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This is the written-up version of Jalen Wydermyer's CIS podcast interview, posted yesterday. If you'd like to hear the full audio, click *here*.
It was a weekend of firsts for 2019 3-star TE Jalen Wydermyer on his official visit to Miami. The ****inson (TX) star took his first ever trip to South Florida last weekend and experienced plenty of new cuisine.
“I went out to eat to a lot of different places. I tried steak for the first time,” Wydermyer said. “One of the recruiting staff, he recommended it. I’d never been there before and I didn’t know anything about the restaurant, so I said ‘I’ll try steak.’ I had ribeye, medium well. It was awesome. It was my first time trying lobster as well. And my first time trying fried gator.”
Besides the food, the 6'5" 240 pounder loved the environment of the campus and the attentiveness of the coaching staff. The trip was a family affair for Wydermyer, who brought along both his parents on the visit, and it seems like the family left Coral Gables sold on the Canes.
“It was amazing though – the staff was amazing, the campus was amazing,” Wydermyer said of Miami. “It amazed me and my parents and we were just blown away. My mother said she was sold. She wasn’t worried about me going out of state, she just told me, ‘Wherever you go, we’re going to find a way to get there. You just make what you feel like is the right decision’. I have a really big support system.”
Wydermyer was even able to clear up some misconceptions he had about the school, and learned more about the academics as well.
“Me and my parents kind of had a stereotype going into Miami, thinking it’s such a big campus and it’s in the middle of Miami,” Wydermyer said. “But actually, it’s a really secluded area. It was kind of perfect. It was amazing how it works like that. It’s also a private school, I didn’t know that at first.”
While Wydermyer didn’t have a player-host for the entirety of his trip due to it being a game week for the Canes, he did spend some time with a current Hurricane that he said he’d like to play with in the future.
“I did get to hang out with Michael Irvin II some, he’s hurt on injured-reserve,” Wydermyer said. “I got hang out with him and he was awesome.”
So, after the trip, where would he say his interest in UM is at now?
“100%. They amazed me,” Wydermyer said. “Especially when coach (Todd) Hartley sat me down, he didn’t just tell me how they were going to use me, he showed me. He showed me what they did in the past with David (Njoku) and Chris (Herndon), what they’re doing now with Brevin Jordan and what they’d do with me if I came.”
As someone who is well-versed in the tight end tradition of Miami, Wydermyer has been a long-time admirer of former Canes such as David Njoku, and wants to be used in the same manner as the Cleveland Browns first round draft pick.
“I told them flat out, if I go there… I look up to people like David Njoku, I watched him throughout college,” Wydermyer said. “I wanted them to do exactly what they did with David, with me. They moved him around, and that’s what I do now. That’s why I’m kind of comfortable moving around, like H-back, slot, true tight end, receiver.”
The most impressive part of the visit, though? Wydermyer never felt like he was being sold something by the staff.
“The thing I love so much about coach Hartley and coach (Mark) Richt, they didn’t need a pitch,” Wydermyer said. “Coach Richt stressed the truth, to show me the truth about what’s going on, ‘Don’t just tell him, show him’. They didn’t really give me a pitch honestly. That’s what really caught my eye. They just said, ‘Show him how it is around campus, show how it is when people are moving from class to class, how non-crowded it is. Show him Miami and show him the difference between how it’s so big in Miami and so secluded in Coral Gables.’”
Part of his visit involved taking in the Miami-Duke game that took place at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night. Although the Canes lost the game, 20-12, Wydermyer enjoyed the atmosphere and saw first-hand how UM utilizes the tight end in the offense.
“The game was good, they targeted the TE a lot,” Wydermyer said. “It was a tough loss, but it be like that sometimes. Especially with the weather they were having on the grass field, oh goodness… When (DeeJay Dallas) slid after the touchdown, that was awesome!”
With the loss, Miami dropped down to 5-4 and have had a disappointing season that began with UM pre-season ranked at #8 in the nation. Does the down year change Wydermyer’s opinion on the Miami program at all?
“No, cause you can tell with a team like that, they’re just missing pieces,” Wydermyer said. “When they find that certain quarterback – they’re having QB troubles right now as you can tell. All the pieces are there, they just need to find a QB that can get it (to the receivers). I feel like probably someone in the 2019 class will bring that, but if not, somebody’s gonna be there.
“Most of the team is built around young players. They had a few true freshmen starting on offense, so they’re going to grow… Once those pieces come together, they’ll probably be back to number 2 in the country just like they were (last year).”
True freshman TE Brevin Jordan is leading the Canes in receptions with 29 through 9 games in 2018. Despite Jordan’s success, Wydermyer said he’s not scared off at all and feels he can help Miami’s depth at the position.
