Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Fair or not, Corner Canyon quarterback Isaac Wilson was always going to be compared to his older brother Zach Wilson.
It's the nature of being the younger brother to the former star quarterback at BYU who was later selected by the New York Jets with the No. 2 overall pick — the highest ever pick for the Cougars — in the 2021 NFL draft. There was no way around it for Isaac Wilson, especially in his role as a quarterback.
"I think he's gotten so used to the pressure of being Zach's younger brother and him basically just being referred to as Zach's younger brother and the expectations of what he's going to do and become. ... The pressure of having that, I think he's handled that so well and the criticism that he gets," Corner Canyon head coach Eric Kjar told KSL.com. "No matter what, he's always getting criticized, and it's basically taught him you just can't give those guys a lot of weight or you can't care about it."
The quarterback always gets all the love — or all the hate — but it hasn't shaken the younger Wilson one bit in his pursuit to be one of the best athletes in the state. He's already rated the No. 2 overall recruit in the state of Utah, according to recruiting service 247Sports, and has put up gaudy numbers only three weeks into the season.
In three games — one of which was against the No. 2 ranked team in the country in Bishop Gorman (NV), and the other against former Region 4 rival Lone Peak — Wilson has thrown for 1,185 yards and has accounted for 17 total touchdowns, four of which have been rushing touchdowns.
In his latest showing, a home matchup against a talented Lone Peak team, Wilson threw for 347 yards and finished the first half with five passing touchdowns before adding a sixth in the second half in a win over the Knights.
But it was the fourth touchdown of the night that was the highlight of the season so far for Wilson, in which he showcased his top-end talent as a passer. After Corner Canyon picked off Lone Peak's quarterback, Wilson stepped back and delivered a 40-yard touchdown strike that hit receiver Tate Kjar in stride in a tight window that featured a Knights defender draped over Kjar.
Corner Canyon picks off Lone Peak and then Isaac Wilson throws this TD pass 😵💫. That's his 4th of the night, and we're still in the first half. pic.twitter.com/IhhnyDpu8U
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) August 26, 2023
"That thing was crazy," Eric Kjar said. "I was telling him after, I was like, dude, that was like a hell of a throw and catch by you two, but the easier is we had a guy out in the flat just standing out there without anybody around like 15 yards by him."
The comment was mostly in jest, but it highlighted Wilson's desire (and ability) to make the bigger play.
"He has a bunch of those sometimes where it's like dude, you're a freak," Kjar said. "Because he can throw it so well, he sometimes — I don't know if gets away with it is the right word — but he can make some plays that, I think, are a little almost daring when he could just make an easier play. But it's part of the fun of having him and coaching him, and you kind of want him to be able to be a little bit of that gunslinger type where he's going to push it sometimes."
It's safe to say Wilson is blazing his own trail.
That was most pronounced when the four-star Wilson announced his commitment to the University of Utah over the summer. He told 247Sports at the time that he wanted to "go back to our roots and go back to where my dad played. I couldn't be more excited to be committed to Utah."
Regardless of what his future holds, Kjar is happy to have Isaac Wilson — Zach Wilson's younger brother, or whatever you want to call him. His talent makes an already talent-rich Corner Canyon better, but he's been an even better teammate.
"He's been so fun to coach," Kjar said. "His personality wise, he's fun. He's almost a little like — he's so good with his teammates — but he's a little more carefree than some of the quarterbacks we've had in the past. He'll make a mistake, he'll learn from it and move on. He doesn't dwell on it a while. He's just kind of a little more lighthearted, so you can have fun with him, joke around with him."
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