Third Gen Thriller

By Justin Braden

Villa Grove, IL -

“I grew up in a family where my dad played football, his dad played football, and it just got passed down to me and my brother,” Noah Wilcoxon said as he recounted how the game has always been a part of his life.

His work ethic and his generosity are evident in how he speaks of himself and others – humbly talking about his performance amidst a Villa Grove High School team that began the season 1-3, before finally clicking and finishing 6-4, and making the playoffs.

Football tradition runs deep in the Wilcoxon family, and both Noah’s father and grandfather played at Villa Grove High School, a class 1A high school that still sews grass seed on the worn-down field in the offseason, just as they did over 100 years ago when the school was formed.

Noah is a junior at Villa Grove, and in his first season at the school, he recorded 22 catches for 501 yards, and 5 touchdowns, through 11 games offensively. At 22.8 yards per catch, the big play potential of this athlete should be marked as a serious threat, and in every opponent film room next season, coaches will be preaching to know where number 4 is when he is on the field. 

Then there is his defense. Last season, Wilcoxon shut down every wide receiver that lined up against him, not allowing any touchdowns to be thrown his way, snagging 2 interceptions, and recording 72 total tackles – hit stick-style tackles that would make a quarterback think twice about calling their own number and running his way. 

Despite his unassuming nature, the reality is that he is the ‘Third Gen Villa Thrilla’, and his highlight reel shows it, as he punishes players who run his way while on defense, and as he burns secondaries who do not double cover him when he lines up at wideout on offense.

Wilcoxon can force a team to alter their gameplan by making them run to the other side of the field or having to throw deep outside when he’s zoning in the middle, and that is what makes him undoubtedly a game-changer.

Wilcoxon came to Villa Grove with football experience, with a previous run at Harris County in Georgia, the three-sport athlete brought his knowledge gained at football camps across the country, and his two years of competition with some of the most athletic football players in the country to Illinois with him, and it showed on the field last season.

“I learned from going to camps what kind of footwork I need to do. I went to Clemson University last year, and I was taught by the best of the best, it was a great experience.”

His knowledge of how the mind of a wide receiver works is dangerous, and if football had criminal minds, coaches would be calling for a guy like this to be locked up for life so they could get back to their every-week gameplan. 

“I watch players like Amari Cooper. I watch Jarvis Landry. I’m not the fastest, but I can get open. I watch (Landry) because he’s not the fastest, but he sure knows how to get open.”

Noah is looking for next-level achievement at the collegiate level, and would be a first-generation college athlete in his family, along with his older brother Ross whom he spoke of endearingly.

"My brother has a couple of offers from D-3 schools, so he would actually be the first, he pushes me, and I teach him everything I’ve learned.”

Together, they would be the first people in his family to graduate college, an achievement that three generations of Wilcoxons will be celebrating in the coming years.

“My dream is playing college football. Hopefully, if I work hard, I make it to the NFL one day, but it would be an honor just to play college football.”

Undoubtedly, Wilcoxon will fulfill his dream of being a college athlete. The definition of tenacious, he continues to challenge himself on and off the field, compiling an impressive weighted 4.7 GPA in a state known for above-average education amongst its high school graduates.

Noah has camps lined up for this coming offseason, and competing in basketball through winter, and taking college-level courses like Anatomy and Physiology put him in a position where he might be the hardest-working student athlete a coach would ever meet.

“Never give up on your dreams, always work your hardest, and everything will help you be successful. People are going to hate, but I just block that stuff out and keep working.”

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