NATCHEZ — The train was rumbling before he even saw the light of day.

Gerald “Train” Wiley, who now makes noise on the football field for Natchez High School bulldozing over linemen, was making his presence known early.

“When I was in my momma’s stomach, the doctor listened and said it sounded like a train,” Wiley said.

The name stuck.

“I just kept it,” Wiley said. “At first, my parents only called me ‘Train’, but when I started playing for the Natchez Falcons, I came in and they called me that because I was doing good.”

Wiley has embraced the name and literally thinks of himself as a train on the field.

“‘Train’ is trying to win, and is going to win every fight,” he said. “I just have to be the train.”

Along with Wiley’s big frame comes a big personality, one that never lacks in confidence.

“I have never known Gerald to walk away from battles,” Natchez head coach Henry Garner said. “He has never been low on confidence, never seen him lack it. That is one thing that has been very appealing for me.”

Wiley has gone one-on-one with some of the best linemen in the state, including four star prospect Benito Jones of Wayne County, but it is his approach that has allowed him to succeed.

“We are all humans,” Wiley said. “Don’t ever think a person is better than you. Just go in there and compete. Everybody goes through the same thing in football, you win some and you lose some.”

While ‘Train” has stayed on the tracks his whole high school career, Wiley has been forced to deal with some detours along the way.

“I’ve had three sets of coaches during my time here,” he said. “But I just kept pushing myself and adapting to things, and then I make sure the younger guys come in and work just as hard.”

Wiley said he and his fellow seniors took responsibility for keeping the team together, despite changes in leadership.

“All the seniors put in the effort to keep this team together,” Wiley said. “As the coaches changed, the team stayed together. We just had to adapt. But as a whole, the team was always together and we are going to stay together.”

That unity has paid off for the Bulldogs, who are 4-4 this season with a 3-2 mark in district play.

With a realistic shot at the playoffs, Wiley is hoping to silence some of the doubters and break the streak of Natchez missing the playoffs.

“Outsiders, you have to look over them,” Wiley said. “Everybody is going to have something to say. This year, we are just working harder to make the playoffs. We want to get out of that hole.”

Although Wiley’s high school career is beginning to wind down, football may not be out of the equation for him.

“I think he can play at the next level,” Garner said. “He’s a kid that gets his lessons done in school, is very obedient and his ability, he picks up on just about anything. He not only has natural skill, but he also picks up on the skills you teach him quickly.”

Wiley said if the opportunity arises, it is definitely one he will jump on.

“If I get a scholarship in football, I’ll pursue my dreams. I’ll just do my best at what I do,” he said.

But for now, Wiley will continue to be Natchez High’s “Train”.