METAIRIE—His last name is well known already.
But Archbishop Rummel’s Kyle Wickersham is ready to start making his own name and his own legacy.
The son of former LSU quarterback Jeff Wickersham and the younger brother of current LSU softball pitcher Shelby Wickersham, Kyle is ranked as one of the top quarterbacks in the state for the Class of 2021 and is coming off of leading the Raiders to a perfect 13-0 season and the Division I state crown.
The 6-3, 225-pound Wickersham was recently ranked as the state’s top quarterback in the 2021 class according to 247sports.com. As of March 20th, his current scholarship list includes Tennessee-Martin, Cornell and Harvard (note: Ivy League schools don’t give out athletic scholarships, but rather help with academic awards), Nicholls State and Division II Tusculum College in Tennessee.
“It feels amazing,” Wickersham said of the ranking. “It’s something that I have been really working hard for so I’m really without words. But when I think about the amount of work and hours I have put in; this ranking was really earned. It’s nice to get some recognition for all the hard work that I have been putting in.”
Starting for the first-time last season as a junior, the recruiting process for Wickersham is still very much in its infancy as colleges are just getting to see tape on him.
“Honestly the approach was going to do really well during the spring,” he said. “I had some big looks coming down to see me, so that is going to hurt with spring practice being canceled (because of COVID-19 pandemic). Coaches had told me they love my tape but they want to see me throw in person. Of course, that’s can’t happen yet. But really my approach is simple and that is to keep winning games. The rest of the stuff will come. Last year I didn’t worry about recruiting, my goal was to win a state championship. That was our goal as a team and then some scholarship offers started to come in because of that. That’s my approach heading into my senior season.”
In his first year at the helm for the Raiders, Wickersham completed 135-of-223 passes for 1,646 yards and 17 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. He also rushed for 194 yards and found the end zone four more times.
“I felt like I did best of just staying calm with the lights got bright,” he said. “We played a huge game against John Curtis for example and I managed the game well. I don’t try to make crazy plays; I just manage the game and do what I’m supposed to do. I keep the chains moving. I don’t freak out trying to make any unnecessary plays.
“Fast forward to this upcoming season, I want to improve my timing. I want to start hitting wide receivers as soon as they break out of their routes. Let the ball go when they aren’t even looking at me yet. I feel like if that happens it will give the wide receivers more opportunities after the play happens instead of a simple five-yard route. I want 70-yard touchdowns.”
A great tool for Kyle has been the ability to rely on his dad and older sister, both of whom have experienced the recruiting process.
“The biggest thing that they say is to just have an open mind,” he said. “You never know what offer is going to come. You never know where you are going to go until the day you sign the papers. Don’t take any opportunity for granted. You never know where you are going to go to school. Your school may not be the biggest offer you pick. The place you go to needs to be the place you fell in love with and you view as family.
“Would it be great to get an offer from LSU? It would be an amazing opportunity. But my dad and Shelby both told me don’t just go to LSU to follow in our footsteps. You have worked hard to make your own path, so follow it. While I love my dad and sister, I don’t want to just be known as Jeff Wickersham’s kid and Shelby Wickersham’s younger brother. It’s important for me to chart my own path. I’m my own person. I want to make a name for myself and have people recognize me for my talents.”
One of the top prep pitchers in the history of the state, Shelby Wickersham said she couldn’t be prouder of her little brother.
“Kyle is one of the most hard-working athletes I know,” she said. “He is always wanting to throw, asking questions, and just wanting to get better. I advise Kyle to make decisions that feel best for him and to not worry about pleasing anyone else. I encourage Kyle to chase the opportunities that arise for him and to see which place feels most like home.”
Kyle Wickersham did admit though that the athletic competitions around house with his family can get pretty intense.
“They are still tough,” he joked. “We go at it all the time, especially now with this COVID-19 situation. We make up competitions like throwing into buckets or trying to hit a softball off of Shelby. It’s so much fun and looking back on the past times it made me that much better. It made me better under pressure because I always wanted to impress my dad and I always wanted to impress Shelby and keep her humble. You never want to lose to your big sister in anything. They both pushed me to be better than them.”
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