FORT PIERCE – The sole private high school football program in St. Lucie County has something great going on right now.
If one would take a look at how the John Carroll Catholic team practices in a spring session, you would think the players and coaches are already in midseason form.
The operation went crisply from start to finish on the afternoon of Monday, May 2. It was timely and purposeful in more ways than one.
This is a testament to Golden Rams head coach and athletic director Mickey Groody, who led his program to the FHSAA regional final round the past two seasons (2021 – 7-3 final record and berth in Class 2A-Region 4 final; 2020 – 9-2 final record and berth in Class 3A-Region 2 final).
“There were some good things on both sides of the ball,” Groody said. “Towards the end, the defense had the edge a little bit. It gets a little tough when we’re trying to spread our linemen out on both sides of the ball.”
John Carroll 2023 defensive end Wilky Denaud was one player who stood out in the trenches. He batted a ball down with ease for a pass breakup that wowed his coaches in the process.
“He’s just Wilky,” Groody said of the 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end, who is rated as a 247Sports.com four-star standout with 23 offers to date. “There’s no other way to put it. He’s just a freak athlete. I think his best football is ahead of him. I’m excited to see where this summer leads into where he chooses to go to school.”
Another John Carroll 2023 standout is defensive back Aidan Singleton, who recently received his first offer from Charleston Southern and another one from Bucknell. The 6-foot, 175-pound star had the day’s best play, which was an end-zone pass breakup he jumped up for to prevent a catch by his opposing man.
“He’s really honed in on the weight room,” Groody said. “He needed to get bigger, stronger, and faster. He’s done a great job of that. I think that’s starting to show in his recruiting. I think even as this spring progresses and some summer stuff he’s going to, I really think he’ll end up being a Group of 5 guy.”
Meanwhile, John Carroll 2023 defensive lineman Josh Meltzer has proven to be the team’s heart, soul, and ultimate team leader in more ways than one.
“There’s no doubt,” Groody said of Meltzer. “I’m hoping when schools come out, they see him and see his film. He’s one of those guys that when he makes a play on defense, the crowd notices right away. It’s just his physicality and everything else. He’s going to a huge asset to somebody’s college program.”
John Carroll has more standouts in Robert Jones III (2025 wide receiver/defensive back), TJ Alford (2025 athlete), Otis Ingram (2024 offensive lineman), Tony Colebrook (2024 running back), and Josh Pastrana (2023 linebacker), to name several.
“It’s an exciting time to be here,” Groody said. “I think schools are starting to take notice that in talking about recruiting. I’ve had multiple schools here. Bigger schools, higher academic schools. Just everything we have to offer here at John Carroll. You get great student-athletes. You get great members of the community. You get great student with high GPA’s. As you know with the recruiting world we’re in now, high GPA’s are a big part of it.”
SPRING FOOTBALL GAME
John Carroll Catholic will be hosting Fort Pierce Central on Thursday, May 19. The kickoff time is set for 7 p.m.
Groody spoke on what to expect from this Treasure Coast spring game tilt and more.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Groody said. “Coach [Mike] Watkins is a great X’s and O’s guy. I’ve known him for a while. He’s going to have a great team. They’re gonna be athletic. We’re gonna have to keep up athletic-wise. It’s going to be a great test for us leading into summer. It’s going to be a great test for us because I know he’s going to have them prepared. I’m looking for us to compete for all four quarters.”
