WXXV Student Athlete of the Week: West Harrison’s Melvin Pickens

This week’s WXXV Student Athlete of the Week has yet to play a game during his senior football season and he is not going to.

West Harrison star running back Melvin Pickens is still getting used to watching his Hurricanes from the sideline, but as they continue to etch their name into the record books, Pickens is more important than he’s ever been before.

“At first I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I thought I was going to be coming back to halfway through the summer. But the doctor told me that I’m going to be missing my entire senior year.”

Coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2021, Melvin Pickens was poised for a monster senior year in 2022, but during West Harrison’s spring game against Stone back in May, Pickens tore the ACL, MCL, and PCL in his left knee, and just like that, he had played his last down as a high school football player. “Life goes on. I mean bad things are going to happen, and obviously I messed up my knee. But I can’t dwell on it. I’ve got to keep pushing. I’ve got to keep going forward. And I can’t drag other people down with me, so why not go up with them?”

With Pickens as their inspiration, the Hurricanes are now 3-0 for the first time in school history, following a thrilling 47-46 victory over St. Helena in Louisiana on Friday as well as wins over Southeast Lauderdale and Bay High. Head Coach Quincy Patrick said, “It’s exciting for the kids. We’re happy to be 3-0, but that’s not the goal. Right now, we’re 0-0. We’ve got East Central next week. They’re super good. You’ve covered them. You’ve seen them. They’re so physical. They’re a great team. But it is exciting to be 3-0 in the hallway. The kids are treated a little differently and they’ve got a little bow in their chest and we’re excited about that. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

“Any other team on the Coast, you’re going to have to watch out for us. I mean it’s not soft anymore. It’s not easy. We’re going to come there, or you’re going to come to us, and we’re going to give you a fight.”

With West Harrison’s program best five wins in a season very much within reach, Pickens is far from a forgotten player for the 2022 Hurricanes that don’t have the player they want, but they do have the coach that they need. “My coaches, my teammates, they’re lifting me up and making me feel wanted even when I can’t put out on the field with them, so that really helped out.”

“We lost Melvin the player, but we gained Melvin the coach and he coaches the running backs more than I coach them. They’re coming off the field. He’s grabbing them. At practice he has them. So, like I said, we lost the player and I hate that, but he’s a fantastic coach and wants to get into coaching, so when he graduates, I’ll hire him. I promise you that.”

A battle of the unbeaten two Friday’s from now as West Harrison travels to East Central for the first Region 4 Class 5A game of the season.