“They were telling me how coach Richt’s best seasons were when he had two tight ends on the field that were elite tight ends,” Wydermyer said of Miami. “I realized that Brevin Jordan, yeah he’s a freshman that’s starting and he’s an elite tight end, but aside from that, they’re having tight end troubles right now… You saw what they did when they had both David and Chris.”
The official visit to Miami was the first of the process for Wydermyer, and he’s in the middle of setting up his next OV’s to SEC schools in the coming months.
“I’m setting up official visits right now to Alabama and Texas A&M, possibly even Ole Miss,” Wydermyer said. “But I’m getting Alabama and A&M set up first… I want to get my officials in before I sign.”
With recruiting coming down to the wire and the early signing period fast-approaching next month, Wydermyer is planning on making his decision on his birthday in December, but doesn’t rule out pushing things back if necessary.
“I’m planning to sign December 20th, on my birthday,” Wydermyer said. “But if I can’t, then I’m going to push it back to February… My dad was telling me not to rush it. I don’t want to rush it, but (if I sign on my birthday) it will be a big day for me, and I feel like it’s getting down to the time where I should be narrowing it down to three.”
So, what would be his current top 3?
“It's not a for sure top three, but I can say who has my interest the most right now is Miami, A&M, and Alabama, in no certain order,” Wydermyer said.
The Crimson Tide are a new name to Wydermyer’s list, and while he’s had a Bama offer since February, it’s been how they’ve used the tight end this season that has caught Wydermyer’s attention.
“Yeah, they had been showing interest, but I’ve just been watching how they’ve used (starting TE) Irv Smith, they use him a lot,” Wydermyer said on Bama. “And it’s Alabama, so who wouldn’t want to play for Alabama?... They’ve been coming at me harder lately, but I also gained interest in them a lot cause of how they use the tight end. They’re a great school.”
Wydermyer has had a huge senior season for ****inson, averaging nearly 28 yards per catch on 20 grabs, good for 557 yards, and 2 TD’s.
“I had a 154 yard game against Katy Taylor,” Wydermyer said of his senior year. “In the District Championship, I played Clear Springs which is our biggest game so far, and I had 188 yards in the first half. We have Alvin this week for my last home game at ****inson, which should be a good game, but we’re going to blow them out honestly. It’s going to be fun for every senior, it’s Senior Night. After that is playoffs, we have Pearland.”
It was a weekend of firsts for 2019 3-star TE Jalen Wydermyer on his official visit to Miami. The ****inson (TX) star took his first ever trip to South Florida last weekend and experienced plenty of new cuisine.
“I went out to eat to a lot of different places. I tried steak for the first time,” Wydermyer said. “One of the recruiting staff, he recommended it. I’d never been there before and I didn’t know anything about the restaurant, so I said ‘I’ll try steak.’ I had ribeye, medium well. It was awesome. It was my first time trying lobster as well. And my first time trying fried gator.”
Besides the food, the 6'5" 240 pounder loved the environment of the campus and the attentiveness of the coaching staff. The trip was a family affair for Wydermyer, who brought along both his parents on the visit, and it seems like the family left Coral Gables sold on the Canes.
“It was amazing though – the staff was amazing, the campus was amazing,” Wydermyer said of Miami. “It amazed me and my parents and we were just blown away. My mother said she was sold. She wasn’t worried about me going out of state, she just told me, ‘Wherever you go, we’re going to find a way to get there. You just make what you feel like is the right decision’. I have a really big support system.”
Wydermyer was even able to clear up some misconceptions he had about the school, and learned more about the academics as well.
“Me and my parents kind of had a stereotype going into Miami, thinking it’s such a big campus and it’s in the middle of Miami,” Wydermyer said. “But actually, it’s a really secluded area. It was kind of perfect. It was amazing how it works like that. It’s also a private school, I didn’t know that at first.”
While Wydermyer didn’t have a player-host for the entirety of his trip due to it being a game week for the Canes, he did spend some time with a current Hurricane that he said he’d like to play with in the future.
“I did get to hang out with Michael Irvin II some, he’s hurt on injured-reserve,” Wydermyer said. “I got hang out with him and he was awesome.”
So, after the trip, where would he say his interest in UM is at now?
“100%. They amazed me,” Wydermyer said. “Especially when coach (Todd) Hartley sat me down, he didn’t just tell me how they were going to use me, he showed me. He showed me what they did in the past with David (Njoku) and Chris (Herndon), what they’re doing now with Brevin Jordan and what they’d do with me if I came.”
As someone who is well-versed in the tight end tradition of Miami, Wydermyer has been a long-time admirer of former Canes such as David Njoku, and wants to be used in the same manner as the Cleveland Browns first round draft pick.
