footballIan Wall has only been playing football for one season and he’s already leading the DCIAA in tackles. Last month the junior was named DCIAA Stars division first team punter and linebacker, and second team defensive kicker. 

After playing soccer his whole life, the strenuous time commitment and his own loss of interest convinced him to quit and try something new. 

Using his soccer talent, Wall branched off and started training as a kicker. “I’ve always wanted to play [football]. My parents never really let me play because they thought it was dangerous,” Wall said. 

Starting over quarantine, Wall would bring a bag of footballs to the Wilson field to work on field goals on his own for several hours. His commitment began before joining the team, doing weight and track workouts every day. Then, at the beginning of the season, football coach Minoso Rodgers suggested he try being a linebacker. “At first I was like, nah I don’t want to do that…but it kind of grew on me,” said Wall.

After working with the team and practicing linebacking, Wall’s interest sparked and he became a linebacker. His 78 tackles has helped the team to their 4th place finish in the league.

Wall hopes his lack of experience doesn’t deter colleges from looking at him, as he wants to continue his career in college. Nonetheless, his rawness will not prevent colleges from looking at his impeccable stats. As @wilsontigerathletics on Instagram would say, that’s #tigerpride.•