Introducing our WXXV Student Athlete of the Week St. Stanislaus 5 Star Kicker Evan Noel
Our first Student Athlete of the Week for the 2024-2025 year is St. Stanislaus football five-star Kicker Evan Noel.
“Since I was nine, my dad has always been telling me to go kick a football because he’s been seeing videos, so we actually went to that field right over there.”
Evan Noel is currently a senior kicker at St. Stanislaus College. His consistency to the process and position as a kid is an exact reflection to his consistency on the field.
Head Football Coach Tate Thigpen says he’s been a huge asset to the Rock-a-Chaw program throughout his entire high school career. “Really just the consistency of kicking off, putting it in the endzone every time, allowing us to use him to flip the field and gain the advantage, and of course the scoreboard. It’s hard to top getting that extra point every time and being able to kick a field goal when you need it.”
In week zero of this year, Noel nailed his in-game career high of 53 yards, further proving why he has five stars next to his name. Noel breaks down the moment when he found out one of his goals had been reached. “They tell us at camp when the stars and rankings are coming out so we just wait until then. It was two years ago in Gatlinburg. I won that one and he told me I was going to be number one. It meant the world to me. It’s all I wanted. I just wanted to make my parents proud.”
Making his parents proud to say the very least. What started off as something fun to do with his dad as a kid will now put him on the biggest stages that college football has to offer. Noel currently holds offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Florida and is committed to joining the Razorback program. “It meant a lot to me actually. I was very happy. Everything I’ve worked for has been doing good for me. It just means I just need to keep on working when this season ends. I’ve got to get ready for the next level because it will be a big jump. It’s been very nice to see my dreams come into play longer and longer and I’m just ready.”
His kicking game isn’t the only way Noel helps out the Rocks, but he also leads the team by example with his work ethic and composure. “He’s a pretty special kid and all of the guys on the team look up to him. He’s a good leader in the locker room. He can be silly at times just like any high school kid, but everybody listens to him and they kind of follow his work ethic a little bit especially in the weight room. Believe it or not, being a kicker, he actually does lift weights. He leads in a lot of ways, not just as a kicker.”
“I’ve grown up with these guys my whole life and it’s been pretty fun, so they are definitely my favorite part. Football has taught me that I have a bunch of teammates and I’m the only child, so it gives me brothers that I’ve never had.”
This season will be Noel’s high school finale with his Rock-A-Chaw brothers, but knowing him, there will be plenty more times that Brother Philip Memorial Stadium will ring ‘the kick is good!”