“I told them flat out, if I go there… I look up to people like David Njoku, I watched him throughout college,” Wydermyer said. “I wanted them to do exactly what they did with David, with me. They moved him around, and that’s what I do now. That’s why I’m kind of comfortable moving around, like H-back, slot, true tight end, receiver.”
The most impressive part of the visit, though? Wydermyer never felt like he was being sold something by the staff.
“The thing I love so much about coach Hartley and coach (Mark) Richt, they didn’t need a pitch,” Wydermyer said. “Coach Richt stressed the truth, to show me the truth about what’s going on, ‘Don’t just tell him, show him’. They didn’t really give me a pitch honestly. That’s what really caught my eye. They just said, ‘Show him how it is around campus, show how it is when people are moving from class to class, how non-crowded it is. Show him Miami and show him the difference between how it’s so big in Miami and so secluded in Coral Gables.’”
Part of his visit involved taking in the Miami-Duke game that took place at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night. Although the Canes lost the game, 20-12, Wydermyer enjoyed the atmosphere and saw first-hand how UM utilizes the tight end in the offense.
“The game was good, they targeted the TE a lot,” Wydermyer said. “It was a tough loss, but it be like that sometimes. Especially with the weather they were having on the grass field, oh goodness… When (DeeJay Dallas) slid after the touchdown, that was awesome!”
With the loss, Miami dropped down to 5-4 and have had a disappointing season that began with UM pre-season ranked at #8 in the nation. Does the down year change Wydermyer’s opinion on the Miami program at all?
“No, cause you can tell with a team like that, they’re just missing pieces,” Wydermyer said. “When they find that certain quarterback – they’re having QB troubles right now as you can tell. All the pieces are there, they just need to find a QB that can get it (to the receivers). I feel like probably someone in the 2019 class will bring that, but if not, somebody’s gonna be there.
“Most of the team is built around young players. They had a few true freshmen starting on offense, so they’re going to grow… Once those pieces come together, they’ll probably be back to number 2 in the country just like they were (last year).”
True freshman TE Brevin Jordan is leading the Canes in receptions with 29 through 9 games in 2018. Despite Jordan’s success, Wydermyer said he’s not scared off at all and feels he can help Miami’s depth at the position.
“They were telling me how coach Richt’s best seasons were when he had two tight ends on the field that were elite tight ends,” Wydermyer said of Miami. “I realized that Brevin Jordan, yeah he’s a freshman that’s starting and he’s an elite tight end, but aside from that, they’re having tight end troubles right now… You saw what they did when they had both David and Chris.”
The official visit to Miami was the first of the process for Wydermyer, and he’s in the middle of setting up his next OV’s to SEC schools in the coming months.
“I’m setting up official visits right now to Alabama and Texas A&M, possibly even Ole Miss,” Wydermyer said. “But I’m getting Alabama and A&M set up first… I want to get my officials in before I sign.”
With recruiting coming down to the wire and the early signing period fast-approaching next month, Wydermyer is planning on making his decision on his birthday in December, but doesn’t rule out pushing things back if necessary.
“I’m planning to sign December 20th, on my birthday,” Wydermyer said. “But if I can’t, then I’m going to push it back to February… My dad was telling me not to rush it. I don’t want to rush it, but (if I sign on my birthday) it will be a big day for me, and I feel like it’s getting down to the time where I should be narrowing it down to three.”
So, what would be his current top 3?
“It's not a for sure top three, but I can say who has my interest the most right now is Miami, A&M, and Alabama, in no certain order,” Wydermyer said.
The Crimson Tide are a new name to Wydermyer’s list, and while he’s had a Bama offer since February, it’s been how they’ve used the tight end this season that has caught Wydermyer’s attention.
“Yeah, they had been showing interest, but I’ve just been watching how they’ve used (starting TE) Irv Smith, they use him a lot,” Wydermyer said on Bama. “And it’s Alabama, so who wouldn’t want to play for Alabama?... They’ve been coming at me harder lately, but I also gained interest in them a lot cause of how they use the tight end. They’re a great school.”
Wydermyer has had a huge senior season for ****inson, averaging nearly 28 yards per catch on 20 grabs, good for 557 yards, and 2 TD’s.
“I had a 154 yard game against Katy Taylor,” Wydermyer said of his senior year. “In the District Championship, I played Clear Springs which is our biggest game so far, and I had 188 yards in the first half. We have Alvin this week for my last home game at ****inson, which should be a good game, but we’re going to blow them out honestly. It’s going to be fun for every senior, it’s Senior Night. After that is playoffs, we have Pearland.”
