Senior Spotlight: Kaylon Geiger

This story originally appeared in GAMEDAY - Troy's Official Gameday Program

Growing up in Fort Worth, Texas wasn't always easy for Kaylon Geiger. He's always battled adversity and come out on the other side a better man.

Geiger gives credit to his mother for shaping him into the man he is today, especially with the absence of his father, who has been in prison since Geiger was just three years old.

"My mom did everything she could to give me the best life," Geiger said. "We did a lot of bouncing around, but I always stayed out of trouble and stayed in my own lane."

"Watching my mom do the best she can for me, she made me into who I am. Seeing everything that I saw at such a young age, she molded me into becoming a man of my own."

His father is slated to be released in 2022, and despite not having his father present, the two kept in contact.

"Losing my dad at such a young age wasn't easy," Geiger said. "But I still talk to him all the time through letters and phone calls. He actually called me before the BYU game and wished me good luck."

"It affected me tremendously not having him there physically, I'm really looking forward to having him back and just being able to hug him again."

Geiger has always used adversity to better himself. When he started playing football at the age of five, he went up against the biggest guy on the team in the now infamous Oklahoma drill.

"I got ran over and started crying, but I was told, 'get up, you're alright,'" Geiger said.

This happened again and again until finally he persevered, tackling the biggest guy and changing his perspective on life.

"I remember crying because he ran me over twice like it was nothing," Geiger said. "But I didn't give up. I got mad and then I actually tackled him. It changed my whole perspective of life. I can do whatever I put my mind to."

Geiger used that motivation well and earned honorable mention all-district honors during his junior year of high school while also earning a three-star rating by 247Sports. Although he had earned a few stars behind his name, he didn't get the recognition from colleges he felt he deserved and once again was faced with adversity.

Instead of going to a four-year college, Geiger went the junior college route and got better because of it.

"I wasn't where I thought I could be," Geiger said. "It was devastating to see all my friends playing on a bigger stage while I was walking on at JUCO. I knew I could [play] at the next stage, so I used it as motivation and went to work."

Geiger impressed during his freshman year at Navarro College, leading the Bulldogs with 497 receiving yards while ranking second with three touchdowns.

The 5-10, 170-pound wide receiver burst onto the scene during his sophomore season when he led all junior college players with 70 catches while ranking second nationally with 954 receiving yards and sixth with 86.7 yards per game.

For his efforts, Geiger was named Second Team All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference. He finished his JUCO career ranking third in Navarro history with 100 career receptions and fifth with 1,451 career receiving yards.

Schools finally began to notice Geiger, but it was Troy who won out over the rest.

"[Troy] is a beautiful place with beautiful people," Geiger said. "When I came on my visit, the coaches were just so genuine and showed me exactly what they wanted me to do here and what I could do here. It just felt like home and I felt like I could fit right in."

Geiger's impact at Troy was immediate. He was named the Sun Belt Conference's 2019 Newcomer of the Year and garnered All-Sun Belt First Team honors.

As a junior, Geiger etched his name all over Troy's single-season and single-game record books. His 77 receptions ranked as the third most in a season in Troy while his 873 yards finished just shy of the top 10, and his five 100-yard receiving games tied a school record. Geiger caught 12 passes against Coastal Carolina which was the fifth-most in a game in program history.

Geiger came down with the ball on 77.8 percent of his targets, the fourth-best mark in the nation among receivers with at least 95 targets.

In 2020, Geiger is a key piece on one of the conference's best receiving corps. The senior is back in a Trojan uniform alongside guys like Reggie Todd, Khalil McClain, Trey Eafford, Bret Clark and Luke Whittemore, just to name a few.

"I learn from all those guys just like they learn from me," Geiger said. "It's fun having that much talent in the room and the competitiveness only makes us all better. We want to win a Sun Belt championship this year. That's our goal, and we're all working towards it together."

Troy University Athletics

This story originally appeared in GAMEDAY - Troy's Official Gameday Program

Players Mentioned

Bret Clark

Kaylon Geiger

Khalil McClain

Reggie Todd

Luke Whittemore

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