Geffrard not taking being extra large for granted
By Michael Doti
MDJ Sports Writer
When watching Whitefield Academy play
football, it should not be hard to spot Ian
Geffrard on the field.
The rising junior is 6-foot-6, 365-pounds,
and his goal is to slim down to 360 pounds
by the start of the season. Reaching that size
wasn’t something that happened overnight.
Geffrard said he was 5-7 in third grade but
his biggest growth spurt was between fifth
and sixth grade. It was then he made the
jump from 5-10 to 6-2. By the time he got
to high school he was 6-5, 340.
On and off the field, he said he’s witnessed
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the advantages of being bigger.
“There’s a lot less things I have to worry
about, not even on the field. If there’s
something up high, I can grab it,” Geffrard
said. “Even on the field, too. God blessed
me with the talent and I just have to make
use of it.”
Coach Coleman Joiner said Geffrard
is one of the most unique players he has
ever coached.
“(For starters) you take his size. He’s a
very large human being for his age, and so
as a football player, that’s extremely beneficial,
but he’s extremely athletic for his
size and that’s what really sets him apart
from other guys that he may be compared
to.” Joiner said. “Ian probably has more
fun playing the game and being around
our program than anybody else. He loves
working out, he loves practicing, he loves
hanging out with his teammates, he loves
playing the games, he is really enjoying
this sport in all aspects and that’s what
makes him really neat to coach.”
Joiner also said Geffrard is mature for
his size. He said guys like him can get
complacent when they are that big, but
he said through his improved work ethic,
Geffrard has learned he can compete with
people on the football field as opposed to
just outsizing them.
However, there are some downsides to
being that big. Geffrard said he deals with
joint pain, especially in his knees. Joiner
said it’s tougher for someone like that to
do physical conditioning.
While Geffrard plays mostly on the offensive
line, he also plays defense, and he
said one of his biggest aids when it comes
to playing to his size is the defensive coordinator
Justin Kruger, who has helped
him lose almost 40 pounds from a high
of nearly 400.
“He’s been helping me keep on track
of losing weight, and on top of that, he’s
been helping me with the defensive part
and the standpoint of just being quicker
and getting off the ball more and rushing
to the ball more,” he said. “Even though
I’m more of an offensive player, it helps
me both on the offense and defense.”
Because of his size, he said there have
been a few plays where he overpowered
an opposing lineman. He narrowed down
his favorite one to a play he made against
North Cobb Christian last year.
“I went against a defender, I think it was
an outside linebacker, and we met up in the
line of scrimmage and there it was, quick
pancake right there,” Geffrard said. “Then
I saw the running back, he ran right past
me, and then he went to the end zone.”
Plays like those and the way he can use his
size to his advantage are some of the reasons
why Geffrard has already gotten offers from
schools like Georgia Tech and Minnesota
after only his sophomore season. He said
he’s also heard from Duke and Tennessee.
He said he wants to use that attention
from colleges as an opportunity to get his
teammates into the spotlight as well. He
said he also wants to use his next two seasons
at Whitefield to leave his mark on the
school and to try to make history. By that he
said he doesn’t need to go down as the best
lineman in Whitefield history, but he wants
to be a significant figure in his community.
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