Williamsburg’s Rayce Heitman named 2024 Gazette area football Player of the Year

WILLIAMSBURG – Rayce Heitman started playing tackle football about fifth grade.

He recalled having instant success thanks to the untaught abilities he possessed as a youth.

“I was just a fast, tall kid for my age,” Heitman said. “As time went on, I stayed athletic enough and I found that I was good at football. I had a natural instinct for it. I just kept having fun playing it."

Heitman merged the passion for football with a competitive edge. He credited his older cousin, Carter Capper, for honing determination to do whatever it took to be the best. Capper was a year older and motivated Heitman to stand out.

"He was always bigger than me,” said Heitman, who also participates in basketball, track and baseball. “I always wanted to be better than him and that pushed me to always want to be good at something.

“I had to find a way to try and beat him.”

Heitman garnered attention before he even stepped into high school. Williamsburg Coach Curt Ritchie knew he was talented but was concerned by his size. All it took was watching Heitman in action to know he was special.

“I remember watching him in junior high and watching him make crazy plays,” Ritchie said. “You get him in as a freshman and you think this guy is physically nowhere ready to play, but then he’s making plays on scout team against our varsity guys. You realize it might not really matter how big he is.”

Heitman evolved into a versatile, big-time talent that played a key role in the Raiders success during his prep career. In his senior season, Heitman led the state with 20 receiving touchdowns and ranked second in Class 3A with 1,073 yards on 61 catches. He also finished as Williamsburg’s top tackler and returner, earning The Gazette’s 2024 Player of the Year honors.

"I was just trying to enjoy the last season with my friends that I always grew up with playing," Heitman said. "I tried to do that and we had a lot of fun. It didn't go the way we wanted it to, but had fun along the way so can't be mad about that.

"Nothing's like small town football, especially in Williamsburg. The entire community has got your back (and) wants to see everybody succeed.”

Heitman has given Raiders fans plenty to cheer about. He was an all-state linebacker as a junior. He was a first-team all-state receiver this season. His versatility allowed Ritchie to plug him in anywhere needed. Williamsburg benefited from his playmaking ability from anywhere on the field.

“The biggest thing he's just so flexible and where we could play him on either side of the ball,” Ritchie said. “He could be a running back, a receiver, he can play safety and at times as a younger player we used him as a rush end.

“He has kind of a weird skill set for a guy who's really not reached his full potential as far as his body goes, yet.”

Some players have gifts that match a specific position. Others have the knowledge to understand multiple positions. Heitman combined the two to play anywhere. Was offense or defense his favorite?

"The thing I probably like the most is playing receiver," Heitman said. "I really enjoy being on defense, too, making a big stop."

"They're two different things. You can't really compare catching the ball to making a big stop on third down."

Heitman tallied 1,122 offensive yards this season and 20 TDs. He recorded 82 tackles, including 70 solo, nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks with an interception. Heitman averaged 18.9 yards on 12 kickoff returns and 15.6 on 14 punt returns.

"The most important thing is being out there, trying to make it difference for your team," Heitman said. "I would like to say I did a pretty good job. There are a lot of people at Williamsburg who have done their job and I think I kind of kept that going."

The career numbers are impressive. He finished with 2,111 yards and 38 scores offensively, including 1,838 and 32 receiving. Heitman amassed 298.5 total tackles with 255 solo, 40.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He had six interceptions, returning two for TDs, and five fumble recoveries. Heitman also returned four punts and three kickoffs for scores.

Heitman helped the Raiders to three straight trips to the UNI-Dome before this season. Williamsburg reached the semifinals his freshman season, earned a runner-up finish as a sophomore and claimed the 3A title a year ago.

“He just never came off the field these last three years,” said Ritchie, noting that Heitman returned from Tommy John surgery for an elbow injury in last year’s state finals. “He played through a lot of nagging injuries.”

“He’s never missed a game for us,” Ritchie said. “It says a lot about his toughness and drive. He just loves to compete.”

Heitman accepted a preferred walk-on offer to play at the University of Iowa. He has joined a list of Raiders turned Hawkeyes, including Austin Blythe, Kaden Wetjen and Derek Weisskopf.

Heitman projects as a defensive back and has talked to Special Teams Coordinator LeVar Woods about opportunities in that phase of the game, just like Wetjen, who was named Big Ten Specialist of the Year this season.

"I have to fill some roles with Kaden there," Heitman said. "He plays special teams. I hope to play special teams, so I've got to fill some big shoes there, especially because of the Big Ten award."

The Raiders have a big hole to fill with Heitman’s graduation. Ritchie said it may not be clear just how big until next season when they don’t have him.

“Very similar to Derek, maybe even more so because he’s probably more of a big playmaker, we’re probably not going to realize exactly how much he will be missed until about September,” Ritchie said. “Then, we’ll realize this guy did a lot of things.”

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com