In 2020, Outside the Huddle started an award for someone who the editors of Outside the Huddle deemed an ideal student athlete on the gridiron, one who really showcased the virtues we appreciate most in a high school football player.
Those virtues: discipline, work ethic and spirit were also three of the qualities most highly displayed by Clayten Stuart. A football player at Bishop Dwenger, Clayten passed away in November 2020. It is in his honor and with the blessing of the Stuart family that Outside the Huddle is proud to be able to annually present the Clayten Stuart Award.
“Clayten arrived to practice everyday with a joyful spirit. I never saw him without a smile on his face. He loved being with his friends and he loved to play football,” Bishop Dwenger football coach Jason Garrett said. “As soon as the helmet went on, he was a tenacious, physical player. No one outworked Clayten; a young man of great joy and tenacity.”
For the 2024 season, the editors of Outside the Huddle felt that there was no person for the honor other than Wayne senior Kimar Nelson, who’s tenacity was felt and appreciated area wide and especially in the Summit Athletic Conference where Nelson has a highly respected competitor. One respected area assistant coach praised Nelson to Outside the Huddle this season, saying that he played hard every single play against that coach’s team and that they had no real answer for Nelson.
The linebacker’s game-changing plays and relentless pursuit of excellence earned him recognition as the Positional Mr. Football at linebacker from both the Indiana Football Coaches Association and Indiana Preps Football, a title that left him humbled and in awe of how far he’d come.
“[It was] shocking because I doubted that I was good enough to receive that high of a honor. I thought I would make All-State but not the Mr. Football positional,” Nelson said.
For Nelson, the road to success had never been easy. It was solitude during his teenage years that forged both his mental and physical toughness. “I think the isolation throughout most of my teenage years and doing things on my own has made me so strong physically and mentally,” he said. “Carrying that with me onto the field was a huge motivator.”
As a younger player, Nelson had dreams of becoming a dominant middle linebacker, and while that passion remained, his perspective began to shift. By his sophomore year, Nelson made a life-altering decision: he would give everything he had in every aspect of the game no matter when or where he was playing.
“I told myself no matter what I did or worked at, I was gonna try so hard at everything—whether it was working out at the gym, training, running at the park, or in my backyard doing drills by myself. I always felt like I was letting myself down if I didn’t give a hundred percent.”
That mentality fueled his explosive growth as a player. In his senior season, Nelson continued to be a multifaceted threat on both sides of the ball. He ran for 458 yards on 80 carries, scoring a team-high eight rushing touchdowns. But it was his defensive prowess that truly set him apart. With 106 total tackles—25 for loss—and 14.5 sacks over just eight games, Nelson proved to be a nightmare for opposing offenses. The 102 opposing yards lost from sacks and his knack for forcing turnovers, including an interception returned for 60 yards, and two fumbles forced and recovered, cemented his place among the elite across Indiana.
It wasn’t just the numbers that defined him—it was his spirit. Nelson embodied the very essence of Wayne General football, not through words, but through actions.
“I never talked to impress. My actions on the field always showed what type of player I was,” Nelson said.
When asked about his favorite moment of the season, Nelson recalled the first game of the season, a 40-34 overtime victory at Indianapolis Attucks. Despite the game not going as planned, the team’s resilience shone through. “We never gave up, and I feel like I gave everything I could give. It was an eye-opener for me because it showed me how much I had improved and that I had a chance to have a better season than the year before.”
Though Nelson’s journey has been fueled by a deep sense of self-reliance, there were still people who shaped him along the way. His grandparents were a huge influence, instilling values of hard work and perseverance, he said.
Nelson’s rise to prominence, culminating in the prestigious Mr. Football honor, and the many college football opportunities that he has to choose from currently have left Nelson with a sense of fulfillment.
“It feels very fulfilling because I’ve dedicated the last two years of my life to it, and I feel like I’m deserving of it,” he said of his honors and next level chances.
Through it all—through the years of dedication, the sacrifices, and the moments of self-doubt—Nelson has proven one undeniable truth: he was a warrior on the Northeast Indiana football fields. He has built his body and mind through discipline and hard work, constantly pushing the boundaries of his own limits. His story to this point is not just about his athletic abilities; it is about his spirit—the spirit of someone who refuses to give anything less than their best. In every tackle, every run, every sack, Nelson embodied the essence of a true competitor.
PREVIOUS HONOREES
2023 Clayten Stuart Award – Kobe Meyer, Heritage
2022 Clayten Stuart Award – Josh Arntz, Columbia City
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