Kahmir Prescott is a playmaker.
It doesn’t matter what position he’s playing and it doesn’t matter where he’s at on the field, when the Northeast High School junior gets a football in his hands, he’s dangerous.
And for the Vikings, when he gets his hands on the ball, it means it’s time to celebrate.
Prescott came into the season as a starter at defensive back. After playing strong safety as a sophomore, this year he’s splitting his time between cornerback and safety.
But on offense, he’s back to doing what he did his entire life, playing running back.
“Last year we had a lot of good running backs, and I wanted to help the team so I was happy to play defense,” Prescott said. “I think I’m more of a defensive player than running back, that’s what I’m better at. But I love running back.”
So far on the year, he’s rushed for five touchdowns, many of them on long runs.
But he’s also found other ways to score. In his team’s second game of the season, a win over Cheltenham, he scored on a rushing play, a fumble recovery and a kickoff return.
And on Friday, he was up to his old tricks.
Prescott scored on an 85-yard running play late in the fourth quarter, and also hit paydirt on a 73-yard kickoff return early in the third quarter to help the Vikings defeat Springside Chestnut Hill Academy 14-12 in a nonleague game. It helped Northeast remain perfect at 3-0 on the season.
The Vikings beat up on Winslow Township from South Jersey on opening day, and then bested a talented Cheltenham team in their second game.
Northeast still has another tough test, a game against Archbishop Wood, on Friday before it starts its Public League schedule.
On the season, Prescott has scored eight touchdowns, and the way he sees it, he and his teammates are just starting to heat up.
“It’s been really good because we’ve played a lot of tough teams so far and we’re winning,” Prescott said. “Honestly, I think we’re going to be real, real good if we play the way we can.
“Everyone is doing their part. We haven’t had our whole team play yet. Our offensive line, they’ve been doing great. They’re huge. And we’re down two starters there. Those guys are coming back, but right now, every guy on the line is doing great. We’re really playing well as a team.”
Prescott is getting a lot of attention for what he’s doing with the ball in his hand, but he sees himself as a defensive back in the future.
So do many scouts. And they’re reaching out to let him know they’re very interested in his services.
So far he has offers from Penn State, Pittsburgh, Colorado, West Virginia, Boston College and Cincinnati.
He’s visited Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Temple.
Many more have reached out to gauge interest.
“I hear from a lot of schools, it’s a lot of fun,” Prescott said. “Whatever school I feel like fits me the best and shows the most love and wants me and makes me feel like I’m wanted, that’s where I’ll go. I want to go to a place where I can help them.
“I’m not exactly sure what I want to do, but I know I want to be an entrepreneur. I’ll figure out what I want to do is have a job where I work for myself, not one where I work for someone else. I just have to figure out what I want to do.”
For now he just wants to get better at football, be it on offense or defense.
“I’ll play anywhere, I’m having fun on offense, but I think I’m more of a defensive player and that’s what I’m going to do in the future,” said Prescott, who lives in South Philadelphia. “I’ve played running back my whole life. I didn’t start playing defense too much, but last year we needed help at defensive back.
“I love defensive back. I think I like playing strong safety the most. You can do a lot with that. You can come up and stop the run or cover. At cornerback, you have to shut down your side of the field. I like them both. Safety is my favorite, but I’ll play wherever they need me.”
That’s the attitude that helped Prescott become a captain. It’s an even bigger honor when you consider how many seniors the Vikings could turn to for leadership.
Prescott is happy to do his part to make sure this season is a successful one for Northeast.
“Honestly, I think we can win a lot of games this year,” Prescott said. “We have a really good team. We’ve been missing players every game, and they’re all coming back. We’ve played well so far, but once we get everyone back, I think we’re going to be a great team.”
And a big part of the team is their playmaker.
