Cape Central football’s Joe Coonts signs NLI with Kentucky Wesleyan

CAPE GIRARDEAU – Cape Central senior Joe Coonts officially signed his national letter of intent with Kentucky Wesleyan College on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Cape Central High School.

“It's kind of a stepping off point for me because until recently, I didn't really think I was going to do much other than work after school,” Coonts said. “But the people of Kentucky Wesleyan reached out to me with the scholarship for academics, and then more recently, they reached out to me for football. I didn't even think I was going to play football in college or anything like that, so it's just a massive opportunity that I'm going to try my best to take advantage of.”

The 5-foot-6, 220-pound Coonts recorded five pancake blocks at offensive guard for Cape Central in 2024. Despite being one of the anchors of an offensive line that produced back-to-back 1,000-yard rushers, Coonts said he was recruited to become a fullback at the next level.

“It’s just going to be all new for me,” Coonts said. “I just love the chance to do something new, the chance to prosper at something that's different. It’s just a whole new experience and I can't wait.”

Cape Central senior Joe Coonts signs his NLI with Kentucky Wesleyan alongside his mother and father on Tuesday, Feb. 25.Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

Coonts is the second Cape Central player to sign with a college football program this offseason following star running back Zai’Aire Thomas’ commitment to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Jan. 30.

He will join a Division-II Kentucky Wesleyan program that is guided by head coach Tyrone Young.

“I think it's a great chance to go far,” Coonts said. “I’m just going to give them the best that I can and hope that we can succeed as a whole. And I believe that his mentorship is going to be wonderful.

“I took a visit to their campus one day, and it was a very close-knit community. They only have a population of about 800 people at their college, so I thought that, with the close-knit family atmosphere, it’s what really put me over the edge because I want to build a relationship with these people.”

Cape Central coach Kent Gibbs said he is going to miss Coonts’ positive energy and character the most.

“The thing with Joe is he always comes to work with a smile on his face,” Gibbs said. “They always tell kids, ‘It's a great day to have a great day,’ and most of the time he would get that out of his mouth before I would get it out of mine. He was always relaying how much he appreciated the opportunity to be out on the practice field or how much he enjoyed the games and his teammates. So, his enthusiasm is contagious. His work ethic is unrelenting. He just did a lot of good things for us as far as doing things the right way. So when you talk about missing things, you're always going to miss that.”

Cape Central senior Joe Coonts alongside his family and Tiger coaching staff during his national signing day on Tuesday, Feb. 25.Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

A 2024 Academic All-State selection, Coonts said he aims to stay on the sports side of things and major in fitness and sports management.

“I love the opportunity,” Coonts said. “In the long run, to come back to Central, maybe coach and help out here because this is my family and I want to kind of leave a legacy. I just want to have an impact on people and to make everything positive.”

But for now, Coonts is dead set on excelling on the gridiron and embarking a new chapter in his life three hours east in Owensboro, Kentucky.

“It's just a massive opportunity,” he said. “It's just the step to the next level where I can try and showcase my talents as best as I can. I love the game and I love the opportunity to progress forward.”