TAMPA, FL--
The smile is infectious.
“He is 100 percent genuinely happy,” Plant head coach Robert Weiner said.
Tucker Gleason brings more to a huddle than a strong arm and high football IQ. He brings a bubbly personality to the Plant team.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been around anyone whose just kind of general demeanor and outlook on life is so happy,” Weiner said.
But don’t mistake this quarterback’s jovial persona for complacency. He’s got a competitive fire that’s always lit.
“I’m a totally different player from when I first got here,” Gleason said. “I’m stronger, I’m faster, I’m more physical and my throwing mechanics are so much better than what they were.”
“You can coach him as hard as you want and he’s going to respond to that,” Weiner said, “but you don’t have to worry about him going into the jar or feeling bad or whatever, he’s ready to go.”
When you’re the Plant quarterback, you better be ready to go. Coach Weiner asks a lot of his quarterbacks. And Tucker knows about the Plant QB history. The giants whose shoulders he stands on, the ones that helped lead the Panthers to state championships. In Coach Weiner’s 40 playoff wins, it’s always been the quarterback.
Tucker appreciates all that comes with being a Plant quarterback. And he also appreciates that he’s his own man.
“There’s a lot of pressure there, but it’s just something that I kind of push aside because I’m going to be myself here,” Gleason said.
“When you talk about all of the quarterbacks, you’re talking about, just great, great, great players and you’re talking about amazing people,” Weiner said. “But I think what I’ve been most blessed with is that every single one of them is a completely different personality. Tucker has been an experience that is just invigorating.”
His affable attitude permeates throughout the team. Tucker’s living life to the fullest and he’s bringing everyone along for the ride.
“When you say great leaders are the ones that are able to pull the most out of the people around them, allows them to be their best, Tucker does that without trying,” Weiner said. “Tucker at his best is always one that raises other people’s play and more importantly, raises their spirits.”