Wyatt Bohm to join the Iowa State University football program
By FRED KRONER
Everyone has a story.
Some are as inspirational as they are intriguing.
Some are as compelling as they are complex.
Some are appealing as they are addictive.
Some are like an open book you can recite almost verbatim.
Some are mysterious as they provide little insight into the person’s heart or soul.
Some are simply joyous as you follow the evolution and progression of the person.
Others simply can’t be pigeonholed into any particular category.
Those who have followed Mahomet-Seymour football the past two years are well aware of the massive highlights.
Back-to-back state-ranked Class 5A teams have advanced into the IHSA quarterfinals, led by quarterback Wyatt Bohm, who rewrote the majority of the school’s season and career passing records.
He has now been rewarded with a chance to join the Iowa State University football program as a preferred walk-on.
The end of Bohm’s story – at least through the high school chapter – has been well-documented.
It’s easy to theorize that Bohm reached that pinnacle through hard work, determination and a strong work ethic.
Very true, but Bohm’s background is what sets him apart from many of his peers.
His story is certainly inspirational, but it is also complex. It is also one filled with joy and good fortune.
“Growing up, I have always been playing whatever sport is in season,” Bohm said.
There was one noteworthy exception.
“I wanted to play football since I was old enough to play organized football, but my parents didn’t allow me to play until I was in sixth grade,” Bohm said.
Being a newcomer to the sport, he wasn’t immediately cast into a position of leadership.
“When I started playing, I wasn’t very good and being a big kid, I started playing tight end,” Bohm said.
A year later, he had developed enough confidence in his abilities that he made a request of his youth coach, Rob Gallier, to play a position where he thought he could excel.
“When I started seventh grade, I asked Coach Gallier if I could try playing quarterback and he let me,” Bohm said.
By the time Bohm reached ninth grade, he was still playing the quarterback position, but was sharing snaps with classmate Braden Houchin.
He still had a good look at the totality of the Bulldog program every day when he went to practice, however.
“A great thing was being in varsity practice as a freshman and really getting used to the speed and size early in my career,” Bohm said.
Even at that age, and despite not being the full-time freshmen quarterback, Bohm was already looking to the future.
“I set the goal my freshman year to compete and that I wanted to have the opportunity to play at the highest level,” he said.
Something happened after his freshmen football season – something, that is, besides the COVID-19 pandemic that threw the country into a tizzy.
“From freshman to sophomore year, I grew four inches and gained 40 pounds (growing from 6 foot, 150 pounds to 6-4, 190),” Bohm said. “Something that helped mature me as a quarterback was an increase in size.”
Though he might well have been projected as the M-S quarterback of the future, Bohm still wasn’t thrust into a starting role as a sophomore when the truncated varsity football season (six games) was contested during a short time span (36 days between late March and late April) in the spring of 2021. Coach Jon Adkins gave preference to that year’s seniors.
Braden Finch attempted all of the team’s passes at the varsity level in the spring season of 2021.
Bohm watched, waited and was ready to deliver by the time he made his varsity starting debut in Game 1 of his junior year. It was the first of 24 games (22 of which were victories) that would find Bohm shattering virtually every school record for passing while earning first-team All-State status as a junior on an honor squad selected by the Illinois Football Coaches Association.
In his first three games as a varsity starter as a junior in the fall of 2021, Bohm completed 41 of 75 passes – without throwing an interception – and threw for 721 yards and six touchdowns.
By his senior year, Bohm was 6-foot-5, 215 pounds and improved many of the numbers he produced the previous season.
He increased his accuracy rate from 58.8 percent to 65.1 percent, he had fewer passes picked off (eight, compared to nine a year earlier) and he raised his total number of TD passes from 27 to 32.
Bulldog football head coach Jon Adkins said the results were indeed a testament to Bohm’s effort.
“Incredibly proud of Wyatt and the career that he’s had at Mahomet,” Adkins said. “Went from splitting QB reps as a freshman to setting multiple school career records, all due to his hard work and dedication to being the best he can be.”
Bohm literally put himself in a position where he has a future in football beyond high school.
“I think Iowa State made a great pick-up in getting Wyatt,” Adins said. “I cannot wait to see how much better he continues to get being a part of a Big 12 national program.
“With his height, and arm strength, along with his smarts at the quarterback position, why wouldn’t you want this kid? I truly believe he’s still reaching his ceiling.”
Despite lofty numbers such as the top two single-season passing yard totals (3,171 and 2,512) in school history, the top two single-season marks for TD passes (32 and 27) and the top two records for single-season completions (184 and 166), Bohm was not highly recruited.
“I didn’t have a lot of options to play football, but I was thankful for the opportunity that the couple schools gave me,” he said. “I’ve been getting mail from Iowa State since my junior year, and the off-season from junior to senior is when I went to a camp there.
“They didn’t offer me a spot until late in my senior season, but it was the first opportunity that I had been given and was an amazing experience.”
Bohm had the University of Illinois and North Central College on his final short list of three possibilities. He also visited Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale.
He ultimately selected the school that had consistently stayed in touch.
“Iowa State showed the most interest early and made me feel at home,” Bohm said. “The recruitment process is so long and at times feels like nothing is going to happen, but with my family and coaches, it made me feel more optimistic.”
He doesn’t anticipate a quick start to his collegiate career.
“I am confident that I will be redshirting my freshman year, but with not a lot of quarterbacks on the roster, there will be an impact to be made even in practice,” Bohm said. “Mobility is something that I am working on now and will be something I will continue to work on when I get to Ames.
“I feel like I will improve much more drastically in college than I did in high school. Football is a full-time job in college, and you have the best coaches and nutritional consultants possible. I love that I get to prove myself at the highest level of college football.”
Bohm was a multi-sport athlete while at M-S. Though he eliminated one activity in 2019, he replaced it with another.
“When I got to high school, I decided to stop playing baseball and Coach Adkins convinced me to go run track,” Bohm said. “I wasn’t very successful in competition, but I gained a lot of speed and I was glad I did it.
“Before high school, I definitely favored basketball because that was my dad’s favorite sport, but football is so much more of a team sport and that is what drew me in.
“I love the team aspect of football. You become so close with your teammates, and they become more like brothers. I think my leadership is one of my bigger strengths and just being able to connect with my teammates.”
Bohm was one of the leading players on the Bulldog basketball team as a senior, averaging a team-best 9.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for a Class 3A regional championship squad.
In committing to Iowa State University, Bohm will be relocating about 360 miles from his hometown.
“I will definitely be homesick for the first part of college and will miss my family and friends,” he said, “but I’m also excited to start something new and to meet new people.”
Initially, Bohm plans to major in business, but added, “I can also see myself pursuing a law degree.”
Beyond that, his plans are in limbo.
“I have absolutely no idea where I will be in 10 years, and I’m excited to see that change in college,” Bohm said.
Adkins has fond memories of the quarterback who guided M-S to consecutive unbeaten regular seasons and two straight Apollo Conference crowns.
“Love the kid and I’m going to miss him and his leadership for sure,” Adkins said, “but incredibly happy for him and his family with this new adventure ahead of them.”
Whatever happens in the future, Bohm’s story to date has been a thriller with a series of twists and turns … not to mention a happy ending.
