In Play(er) of the Week, we seek to highlight Wesleyan athletes or parts of games that deserve extra attention. Nick Helbig ’23 is a captain and defensive tackle for the Wesleyan football team. In 2021, he was awarded the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. For his outstanding performance in the Cardinals’ season opening game versus Bates, he was honored with NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week and the New England Football Writers Association Weekly Grinold Chapter Gold Helmet Award. The Argus recently sat down with him to talk about his time on the team and catch up with him on how the season is going so far.

The Argus: Do you mind introducing yourself?

Nick Helbig: Hi, I’m Nick Helbig. I’m a senior, I play defensive line, I’m an economics major, and I’m from Groton, Connecticut. 

A: How would you describe your experience playing football at Wesleyan? 

NH: It’s been a really good one, and it’s something I’ve come to enjoy more and more over my time here. Particularly because I had some Division I offers coming out of high school, so I was a little bit apprehensive about playing Division III when I could have gone Division I. But the longer I’ve been here, the more I appreciate the sport and the relationships I have with my teammates because it’s at a Division III level where it’s not as intense. So I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m really glad I came here for football.

A: Why did you end up picking DIII over DI?

NH: Part of it was location. I’m 40 minutes away [from home]. I enjoy being able to go back home and see my family. Also, I thought it would give me an opportunity to play more because I had an offer from UConn to walk on, but they basically told me, “You can walk on, we might not be to guarantee you a roster spot, we can’t guarantee you any scholarship money, we can’t guarantee you’ll ever play.” Whereas coming here, I definitely felt that I would be able to play more. I didn’t really know much at the time, but in my four years here I’ve come to appreciate that there’s more of a love of the game at Division III as opposed to DI where football is kind of a job. 

A: How would you describe your experience as a team captain?

NH: It’s definitely taught me a lot. As someone who puts a lot of work into myself as a football player, lifting weights, running, doing all the drills, that’s been the easy part. The hardest part’s been bringing the team up and trying to uplift everyone, lead, and get everyone ready for games. Worrying about myself is easy, but trying to lead a hundred other people has been the main challenge. But it’s something I like. I’m glad that my teammates have a lot of trust in me to be a captain, and it’s something I don’t take for granted.

A: Do you think there’s anything about the Wes team that you found here that’s really special?

NH: Yeah, I did a few overnights [for] recruiting. And even just on my overnights, the one thing that really drew to Wes was the people. It seemed like everyone had my back. I really appreciated that. I came back a second time and people remembered my name, people actually cared about me, wanted to know my interests. The coaching staff was really good, too. They were all very genuine. I just felt like it was a place where I could grow and definitely feel that in my four years here, all my coaches, I not only respect them as coaches but I also respect them as men and as role models in my life and they’ve taught me a lot.

A: Do you have any favorite memories from your time here at Wes? It can be on or off the field.

NH: On the field, I would say one of my favorites is winning the Little Three freshman year. Big wins versus Amherst and Williams, both overtime. That was fun. And then versus Trinity, I had a really good game personally and it was a really good send-off for the seniors. We went eight and one. I hate losing, but eight and one exceeded our expectations for the year. This year, hopefully, the best is still yet to come. Off the field, I think it’s the fact that Wesleyan is kind of an artsy school. I played saxophone all through middle school and high school. I was more of a band person than a football person in high school. When I came here freshman fall, I took a jazz band class and I found it was a really good place for me to dissociate from football and embrace the musical side of me. Just hang out with people I probably wouldn’t hang out with if I didn’t play music and get that side of Wesleyan that a lot of times you don’t really dive into as an athlete. So that’s probably one of my favorite things here. It’s not a specific experience but just kind of the vibe in general. 

A: You won the Defensive Player of the Year in the NESCAC last year, how did you feel about that?

NH: That’s actually a pretty interesting question because it’s something I’ve thought about a lot. So even though Division III is not as intense I’ve always taken football very seriously. So my goal coming into the season was to win Defensive Player of the Year because I felt like I had a good shot at it. The whole season I was like, “If I win Defensive Player of the Year I’m gonna be so happy, it’s gonna mean a lot to me.” Then I win it, and I really didn’t feel anything from it. Not to say it was a letdown, but I didn’t really know what I wanted in terms of personal accolades. In addition, I honestly didn’t feel like I deserved it. I had a couple of good games but overall I didn’t really like the player I was back then. This year I feel like I’m a much better player so obviously, I want to win it again. But I honestly try to forget about last year, especially because we had a down year as a team.

A: You say you feel better about yourself as a player this year. After the Bates game, you got NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week and you got the Gold Helmet Award, so how are you feeling about those?

NH: I felt good. Week one, coming in strong, it’s definitely a testament of the work I put in. But at the same time, there’s eight more games you gotta play, so you can’t get a big head from that. I think, as a team, we had a bad week versus Middlebury, and we learned a lot from that. You can’t rest on your laurels on one week and then not perform the next week. So it’s something you enjoy for 24 hours, but then you kind of have to flush that and move on to the next week. But it was pretty cool, and I’m trying to get in a couple more of those awards as the season goes on. Definitely a positive. Especially as a D-tackle, you usually don’t get awards like that. So the fact that people do recognize the impact that I had that week, I do appreciate it.

A: So I wanted to talk to you a little bit about being a D-lineman. What’s your favorite part about that position and what’s the hardest part?

NH: So my favorite part, it’s a very simple job, but one that I don’t think a lot of people could do. It feels very football to me, just going in there and hitting people as hard as you can every single play and knowing that you’re usually going to have two people trying to do the same to you. You have to be on your game at all times, or else you’re gonna get put on your back. Versus Bates, that was the first game I ever got through that I was completely healthy. And being a D-lineman, you’re always dealing with little knicks and bruises and little minor injuries, but you have to play through them. Especially as a D-lineman, that’s a very taxing position, but you can’t shy away from that. You have to power through it. 

A: What would you consider the highlight of the season so far to be?

NH: I think it was beating Colby because, in my opinion, that was the best team that we’ve played so far, and they had a little extra added motivation because their old defensive coordinator is now our defensive coordinator. So it was a game we really wanted to stick it to them. We didn’t want to give them a single inch. As a D-line, usually rushing yards allowed is a good indicator of how you’re doing against the run. We gave up 20 yards which is insanely low. So the fact that we gave up such few rushing yards was a big thing. And I got a forced fumble. But I thought it was a really good team win, but at the same time, we haven’t played a full game yet where everyone’s doing the thing for four quarters so that’s something we have to improve on. But so far I think that’s been our best game.

A: What are you most looking forward to now?

NH: I’m just really looking forward to seeing what this team is capable of. Even though we’ve been beating teams by 30 points, there’s so much more we can do better and we can be a lot more dominant on all sides of the ball. I got four more games left in football; I want to get everything out of it that I can.

A: So this is your final season. What are you hoping the future of this team will look like after you’re gone?

NH: I hope that the stuff that we’ve tried to instill in the team as captains carries on because that’s been a big part of the way I lead. I try and uphold what I learned from the captains when I was a freshman and I’m just trying to pass on that same tradition, the same standards of excellence that I learned to the younger guys now. So just hoping that we continue to be hungry. And when I come back here next year for a couple of games, everyone wants to dominate as much as I want to dominate.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

If you would like to nominate a Play(er) of the Week, please reach out to cbonnevie@wesleyan.edu, ebyerly@wesleyan.edu, or eseaver@wesleyan.edu with either the athlete’s name and one sentence about why they deserve to be nominated, or the team, date of the game, and players involved, and the segment that you would like to highlight. 

 

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.