It has been an incredible season for Illinois Wesleyan sophomore wide receiver Will Nazha. Through five games, Nazha leads the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in receiving yards and is on pace for one of the better seasons in school history.
On the field, Nazha is known for his explosiveness that allows him to be able to make big plays for the Titans. “My best quality as a receiver is being able to create separation from my defender to get down the field,” Nazha said.
But Nazha wasn’t always known on the field as an explosive menace. In fact, last year, few Titans fans probably even knew his name, because he didn’t receive any playing time on IWU’s varsity squad.
This year, Nazha knew he’d change that. In the offseason, he made it a focal point to train twice as hard and work out more to earn a starting spot this year.
“I took it personally that I didn’t play at all my freshman year,” Nazha said. “I trained to make sure I would have a starting spot this year.”
The work Nazha put in during the offseason has definitely paid off. Halfway through the regular season, Nazha has 518 receiving yards, which leads the conference. He’s on pace to record 1,036 receiving yards, which would be sixth on the all-time single-season receiving list only behind Eric White again with 1,064 in 2002, Chris Bisaillon with 1,068 in 1991, Chris Bisaillon again with 1,107 in 1992, Jack Healy with 1,137 in 2018, and Eric White again (this time on top) with 1,215 in 2003.
Nazha’s success isn’t his alone. It helps when you have a player like junior quarterback Dermot Smyth throwing you the ball. Smyth has had an excellent season himself so far, currently with 1271 passing yards, good enough for second most in the conference, with 10 touchdown passes, four of them thrown to Nazha.
Nazha and Smyth worked together all offseason in order to perfect their chemistry with one another heading into this season. “We would throw two days a week to create a connection as a duo that has been amazing this year. Dermot and I read defensive zones well and are able to be on the same page consistently.”
“Will has had a great start to the season due to the work he put in during the offseason,” Smyth said, “Will came into the season as prepared as possible and it was no surprise that he is making plays for us right away.”
Nazha acknowledged that the coaching staff—led by first-year head coach at Wesleyan Jared Williamson—has done an outstanding job turning the program into what it is.
“Wesleyan is the best fit for me because I’m surrounded by an amazing coaching staff and teammates that are my best friends that I get to be with every day and it’s a super cool experience,” Nazha said. “Coach Tyler Holte has helped me tremendously with my route running abilities and Coach Williamson has an amazing playback that we’ve done super well with.”
Off the back of Nazha’s outstanding play through five weeks, the Titans are currently sitting at 2-3 tied for fifth best record in the CCIW. They hit the road to take on conference rival Augustana this Saturday, Nov. 1. Kickoff at Ericson Field is at 1 p.m. and live stats will be available on iwusports.com.
