Wilt wears an armband with the word “Grady” emblazoned across his left arm in honor of his cousin, Grady Neff, who died unexpectedly at the age of 8 in 2018 — a tragic loss felt by the entire South Charleston community.
“He was the closest thing I ever felt like I had to a little brother,” said Wilt, who was 12 at the time his cousin died. “We did everything growing up. He meant so much to me. The fact that he never got to play this game, it’s something that I feel like I owe him. I can make a nice tribute to him every time I step on the field.”
In the Trojans’ Week 2 game against Lehman Catholic at Sidney Memorial Stadium, Wilt opted for turf tape instead of the armband — still writing his cousin’s name across his left arm.
“I’ll always have it on me,” Wilt said.
Wilt has played a key role in Southeastern’s success over the last two seasons. He led the Ohio Heritage Conference in tackles last season with 126, earning Division VII All-Ohio honorable mention honors as a linebacker.
“He’s a great young man,” said Trojans coach AJ Woods. “He’s been a leader since his sophomore year. He’s an emotional young man. He wears his heart on his sleeve right there with Grady on his sleeve. We love him to death.
“Our guy in the locker room and in the huddle is CJ Wilt,” Woods added. “Our team goes the way CJ goes a lot of times.”
Earlier this season, Wilt changed his number to 63 in honor of his late grandfather Doug Wilt and his father Chad Wilt, who both wore that number during their playing days at Greenon. He wore 40 last season, but had to switch his number when he moved back to the offensive line.
“This was my go-to,” he said. “It was something I wanted to do for my family. I felt like this was something I wanted to do for them.”
The senior played all but two plays of Saturday’s 30-21 victory over Lehman Catholic as the Trojans improved to 2-0. Wilt ranks sixth in the OHC with 21 tackles and one sack this fall.
Wilt is one of nine Trojan seniors, the first class Woods has had for four years at Southeastern. Southeastern went 7-5 last season, clinching their first winning season in 14 years.
The Trojan will host Triad (0-2) at 7 p.m. for the first time since falling to the Cardinals 34-6 in 2020. While the Trojans hope to make another run at the OHC South Division title, they’re not looking too far ahead, Wilt said.
“Our goal is to go 1-0 every week,” he said. “We just focus on the next game. We don’t focus on the future. We try to focus on the present and who we got this week.”
Wilt began wearing the armband as an eighth grader, eventually outgrowing the original version. After gaining 70 pounds over the last four years, he now has different armbands for both of the Trojans uniform combinations.
“It’s something I’ll always wear for him,” Wilt said. “If I move on to play at the next level, I’ll wear it there too.”
PREP FOOTBALL
Week 3 Schedule
Springfield at Trotwood-Madison
Shawnee at Tecumseh
Northwestern at Miami East
Catholic Central at Northeastern
Triad at Southeastern
Cols. Mifflin at Kenton Ridge
Greenon at Mechanicsburg
Cedarville at Fairbanks
West Liberty-Salem at Greeneview
Brookville at Graham
Urbana at Bethel
(All games scheduled for 7 p.m.)
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