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Former Chiles punter Trey Wilhoit leads JUCO football nationally with a 43.3 average
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- Former Chiles punter Trey Wilhoit leads JUCO football nationally with a 43.3 average
Trey Wilhoit is prepared to chase his dream wherever it next takes him.
Kansas is the punter's latest stop.
"The goal is to do everything I can do and let the chips fall where they may," Wilhoit said.
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"I am just battling through. It might not be the best place to do it, but I am still doing what I love."
Wilhoit - a former punter at Chiles High - currently leads the nation at the junior-college level with a school-record 43.3 average for Dodge City Community College in Kansas.
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The Conquistadors (3-6) closed out their 2021 season Sunday with a first-round playoff loss (36-16) at Garden City. Wilhoit was effective, punting eight times for a 39.4 average and landing three punts inside Garden City's 20-yard line.
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Wilhoit, a freshman, was a model of consistency this season.
He also ranks top-five nationally in punts attempted (52, 5th), yards (2,253, 4th) and long (80, 3rd). His school-record 80-yard punt against Coffeyville may have rolled farther, but it hit the the goal-post pylon for a touchback. His family was in attendance when he punted nine times for a 45.8 average against Garden City earlier in the season.
Not bad for a player who wanted one day to be Kelvin Benjamin.
Benjamin, of course, caught the game-winning touchdown pass to lift Florida State over Auburn to cap the Seminoles' undefeated national championship season in 2013.
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"I was in the sixth grade when FSU beat Auburn but I knew I wasn't going to be 6-foot-5 (like Benjamin)," Wilhoit, a 5-foot-10, right-footed punter, said and laughed.
Still, Wilhoit knew he wanted to play football.
At Chiles High, Wilhoit played receiver and safety without much success. He switched to punter as a junior when coaches saw him kick during practice warmups.
Wilhoit, an All-Big Bend honorable mention selection as a senior in 2019, was determined to punt in college and trained with area coach John Spradlin.
Wilhoit, like many players, did not play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He worked fulltime, took online courses, and continued to train as he searched for opportunities.
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Wilhoit attended camps at FSU, Valdosta State and in Dallas-Ft. Worth, where he finished second in a punt competition that was featured on YouTube. He also networked on social media, just wanting a chance to punt in college.
Anywhere.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College reached out and Wilhoit had his bags packed. The day before he was set to leave, however, Wilhoit said Dodge City telephoned and offered a full scholarship.
The 20-hour drive to Kansas - or the football season - couldn't have gone better. Well, with the exception of the wind that sweeps across southwest Kansas.
"Once I got there, it was 20-mph winds, all the time, right off the bat," Wilhoit said. "I probably battled with the wind for two weeks before I got used to it. It wasn't like anything I ever had to deal with."
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Wilhoit, of course, is accustomed to challenges. And he plans to continue to chase his dream wherever it next takes him.
"The goal is to leave here in December," said Wilhoit, who is attracting interest from four-year programs such as Eastern Illinois and Lamar, among others. "I want to keep punting, keep working to improve."
Reach Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Former Chiles player Trey Wilhoit ranks No. 1 nationally in JUCO punting
