SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT: Adversity? Not Kayleb Wagner
As the season is now less than a week away – with kickoff classics – we are starting to see some impressive football prospects begin to emerge.
With all the summer events held this year, replacing something that wasn’t around last season, exposure has been key to the recruiting process.
This summer, Prep Redzone Florida has also done its part to contribute by being everywhere in the state and bringing our thousands of followers something informative every day.
It has been about getting every team, player, coach and region covered the way it should be – with star and non-star rated athletes featured regularly in a state that has dozens of websites and social media that follows the Sunshine State like no other football-playing state in the country.
Each Saturday, we have brought you a story that is interesting and shines a spotlight on our many impressive prospects as a SATURDAY FREE Blog Day.
THE WAGNER FILE
Kayleb Wagner Kayleb Wagner 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Baker | 2023 FL
POSITION: RB/CB
CLASS: 2023
SCHOOL: Baker
HEIGHT: 6-0
WEIGHT: 205
WHAT ARE COACHES MISSING: Moments after last December’s 27-14 win over Hawthorne to win the 1A state title, Baker head coach Matt Brunson thought about the 2021 season and how to replace some key football prospects.
At the head of that list was versatile running back/defensive back Kayleb Wagner Kayleb Wagner 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Baker | 2023 FL . It seems that all it took was for the state and much of the country to be introduced to Wagner, who rushed for a game-high 152 yards and a touchdown in the state title game as part of a campaign where he posted 11 yard-per-carry, 1,403 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
While it ended a 27-year state title drought for the Gators program, it also quashed a 25-year drought for Okaloosa County. Baker, with five state titles, has long been associated with winning and producing talented football talent.
What you get with Wagner is not only a fast, impressive athlete, but you also get someone who is popular with teammates, fellow students, administrators and teachers – where his 3.6 GPA shows what a well-rounded young man he is.
Oh by the way, Wagner, a three-sport athlete, won last year’s Roger Dearing Spirit of Sport Award, despite being born with only one hand. He is the starting shooting guard for the boys’ basketball team, he runs the 100-meter dash, and anchors the 4×100 meter relay team. He trains with one hand, benching 250 pounds, power cleaning 285, and squatting 480. Never using his handicap as an excuse, Wagner serves as a mentor to an elementary student who lost his arm in an automobile accident. Wagner personifies perseverance and positive light regardless of the obstacles presented to him.
SEE FOR YOURSELF: https://www.hudl.com/profile/9874293/Kayleb-Wagner
TRACKING FLORIDA: Teams Look At 2021 Season. https://prepredzone.com/2021/03/tracking-florida-teams-look-at-2021-season/
You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com. We are also on Social Media on @PrepRedzonefl.