Hot Reads: A new Day for Eagles

Jul. 29—WESTWOOD — Brent Wilcoxon hopes Steven "Bubba" Day becomes the latest in a long line to represent Fairview on Class A's list of leading receivers.

Not long ago, the Eagles' new coach and their new receiver were strangers.

"At first, I didn't know who the heck he was," Wilcoxon said of Day. "Someone just told me that some tall, talented young man who hasn't played since grade school was gonna play."

Football coaches love having tall, talented young men on their roster, so that wasn't a tough sell for Wilcoxon, even though the qualifier with Day — basketball experience, gridiron inexperience — made Wilcoxon raise an eyebrow.

Day was honorable-mention All-Area on the hardwood last winter, averaging 12.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore for the roundball Eagles. Wilcoxon wasn't sure of the relevance of that to his football résumé, however.

"I was obviously all for it, but I didn't know his level of commitment, and sometimes basketball players don't translate into football players," Wilcoxon said. "So it was a big unknown."

Another unknown: how Fairview will respond following a tough 2021. The Eagles went 0-12 last season (counting two COVID-19 cancellation forfeits).

That didn't stop Wilcoxon, a former Eagles offensive coordinator in addition to head-coaching gigs at Fairland and South Point, from signing on to coach Fairview.

Day brought a similar mindset: having seen how the returning Eagles responded to the respect the veteran coach Wilcoxon has commanded, why not throw in his lot?

"They seem ecstatic to play under him," Day recalls thinking of Wilcoxon.

And so what if he hasn't worn pads and a helmet since sixth grade?

"I just felt like it. I thought it would be a good idea," Day said. "I know it's gonna help me for basketball. I just felt like coming out and playing."

So far, neither coach nor player has been disappointed with the arrangement.

"And then he started showing up and hitting the weights, and started getting bigger, stronger, more explosive, and started enjoying it," Wilcoxon said. "I'm now convinced that he is committed to playing football. It's helped his basketball, too. He's jumping higher. That's been a win-win for him and us."

Wilcoxon eyed Day's listing of 6-foot-3 and saw someone the Eagles could feature in a radically different offensive look than the veer Fairview featured under former coach Daniel Armstrong.

"We expect him to be a matchup problem for a lot of (opponents)," Wilcoxon said of Day, "because, Single-A football in Kentucky, there's a lot of cornerbacks that are under 6 feet, some of them quite a bit under 6 feet."

Extra catching work after practice has improved Day's hands, too, Wilcoxon said.

"He's not spoiled by any bad habits. He hasn't been playing the sport," the new coach said of Day. "So everything we're telling him, he's eating up and trying to do it exactly how we ask him to do it."

Day has dabbled in golf on the side, he said, and generally likes sports, but football will be the first one he's played in high school at Fairview other than basketball. Wilcoxon hopes that sets a trend and thinks the Eagles can harness other potential skill-position players walking the halls in Westwood.

Wilcoxon pointed to what Fairview's receiving corps did when he was the offensive coorAdinator in 2014 and '15. With quarterback Alex Roy delivering the ball, Blake Smith led Class A in receiving yards per game (91) and Antwan Washington was fourth (81 ypg) in 2014.

A year later, three Eagles were among the top 10 in Class A in receiving yards per game. Washington was third (81 ypg), Mason McIntyre checked in at fifth (60 ypg) and Dylan Romine was ninth (49 ypg).

Roy finished tops in Class A in yards per game as a junior and a senior in the offense run by Wilcoxon and then-coach Fred Ray.

Wilcoxon hopes to return to that form.

"The way I run the offense, wide receivers will get more touches than probably anywhere else in the area," he said.

As for Day's nickname, it's stuck around since he was little and was bestowed by his father, Steve.

"Most of my friends call me Bubba, just because my dad's called me that, so they just picked up on it," Day said. He added with a laugh, "It doesn't really matter. If we get called Steven, we both turn."

Whatever Day's name, Wilcoxon hopes to call his number regularly this fall.

"He's getting better in basketball and he's gonna be a good football player," Wilcoxon said of Day, "and he's gonna help us."