Wren defensive back Travon West is No. 6 on the Upstate Dandy Dozen list

Wren High defensive back Travon West is No. 6 on the 864Huddle Dandy Dozen, a ranking of the Upstate's top Class of 2023 football recruits. 

West is a Indiana University commit and a three-star recruit on 247Sports. He’s also the reigning 3A state champion in the 110-meter hurdles.

West is dynamic, to say the least. His talent, focus and personality have allowed him to fulfill a dream and become the friend everybody wants around.

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Made it happen

Signing to Indiana was a dream come true, West said.

“I’m glad I got to do it. You know, it’s a lot of people that helped me get there. So, it was a dream come true, but it’s a dream I made come true too.”

West held offers from West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Kansas State and more. Outsiders didn’t know what path West was going to take, until he swapped his white and black hat for a black Indiana cap.

“It really is (surreal), getting the opportunity to play at the next level," West said. "Because some of my teammates and a lot guys out there don’t really get that opportunity, so it’s surreal.”

West’s path to a football life when he was 11 years old, and it didn’t take long for him to be invested in the sport.

He became fixated on earning more playing time and was upset anytime his team lost. According to his mother, West was always committed to be great.

“He started conditioning more, lifting weights, getting the proper rest that he needed,” West’s mother, Ebonee Patterson, said. “When it was usually video game time, he would say, ‘Oh, I got to go to sleep because I’ve got practice in the morning.’ He made sure he made all the practices (and) he would be upset if he was late.”

Loving his role

West wasn’t always keen on shutting down the guy in front of him. Early on he had pictured himself differently.

His first position was running back. From there, he dreamed of scoring touchdowns week in and week out. By the time he got to high school, things changed.

He solely played defense and began to love it after realizing his impact on the team's success. Now he embraces being a cornerback, a position that is widely considered the toughest in football.

“(At) corner, you've got to be the best player out there," West said. "You’ve got to have everything to play corner. It’s going to be the hardest position but when you feel that you’re doing good at corner, you're doing something, because that’s a hard position to play. It has the most adversity, you just got to flush it all out and play the next play.”

The friend everybody wants

West always had a spirited nature.

Whether he's on or off the field, it won’t take long to realize he likes to joke around and have fun. And his joyous, welcoming aura make others gravitate towards him.

“He was just that kid everybody wanted around,” Patterson said. “Everybody wanted him on their team. He was just always an energetic kid and gave 100 percent.”

Some kids get picked on teams because they’re athletic, and some get picked because they’re friends with the captain. West is both.

Though his brightness may outshine others around him, he doesn't leave others out, even people he hasn't met yet. If West is having a good time, he wants the people around him to do the same.

“I’m just an outgoing guy, I’m going to help some people fit in,” West said. “The kid that probably doesn’t talk a lot, I’ll go over there and josh around with them, play around with them. I just want everybody to fit in. Because when I was younger, you know, I was one of the smallest kids (trying) to fit in. It’s just about making people feel welcomed.”

Joshua Miller covers high school sports for The Anderson Independent-Mail. Have questions, story ideas, scores and stats involving high school athletics? Send them to his email at jdmiller@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @NameIsJoshua

This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Upstate Dandy Dozen 2022 No. 6: Wren defensive back Travon West