Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 10, 2020 21 goal, and senior Jonathan Doerer drilled a 48-yarder as time expired. Wilkins was the spark the team needed, and his mom was jumping for joy and screaming at the televi- sion screen as she watched from her living room in Fort Myers, Fla. "Everybody else from our area was watching it, too," Woodley said. "They were all calling me and texting me and just totally excited for him because he definitely has a huge fan base here." Much of the excitement stemmed from all Wilkins had gone through to see the field in a meaningful moment at Notre Dame. In his first two seasons in South Bend, he played a total of 92 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He was targeted once during that time span and didn't have a catch. For the most part, injuries held him back. During Wilkins' freshman year, the coaching staff expected him to play in the Cotton Bowl against Clemson, but in one of the first practices after the College Football Playoff matchup was announced, he hurt his knee. As a sophomore, a lingering ham- string injury kept him off the field most of the season. "Patience is a virtue," Wilkins said. "My mom always told me that. I knew it was coming. I just had to be patient." Like most Notre Dame football players, Wilkins was the star of every team growing up, from flag football through high school. So standing on the sideline can be a difficult adjust- ment, especially when nagging phys- ical ailments are causing the setback. But anyone who knew Wilkins when he was growing up isn't surprised that he's been so upbeat through challeng- ing circumstances. He's faced worse, even before he was born. TRAGEDY STRIKES TWICE Before Woodley knew Wilkins had been conceived, Joe Wilkins Sr. was murdered in a parking lot in Tampa Bay, Fla., during the summer of 1999. Soon thereafter, Woodley and her high school sweetheart, Byron Evans, reconnected. "Immediately, he was there for me as a friend," Woodley said. "Then I found out six or eight weeks later that I was pregnant with Joe Jr., and he just told me, 'I want to be there for you and your son, and maybe we should have never broken up to begin with.'" Over time, Evans and Woodley got back together, and Wilkins had a fa- ther figure in his life, someone to help him learn how to potty train and, one day, become a man. Two years later, Woodley and Evans had twin girls to- gether, growing their blended family. But a few months later, tragedy befell on their family again when Ev- ans died in a car accident in Orlando, Fla. Suddenly, all three of Woodley's children were without a father. "Joe was pretty fond of him," Woodley said, "and for the little time that they had together, that was the guy he was looking up to." As the de facto man of the house, Wilkins grew up quicker than other boys his age. He was always mature beyond his years, seeming to grasp difficult topics and approaching tough conversations with a level head. In school, he knew academics were important to his mother, so he excelled in the classroom, leaving North Fort Myers High School with a 4.0 GPA. At times, having such a mature son allowed Woodley to trust him when it came to being a male role model to his sisters. "He is the protector. He also sets the bar high," she said. "He's made good grades. He's worked really hard at everything he does. He up- holds a standard that, of course, I want all of my kids to meet. But be- cause he's the oldest and they have him to look up to, it's definitely helped me as a parent. "I think the girls follow suit a lit- tle bit better because they know big brother is there. I've had moments where I've actually had to have Joe help me as a parent." Perhaps this is a gift passed on to him from his father, even if he never met him, because he knows he carries his father's name. That's special to him. It's on him to continue his father's legacy. "My mom gave me that name be- cause it was a blessing," Wilkins said. "She didn't even know she was go- ing to have a kid. When my father passed, she was going through a lot. "A couple of months later she found out she was pregnant, and I am an extension of him. I am the last piece of him left. One hundred percent, with- out a doubt, my first son is going to be Joe Wilkins III. It's going to live on forever, hopefully, with my son — and his son will be the fourth. We're going to keep it going. I love it." CARRYING ON SUCCESS On Sept. 19, Notre Dame defeated South Florida 52-0. After the victory, Wilkins saw USF running back Dar- rian Felix across the field. The pair grew up playing against one another since middle school football in Fort Myers, Fla. But instead of the cus- tomary handshake and postgame photograph, all they were permitted to do is wave at one another. "I really wanted to take a picture, post it on Facebook for the whole hometown to see it," Felix said. "But it was just crazy that we couldn't get it. We couldn't even get it before the game because our coaches wanted us to stay on our sides. This stuff is crazy." Wilkins also got a firsthand look at a program he could have played for. USF was his first scholarship offer when he was a freshman in high school and it's the program his cousin, cornerback Mazzi Wilkins, played for from 2014-18 before spending a season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even with his injuries, there's a good chance Wilkins would have gotten more playing time at USF or for a majority of the other schools that offered him. But that's not the route he wanted. "I'm not the biggest, not the stron- gest, not the fastest, but I always han- dle what I need to handle," Wilkins Jr. said. "I always get the job done. I feel like it just makes you stronger. No- body had anything handed to them, they worked for it, but when you feel like you can be out there, you feel like you can make the same plays and you feel like you can contribute, and you're not, it's humbling. It's hard. "But my life has been hard … it's nothing new to me. I'm used to being an underdog. I'm used to having to grind through it. I'm used to having to work twice as hard just to get the same thing as the next man. So, no problems." ✦ "I'm not the biggest, not the strongest, not the fastest, but I always handle what I need to handle. … I'm used to being an underdog. I'm used to having to grind through it. I'm used to having to work twice as hard just to get the same thing as the next man." WILKINS