Denaud ‘the definition of an athlete'

AUBURN | Wilky Denaud is a standout football, basketball and track star at John Carroll High School in Fort Pierce, Fla.

JCHS head coach Mickey Groody can’t wait to see what the 4-star edge becomes once he focuses solely on football.

“He’s really the definition of an athlete, which is what we pride ourselves on here,” said Groody. “As soon as football season is over, he goes and plays basketball. And he’s probably our best thrower on the track and field team. He hasn’t done football full-time yet so that’s why I think his best football is ahead of him.

“When he is in the weight room full-time, when he is getting film study full-time, technique work full-time, the sky’s the limit.”

Denaud, 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, committed to Auburn Wednesday afternoon over his three other finalists — Florida State, Tennessee and Indiana. He had more than a dozen other offers.

“He’s listed as an edge and his final four schools were recruiting him as an edge, but he could end up with his hand in the dirt depending on how big he gets when he’s doing football full-time,” said Groody.

Denaud also plays offensive tackle for JCHS, which Groody uses as an example of his selflessness.

“I know he doesn’t like playing offensive line. He’s never told me that but I can just tell because I know him so well. But he’s going to do whatever he can do to help his team succeed,” said Groody.

“We throw a lot of screens and on our jailbreak screen, Wilky will run out there and block a cornerback and I feel good about that 100 out of 100.”

Denaud plans to graduate JCHS in December and enroll at Auburn in January.

“He’s kind of a model student,” said Groody. “I’m so impressed with the young man he’s becoming. It’s a credit to his parents, who have done an amazing job raising the young man. The people here inside these walls at John Carroll have helped mold him into who he is. He’s taken on extra classes academically and on-line to make sure he can graduate early and enroll at the college of his choice in January.

“That’s something he came up with on his own and approached myself and the principal. John Carroll is a four-year high school but our principal, Corey Heroux, being as awesome and supportive as she is, came up with a plan to help him achieve his goals.”

Denaud is Auburn’s fifth commitment in the 2023 class.