Kody Wilstead has improved his accuracy this season, which is translating into more points and more wins for Park View.
Courtesy of Pine View High School
— Everything feels different for
Kody Wilstead this season. And that's a good thing.
Wilstead is playing with greater poise and confidence while directing the
Pine View (St. George) offense. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound junior quarterback feels more comfortable in the pocket. Wilstead's understanding of the offense has increased significantly since a year ago. The same holds true on his anticipation of what defenses want to do to stop him.
"I feel like my reads are getting better and I'm throwing a better ball," Wilstead said. "I'm able to hit my receivers instead of overthrowing them."
His numbers reflect that improved accuracy. Through his first four games in 2013, Wilstead has already thrown for 1,521 yards and 17 touchdowns on 103-of-163 passing. He leads the state of Utah in both passing yardage and passing touchdowns. Wilstead has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game this season.
Wilstead raised his completion percentage to 63.2 percent from 49.0 percent a year ago, when he earned the starting nod as a sophomore and threw for 1,120 yards and 13 touchdowns. But Wilstead also only played in seven games after suffering a broken leg.
With him at the helm, the Panther offense has been virtually unstoppable. Pine View is averaging 42.3 points per game, good enough to rank as the No. 3 scoring offense in Utah behind East (45.3) and Grand (43.5).
"We're rushing for over 100 yards per game and we're throwing over 300 per game right now," Wilstead said. "We're doing things people didn't think we were going to be able to do."
Pine View coach Ray Hosner said Wilstead uses a natural football intelligence to his advantage.
"He understands the offense," Hosner said. "He's able to make adjustments because he understands what we want and what we're trying to create in certain route combinations. Basically, he's like a coach on the field."
Being injury-free has helped Wilstead match his physical abilities to his intelligence. Breaking his leg hurt Wilstead's progress last fall.
His leg wasn't 100 percent when he was finally cleared to play. It forced Wilstead to throw off his back foot to avoid putting weight on the injured leg. It affected both his throwing accuracy and his mobility in the pocket.
"We wouldn't let him run the ball at all because we didn't want that leg to get hurt again," Hosner said. "His physical limitations last year were due to an injury but, at the same time, he's obviously stronger and more mature this year."
Wilstead's arm strength and accuracy are drawing interest from several high profile universities. He has already received scholarship offers from Louisville and San Diego State. Florida, Florida State, Miami and Oregon headline a growing list of other schools who are showing interest in the junior.
Louisville coaches offered Wilstead a scholarship at a summer camp when they saw his accuracy in delivering balls on deep routes while throwing from the far hash. They compared his arm strength to current Cardinals QB Teddy Bridgewater.
Getting the scholarship offer felt almost surreal to Wilstead, who was at the camp with his father.
"We got back to the hotel room after that and we couldn't help but smile," Wilstead said. "We said, 'Wow. This just really happened.'"
It won't be the last time Wilstead has reason to smile. With another season still ahead of him at Pine View, he has a chance to make a major splash both locally and nationally. If Wilstead can stay healthy and continue to progress, Hosner sees no reason why he can't become a star in college and create for himself a chance to make it to the NFL.
"The kid has every tool there is to play at the next level," Hosner said.
John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps.com. He is a
former prep sports reporter with the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret
News. You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports.
