Maryland a week earlier.

“I think it brought a lot of us to gain confidence again to get back to our usual selves of playing well,” said Tyme. “It was just a good reset for us, and then we just move on to the next one, which is St. Thomas More (Conn.), which would be a good matchup.”

Hun will travel to New England for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The Raiders finish by hosting another Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) team, Peddie, on November 2. Hun’s game in Connecticut this weekend will take them on the road again in a season when they’ve been out of state more often than at home.

“It’s a great experience be able to travel to Illinois, Georgia and Virginia to play all these good teams,” said Tyme. “A lot of us enjoyed it. There was a lot of team bonding happening and obviously walking away with wins made our trips even better. So I think the experience of being able to travel and play the top teams in their states is just great. It’s amazing.”

Each game has given the Raiders a chance to showcase their talents. Their win Saturday in front of their Homecoming crowd was no exception. Wake Forest-bound Bryce Kania caught two of Moran’s touchdown tosses, Stanford-bound Liam Thorpe had one touchdown reception, Jack Garbolino had a touchdown catch and a touchdown run and Ryder Kusch had a touchdown reception. Moran also had a touchdown run on his big day.

“The guys just played for each other,” said Tyme. “A lot of us were just making extra plays, blocking for each other after the routes, and then we’re all playing as a team.”

He’s hoping that will continue over the final two games. Hun wants to close out the year at 9-1 and knock off all three MAPL teams it has faced having defeated the Blair Academy (48-0 on October 5) before the win over Hill.

“For the next two weeks it’s just basically perfecting everything that we’ve done all season, staying healthy and just playing for each other and for all the seniors that we’re counting down the clock now to our last game,” said Tyme.

“So it’s just like we’ve got to give it our all every time now.”

Tyme is thrilled to be able to contribute, now in a new position. He’d played quarterback since he started playing flag football, though he dabbled with tight end one year in middle school in Canada. The new spot in high school came with some adjustments.

“It was just like the change of tempo,” said Tyme. “With quarterback, you can kind of take your time and you have your progressions, whereas tight end, you just have a job. You get it done now and do it as fast as you can. So I think it was just the change of tempo I was moving at.”

There are different demands and different assignments, but Tyme’s athleticism helped. Part of that is his basketball background. He’s continued to play basketball for Hun while making his move on the football field, and his time on the court has helped.

“It helps with the turning and the change of direction definitely,” said Tyme. “And then it just helps with the explosiveness, like moving off of a hard ground compared to where I can dig my feet into turf or grass. It definitely helps.”

Tyme has taken off over the last year in his new position. He is looking forward to continuing to develop at tight end in college. He’ll have the opportunity to expand his skills further at Holy Cross.

“Obviously playing in college is going to be a big deal, and I’m honestly just going to take it and play football and where it takes me, it takes me,” said Tyme. “If I move on and go to some bigger league, then that’d be great. And if I have to hang it up after college, I’d be fine with that too. I mean, I love the sport and I’ll just do what’s best for me.”

At Hun, that meant giving up a longtime position for another that could get him on the field and use his athleticism and size to contribute in a new way. It’s worked out to help the Raiders and Tyme.

“The overall goal was to go D-I and play football in college, and obviously the position changed, but it didn’t really change the goal much.,” said Tyme. “It was just a different outcome I guess.”