Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEDERLAND — Playing center for a football team requires a ton of intelligence.

It is no coincidence the snapper for the Nederland Bulldogs is ranked in the top 20 of his class.

Holden Craver said he has to have elite focus while playing his position.

“I make sure we get the defense right and make sure everyone knows what we are doing,” he said. “On the o-line, one little misstep can lead to everything being bad. A lot of it is letting everyone know what all can happen. You have to worry about people slanting. You have to be prepared for it all and can’t be surprised when it happens.”

When he is not fending off defensive linemen, he is in the books.

With a 4.3 GPA, Craver has mastered balancing being a varsity football player and a star student.

“I try to get all of my work done when I have free time in school,” he said. “Right after practice, I try to go home and finish it all so I have a little bit of break time.”

Craver said both of his parents attended college. His father works at Baptist Hospital and his mother works for the Victims Assistance Center.

“I have always taken (academics) very seriously,” he said. “It has always been a big thing in my family. My parents have always pushed me to make better grades. I also do it for myself. I like to make better grades and achieve higher.”

Nederland Head Coach Monte Barrow said Craver is well-liked student.

“He comes from good roots and does his best to live up to those expectations,” Barrow said. “He is one of those kids that is probably friends with everyone in the school. I can’t imagine anybody not liking that type of kid.”

The center said science is his favorite subject.

“I have always been naturally pretty good at it,” he said. “I love chemistry. When we got into sophomore year, it was my first time taking chemistry. I just loved everything about it. It was all cool. I liked learning about how the atoms worked and how everything bonds together. Chemistry was also really easy for me.”

Craver hopes his love translates to becoming a chemical engineer.

“I got accepted to Lamar,” he said. “I am also going to apply to (Texas) A&M. I will probably go to one of those.”

He said he might try to walk on to the Lamar football team if he ends up becoming a Cardinal.