Rob Wheelwright looked at his Walnut Ridge football players last week, one day after he was named their new coach, and saw himself.
One of the best players to come out of Walnut Ridge in recent memory, Wheelwright was hired March 20 to turn around a Scots program that enjoyed plenty of success in the 2000s and 2010s but is seeking to break a skid of three consecutive losing seasons.
"It was a full-circle moment," said Wheelwright, a 2013 graduate who went on to play four years at Wisconsin. "This is where I started to grow into myself as a student-athlete, becoming a decent football player with a chance at Division I offers. Now to help the next generation get to where I've been and surpass me … I'm ecstatic and just ready to get to work."
Wheelwright succeeds Clarence Daniels, who went 6-22 the past three seasons.
Wheelwright spent the past two years as offensive coordinator at East, during which time the Tigers went 18-5 with consecutive Division IV, Region 15 playoff appearances. Wheelwright's half-brother is East head coach Mike Bell.
Before that, Wheelwright coached wide receivers at Ohio Dominican for two seasons.
"Just being able to dissect film (was a key lesson learned)," Wheelwright said. "I think I've done a pretty good job at not necessarily going against their coach, but how do I beat this cover-3, this front, blitzes, things like that. Just doing anything necessary to put points on the board."
Walnut Ridge was 3-8 in 2023. The Scots won two games in 2022 and one in 2021 after nine winning years in a row and 12 in 13 seasons.
Wheelwright helped kick-start that run, catching 93 passes for 1,402 yards and 23 touchdowns his junior and senior years. He earned first-team all-state in Division II as a senior before signing with Wisconsin, where he played in 47 games and caught 69 passes for 890 yards and six touchdowns.
Almost half of those receptions (34) and more than half his yards (448) came in a senior season in which Wisconsin won the Big Ten-West and the Cotton Bowl.
Wheelwright went undrafted and eventually played for the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League in 2019.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rob Wheelwright eager to coach football at alma mater Walnut Ridge
