Will Kiker was a three-sport athlete at Gilmer High, and he is set to play football at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Kiker is a 2023 GHS honor graduate, and was a household name to fans of the purple and white. He starred on the gridiron for the Bobcats, was a defensive stalwart on the basketball court and rewrote the track and field record book.
Kiker received a scholarship offer from The Citadel and was in talks with coaches from Mercer University, Kennesaw State and Georgia State. However, a call from a Georgia Tech assistant in February changed the course of his recruitment.
Kiker was invited to Tech’s Atlanta campus where he met coaches and support personnel. He returned to Ellijay with a preferred walk-on offer, which he accepted.
Tech is a world-class engineering school so selecting a major was an easy decision.
“My plan is to study civil engineering. I want to run my own company but also have the hands-on knowledge instead of just being a boss. I want to be able to work in the field, and I really like being outside,” Kiker said.
“Part of my visit was more than football, so I got to see some of the academic stuff. We toured the practice facility and fields and weight room and all that. It really wasn’t what I expected out of downtown Atlanta. The campus is its own little place. It’s really nice.”
Kiker claimed one of Tech’s 10 preferred walk-on spots. As such, he will not receive athletic aid his first year on campus, but he is guaranteed a roster spot.
“For me, I didn’t think about playing in college until later on,” Kiker said. “I wasn’t the best as a freshman or in my younger years, but I worked hard, and after I got my first offer, it sparked my interest and I realized I could do it.”
Kiker was always active in athletics. He played football and basketball as soon as he could and joined the track team in middle school. In an era where most choose to “specialize” in one sport, Kiker opted to excel in three.
He received his first taste of varsity football action as a freshman in week 10. Gilmer entered the game at LaFayette without a healthy quarterback. Kiker played every offensive play and executed all snaps and handoffs without error, and the Bobcats came away with a victory to end the season.
Kiker started as a sophomore in Gilmer’s defensive backfield, and he came into his own as an upperclassman. He earned a second-team all-region nod at defensive back as a junior. Injuries kept Kiker out of three games, and he ended the year with 44 total tackles and an interception.
Kiker had a breakout year in 2022. The region hands out multiple superlatives, and he was voted Athlete of the Year by region football coaches for his efforts at halfback and safety.
He ranked second on the team with 82 stops and also broke up four passes, intercepted one, recovered a fumble and blocked two kicks.
Offensively, Kiker was a home run threat every time he touched the ball. He finished the year with 587 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 62 attempts. He also caught six passes for 137 yards and two more scores.
He was the team’s punter and also returned 17 kickoffs with an average of 22 yards and a long of 53.
Kiker was part of the program’s turnaround. GHS lost 32 straight games ahead of his freshman season. Kevin Saunders was the head coach for his first two seasons, and Paul Standard led the program when Kiker was a junior and senior.
Gilmer finished 5-5 last season, and fell just short of the state playoffs.
“I feel like it really started my junior year,” Kiker said. “We were a big part of bringing that together. It was a lot more player led instead of coaching led, and we had a lot of success with that. We worked really hard and made sure we could count on each other.
“Coach Standard does a lot of great things, and he loves his players. He’ll get on to you, but at the end of the day, he loves everyone the same. He’s a very good coach, really organized and I just love the way he coaches and handles everybody.”
On the basketball court, Kiker provided a strong athletic presence as a reserve player. During his junior year, the Bobcats snapped their state tournament drought. As a senior, he continued to be a defensive asset and helped GHS reach the region title game and return to the state tournament.
Kiker continued to thrive during the spring season. As a junior, he established a new school record in the pole vault of 14’. His granddad Paul Sr. originally set the record, and it also belonged to dad Paul Jr. in the early 90s. Kiker went on to place second in the region and finished seventh at the state track meet.
He also helped establish the GHS 4x200 relay record of 1:35.29 along with Hunter Watkins, Michael Little and Issac Rellinger.
In his senior track season, Kiker opted not to pole vault, and he did not run any relays, but that did not hamper his success. He won the Region 7-3A titles in the discus and shot put, was a runner-up in the long jump and placed fourth in the triple jump.
Kiker went on to score points in three events at state. He secured fourth in the shot (50’ 8”), fifth in the discus (149’ 11”) and eighth in the long jump (20’ 11”). His marks in the discus and long jump gave him two more school records.
He finished 15th in the triple jump, and his leap of 42’ 11” earlier in the season allowed him to end his Gilmer track career with five school records to his name.
At Tech, Kiker said he will take the field at receiver or safety. He has no qualms with either position and is ready to play where coaches think he will fit best.
Kiker voiced appreciation to parents Paul and Hollie, as well as GHS coaches Standard, Jeff Nelson and Eddie Marietta for helping him reach is full potential.
“Georgia Tech is getting one of the finest young men I’ve had the opportunity to coach, and I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of great young men in my 39-year career,” Standard said. “Regardless of the sport, Will’s first priority was what was best for his team and teammates, which is a quality that is sometimes lost in our society.
“He excelled in all three sports he participated in, and I’m not sure that there’s a sport he would not be exceptional at. He quarterbacked the team to one of its three wins as a freshman, started as a sophomore, and in the two years I’ve been here, he started both ways. He played every single snap as a senior until game nine when he got injured. I will not be surprised one bit if he finds a way to show those Tech coaches that he’s able to play at that level because he is. He just needs that opportunity, and I know he’ll take advantage of it.”
Kiker is looking forward to playing on the sport’s biggest stage against its best athletes. He will report to campus July 31.
“I’m really excited. In high school, you have players who are out there just to do it,” Kiker said. “I feel like it will be really fun being in that environment where everyone has the same intensity level and want-to to go out and compete. It will be more intense, but I’m looking forward to playing against a higher level of competition.”
Tech opens its season Sept. 1 versus Louisville at Mercedes Benz Stadium.