He lines up right outside the 40 for his favorite route: the go route. He streaks straight down the field. 10 yards. 20. 30. Snag.
Football isn’t even his primary sport, but his speed from running track serves him on the field.

A year ago, he never imagined himself catching 37-yard bombs.

A year ago, he was lining up against wide receivers trying to strip the ball from them.

For the last three years, he has been playing outside linebacker.

What prompted the sudden change heading into his last year of high school football?

“I ruptured my collarbone in the [2023] Lamar game and was unable to lead with my shoulder as strong as I used to be able to,” senior wide receiver and tight end John Corder said. “So tackling became a struggle.”

The injury prompted both the coaching staff and Corder to reevaluate his position as outside linebacker to accommodate his recovery.

“[We came to] a consensus,” Corder said. “I talked to my defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and the head coach, and we all just felt that it was time [for me] to change to [another position]. I still wanted to play, but my doctors just wouldn’t let me if I had to lead with my shoulder frequently.”

Ironically, Corder often has to play against his old position, of outside linebacker, as a wide receiver whenever the defense is in zone coverage.

“Switching over has given me some nice insight for how to better handle some of the moves that [outside linebackers] have to [use] against [us],” Corder said. “[Previously] playing defense has also been really helpful [for offense], because I know most of the defensive schemes that the other teams are running because I’ve studied them for the last three years.”

Corder’s transition coincided with Bellaire’s own transition in the coaching department. At the end of the 2023-24 season, Bellaire’s offensive coordinator, Coach Strozier, retired. In his place, Head Coach Herb Kunz has taken over the offensive play-calling while also managing the entire team. It’s been described as a “chaotic situation” by Corder.

But the chaos isn’t the biggest change for Corder this year: it’s the dependence as a receiver that he is still adjusting to.

“I don’t have as much control as I used to,” Corder said. “For defense, I had a certain job, and every play was an opportunity for me to do something significant. On the offensive side, most things are out of my control, particularly [as] receiver.”

He’s no longer an x-factor, rather, dependent on the variables that align for him; he isn’t out there making individual plays anymore.

“I could run the perfect route; I could block the perfect man and still, sometimes have nothing to show for it,” Corder said. “I depend on the play-call being directed towards me, the quarterback looking my way and the offensive line getting the snap correct [while] protecting the quarterback long enough for him to throw it to me.

Corder’s mindset has also adjusted. He has traded the reactionary moves from playing defense for calculated, intentional plays made by the offense.

“I’ve had to learn from a completely different group of people,” Corder said. “I’ve gone from communicating a lot with the other linebacker, defensive line and my defensive backs to now just me, the other receivers, the quarterback and [occasionally] the offensive line.”

Senior wide receiver Nathaniel Allen is entering his fourth year playing for Bellaire, with three years of receiving experience under his belt. From play calls, stances, routes, and catching techniques, Corder has learned a lot from Allen in their time as teammates.

“It’s been really great having him,” Allen said. “He’s fast [and] he’s really good at catching the ball.”

Under Kunz’s new offense and the addition of new receiving coach Jeviyon Mitchell and receivers, the entire receiving room has had to make adjustments to ensure that they keep putting up points.

“We have a lot of different plays, but he adapted really well,” Allen said. “I drew up these sheets of plays for all the receivers, and I gave [the seets] to them and [am] constantly updating [them].”

Allen also noted Corder’s new dedication to the role. “He’s constantly learning and watching film and making sure to study [plays]” Allen said.

Bellaire’s offensive upheaval has proved to be successful this year. According to Maxpreps, across their first six games of the 2024-2025 season, the team has scored 142 points total or an average of 24 points a game. In the first six games of the 2023-24 season, Bellaire averaged just nine points per game.

With these bigger scores comes bigger goals.

“The biggest goal is just [to] win a playoff game and beat Lamar,” Corder said. “Those are really just the team driven goals that I’m more focused on.”

As the sun sets on Corder’s defensive career, he will look to make the most of his senior season in the offense.

“I wouldn’t say I miss [playing defense],” Corder said. “I played it for three years and I enjoyed it, but I was ready for a change. I was really happy to take the opportunity because it’s just a really unique chance to see the other side of the game.”