It's rarely black and white, but some things in life are priceless. Wilkin Formby importantly realized the opportunity in front of him.
The Northridge four-star offensive tackle willplay college football in his backyard at Alabama. That wasn't a priority, but finishing his high school career at homewas.
Formby, 6-foot-7 and 295pounds,was offered to play his final year of high school football at IMG Academy, the famous Florida boarding school attended by some of the most gifted prep athletes in the nation.
An offer to play at IMG is possibly as rare than an offer from Alabama and legendary coach Nick Saban.
But Formby, the No. 73 recruit in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite, had a long-time mission to complete back home: play with his younger brother.
Formby isNo. 1on the Tuscaloosa News' Fab 5,a collection of the top Tuscaloosa area college football prospects as ranked by the newspaper.
"You’re going to develop a little differently there than you would here," Formby said."... But I was like, ‘You know what?I’m going to finish this out. My brother’s coming into his freshman year. I want to be able to coach him.' So I want to be able to kind of show him how it’s done and kind of pave the way for him. I feel like he’ll be in the same situation that I’m in here in a few years."
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History makers
Formby and his younger brother, Hayes, will be the first siblings in Formbyhistory to be teammates at any level. Hayes is an h-back and tight end but likely an offensive lineman in future, the same transitionWilkin made.
"He had a goal, and that was to play together in high school, and we’re hoping to possibly play together again in college," Hayes said.
"He had a lot of reasons (for coming back), but probably at the top of the list was to be a teammate to his brother," their father, Shannon, said."Hayes is doing a really good job. He’s working hard, getting some good experience. ... It’s super-exciting. Looking forward to good things. Ready to kick it off."
Leave a place better than you found it
Had Formby left for IMG, the Northridge program would have looked unrecognizable from afar.
This isthe first season under coach Ryan Lolley, who replaces Mike Vickey, former six-year Jaguars coach now at Pelham. Northridge also graduated last season's starting quarterback.
Formby is a face of the program and important for the transition into a new era.
Lolley has relied on Formby to help change the culture at Northridge, which lost in the first round of theplayoffs the past two seasons.
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"I wouldn’t say we’ve really been focusing on the playoffs right now, but we have a different mentality of forget going to the playoffs," Formby said."Let’s actually go through the playoffs. Don’t just go to the playoffs. Last year was, ‘Lets’ go to the playoffs.’ ... Let's be better than a one-playoff run and lose in the first round. That’s not what this is about. That’s kind of the standard we have now."
Lolley helped Gordo maintain its spot as one of the strongest programs in the state when he led the Green Wave to a99-18 record and six region championshipsin nine seasons.
Lolley and Formby understandtheimportancefor a team's best playersto be the team's best leaders.
"I tell Wilkin a lot of times, 'Keep talking.They're listening,' " Lolley said."They may not say something back, but they're listening. The day you stop talking they're going to be, 'Oh no, why is he not saying something?' So what you're saying is meaning a lot more than you think.
"... Certain guys can say certain things to players on the field in a certain way that they may not necessarilylike, but when they get at home and lay down in bed at night they know that somebody told them the truth. It's a group effort."
Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him atjrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.
