The offensive line for the Brunswick High Pirates has become known as one of the most talented groups of players in Southeast Georgia. For one member of coach Larry Harold’s massive O-line, it is about making good grades and playing well on Friday nights.
Tre’ Golden, officially Wiley Golden III, is a senior tight end and wide receiver for the Brunswick Pirates. He’s a 6’5″, 250-pound, people-moving machine who can also catch the ball.
“The high point of the season for me was when we beat Cook County and I had seven pancake blocks and a touchdown catch,” Golden said.
While a standout on the playing field, Golden is also a standout in the classroom. He believes working hard in the classroom helps him understand plays better and enables him to play multiple receiver positions.
“Wiley Golden is a highly intelligent and hard-working leader on our team,” Harold said. “He has grown into one of the most physically imposing athletes on our team due to his intense work ethic in the weight room.”
The son of Wiley Jr. and Katrina Golden of Brunswick, Wiley III is an all-around athlete. Once football season is completed, he will transition over to play for coach Chris Turner’s Pirate basketball team. His favorite academic subject is biology, and he wants to go into wildlife management and work with the Department of Natural Resources as a wildlife biologist or game warden one day. He likes to be outdoors, and two summers ago he caught a four-foot shark at Overlook Park in downtown Brunswick.
In the field house he can bench 300 pounds and squat 405. He is a member of the highly-touted offensive line at Brunswick that includes several top college prospects. Golden himself already has an offer to play for Stetson University, and several other schools are looking at him too.
“He is a selfless blocking tight end who never asks for the football, but will block or do whatever is needed to help the team win,” Harold said. “He carries a 3.9 GPA and is the perfect role model for the young players in our program.
If Golden’s play in the City Championship game against Glynn Academy was any indication, he will soon have even more offers. Golden nabbed a pass to keep a Brunswick drive going, and then during a two-point PAT attempt, recovered a fumble in a classic “emerge from the bottom of the pile” type play.
“It was crazy,” Golden said. “The only thing that went through my mind was that I’m not getting up without this ball in my hand. It was the most intense play I’ve ever been a part of in a football game.”
The completed two-point conversion tied the game at 21 in the third quarter and gave the Pirates a chance to come back.
Golden started playing sports at a young age. He played T-ball, basketball, and football in the rec leagues.
“I’ve played football every year besides my sophomore year, and I’ve played basketball every year since eighth grade,” Golden said.
He played junior varsity his freshman season and made his first big play.
“I made the game-winning touchdown catch against Wayne County,” Golden said.
Following his freshman season, Wiley took a year off before he became a starter for the Pirates last season. Now, when he breaks the huddle knowing he will be the primary target of one of quarterback Jamarius Stevens’ passes, he remains calm.
“I just look at it like, ‘I’ve done this before. It’s nothing new,’” Golden said. “And I think about not letting my team down by dropping the ball.”
One of his biggest catches of the year came against Glynn Academy in this year’s Brunswick City Championship. He ran a crossing pattern but then realized that his quarterback was being pursued by defenders in red and white.
“The catch was like a routine play, and then I saw our QB scramble, so I kept running and got open and made myself a big target for him,” Golden said.
The reception kept a game-tying drive alive.
Despite his big plays on the gridiron, Wiley’s most memorable game was actually in basketball last year when he got his first in-game dunk for the Pirates. Golden lettered in football and basketball last year and was named “Top Pirate” by Harold.
“I’ve gotten bigger, faster, and stronger,” Golden said. “I’ve gained more football knowledge.”
To get to where he is now, Golden worked hard in the offseason and studied old game films to correct his mistakes. He credited offensive line coach Ryan McKenzie for helping him improve on the field.
“He has coached me with all he’s got to make me a better player,” Golden said. “He refuses to settle for mediocrity.”
Coaches see a bright future for Golden, which includes college.
“He wants to major in urban forestry,” Harold said. “He loves the outdoors, and I foresee him being a CEO of a company or business in the future.”
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AA – Wiley Golden, Brunswick
Written by: Rob Asbell
Photos by: Michael Brinson
Dual Threat Pirate
