Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Pick a position on the football field and regina senior Will Aitchison can probably play it.

And play it well.

“If we need a running back he’s in, if we need a safety he’s in, if we need a slot receiver he’s in,” Regina head coach Dustin Elsbury said. “He can play anywhere you ask him.”

Aitchison has played receiver and running back in his first two varsity seasons. He could line up anywhere on the offense.

On defense the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Aitchison has played safety and linebacker as well as the Regals’ rover spot which is a hybrid of both.

The positional flexibility makes Aitchison a valuable asset on the field but it’s everything else that Aitchison brings beginning with his leadership that makes him invaluable for a Regina squad hoping to duplicate the success of a 9-2 season from a year ago.

“He’s about as good as it gets as a teammate and it stems from his parents and his family,” Elsbury said. “He’s an unbelievable leader. He’s super respectful, super coachable and always looking to improve. He shows up every day early and he stays late.”

Aitchison will lead vocally.

He is the play caller on the Regina defense and makes his presence felt at any team function.

It’s the way he leads through his attitude and actions that stand out.

Aitchison started at running back last season and ran for a team-high 567 yards and nine touchdowns.

He didn’t bat an eye when Elsbury approached him with a move to slot receiver for his senior season.

Not only did Aitchison accept the move, he embraced it.

“This year my role is going to be whatever coach wants me to be,” Aitchison said. “Running back, receiver, tight end. Whatever position he needs me at.”

For Aitchison the team-first mentality is what playing for Regina is all about.

It’s something he learned from his older brother Sam who ranked second on the team in tackles and led the team in tackles as a senior in 2021.

“We’ve had a lot of guys in this program that have been willing to play any spot they’ve needed to play,” Aitchison said. “That’s what it means to play here – to put the team first.”
Aitchison is a weapon any where he lines up.

He caught 17 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns last season and will be heavily relied upon in the passing game after Regina lost three of its top four pass catchers from last season.

“Aitchison is smart enough where he can play anywhere and pick it up just like that,” Elsbury said. “We are still going to get him the ball, he’s still going to be the guy and our playmaker but it’s about how we can spread it out and get other guys on the field.”

Aitchison’s move to receiver opens up the backfield for junior Edwin Gangba and sophomore Savion Miller.

Last season Gangba and Miller combined to rush for 322 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

“To get guys like Savion and Eddie (Ganba) guys that are placing at the state track meet on the field, you have to play where you need to,” Aitchison said.

Aitchison brings a toughness and physicality to the Regina defense.

He can roam from the secondary to the line of scrimmage from his rover spot which lets him utilize his best skill – tackling.

“I love tackling and I think that’s one of my strengths so I’m excited to play that spot,” Aitchison said. “I think it fits perfectly.”
Aitchison played through a fractured forearm sustained in the season-opener against West Liberty and made 28 tackles, ninth most on the team.

The toughness he showed meant more than the stops.

“It trickles down when you have a guy that you have drag off the field that doesn’t even know he’s playing with a broken arm and he’s still making plays, the guys see that toughness and it trickles down,” Elsbury said. “People want to be like Will. He’s a phenomenal kid. The character he has on the field, off the field in the school he’s going to do big things in life.”

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