Former Murphy big hitter finds a home
Published 11:38 pm Monday, August 25, 2008
What’s in a name?
How about 49 letters — as in Kyle Regan Kuihiwimainoeaumai Keanuenueikaika Wilkins — which, in his native Hawaii, means “From the mountain comes wisdom, from the rainbow comes strength.”
Around Archbishop Murphy High School from 2003-2005, the abridged version of the name — Kyle Wilkins — meant “Hitter Supreme.”
Veteran Murphy coaches still remember one Wilkins tackle in particular.
It is simply referred to as “The Hit.” It happened in a game against Lakeside.
“They had this big-sized fullback, about 6-2, must have been about 215,” Wildcats defensive coach Jeff Schmidt recalled. “He thought he was going to run Kyle over. He didn’t.”
There was the resounding tackle. The victim’s helmet flying off, landing several yards away. The victim lying there flat on his back for a spell before finally getting up.
“He wasn’t knocked out,” Schmidt said, “but he was definitely hurting.”
Another Murphy assistant, Bill Lucas, had a one-word description for “The Hit”: nasty.
Rare was the player who ever got the best of Kyle Wilkins.
Another noteworthy hit took place in a game against Port Townsend. Wilkins smacked the star fullback so hard that when Port Townsend’s offense was getting ready to go back on the field, the fullback remained on the bench.
“Are you hurt?” the coach asked.
No, he wasn’t hurt. He simply didn’t want to get hit that hard again.
This story was told by a Port Townsend coach to the Murphy coaches at a coaching convention.
“Kyle set the bar for hitters here,” Schmidt said between practices recently. “By far the best we’ve ever had.”
“That’s a bold statement,” Wilkins said when told about it. “I’m honored.”
Now he would like to set the bar for hitters on the Eastern Washington University football team. Used mostly on special teams the past two years, the redshirt junior from Monroe gets his first chance as a starter this fall as an outside linebacker for an Eagles team that got to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs a year ago.
It’s a new position for the 21-year-old Wilkins — he previously played safety — and one he has eagerly taken to. Recognized as the team’s most improved defensive player in spring practice, Wilkins calls it “the best move I’ve made.”
“Linebacker,” he said, “is a little bit more natural to me.”
Head coach Beau Baldwin calls the new position a “really good fit” for Wilkins.
Murphy’s Lucas agrees. “The closer Kyle gets to contact,” he said, “the better he’s going to be.”
Wilkins, at 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, might seem a little under-sized for the position, Baldwin said, but he makes up for it with one ingredient: toughness.
“He has a love for football,” the coach said. “He’s not afraid of anything.”
Baldwin, who was named EWU’s head coach on Jan. 4, knew Wilkins from having been an Eagles’ assistant for four years before taking over the Central Washington program for the 2007 season.
“I’ve liked him from the get-go,” said Baldwin, who thought Wilkins might have been mis-cast as a safety. “Playing safety didn’t seem as natural for him as playing linebacker.”
Wilkins did the one thing a player has to do to go from special teams to a starting position. He worked hard.
“I dedicated myself as much as I could to get myself in the best shape I could (attain),” he said in a recent telephone interview.
Players also understand that a coaching change sometimes can be to their advantage, feeling as if they’re getting a fresh start. Such was the case with Wilkins, who said the new faces gave him extra motivation.
Though Baldwin coached the quarterbacks during his first hitch at Eastern, Wilkins felt he got to know him well enough to have a “good relationship.”
While Wilkins might declare switching positions was the best move he’s ever made in football, he would no doubt say the best move he’s ever made in his life was done 12 months ago. That’s when he got married.
His wife is the former Rachel Holtz, who also attended Archbishop Murphy. Wilkins said he felt that marriage helped him to “grow up a lot.”
“Good point,” Baldwin agreed. “A lot of times it can help.”
Baldwin is well aware of Wilkins’ resume as a high school player. A standout quarterback, Wilkins directed the Wildcats to a 26-1 record his final two seasons, including a Class 1A state title his junior year. He also delivered devastating hits from his safety position, beginning in his sophomore year. In all, the Wildcats won 39 consecutive games during his varsity career before losing the final game of his senior year in the Class 2A state semifinals.
In that game, Wilkins had to sit out part of the fourth quarter and two overtime periods with back spasms as the Wildcats went down to a 41-35 loss to East Valley of Yakima.
It was one of several injuries he sustained during the year, any one of which would have knocked most players out for the count. There was the torn rotator cuff and the torn medial cruciate ligament, in addition to all the other little injuries that are part of the game.
“It’s all stuff you learn to play with,” he said. “In football, you’re going to get hurt.”
Wilkins and the entire Archbishop Murphy family felt the worst kind of emotional pain a year ago when their beloved coach Terry Ennis succumbed to prostate cancer.
Ennis, besides being a tremendous teacher and motivator, was a superb judge of talent, as Wilkins would find out.
“He told me when I was going there (to Murphy) that he thought I would be a Big Sky player,” Wilkins said. “I thought UW or Oregon. He always knew what the real scoop was.
“He was the best coach I ever had. He wanted nothing but the best for us players. He would tell you the truth.”
The hardest truth he ever told Wilkins: It happened when Wilkins got into an argument with the team trainer during a game. The trainer thought Wilkins had a concussion. Wilkins disagreed.
Ennis’ truth. “He said if I ever got in a fight with the trainer, I would sit the bench.”
“A lesson learned,” Wilkins said.
The most important lesson he learned from his old coach: stay humble.
And, hit hard.
