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Weber shores up thin tight end ranks
By
Sammy Batten
©2016 Bonesville.net
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New East Carolina defensive line
coach Deke Adams returned to familiar territory to land one of his first
recruits for the Pirates.
Adams spent the last three seasons in
Columbia, South Carolina, where he was defensive line coach for Hall of
Fame coach Steve Spurrier at the University of South Carolina. The town
of Blythewood is part of the Columbia metro area and where Adams' son,
Jordyn, was a sophomore wide receiver/quarterback/punter for the high
school varsity during the 2015 season.
The family connection to Blythewood
High led Adams back there once he was hired at ECU by first-year head
coach Scottie Montgomery to recruit the team's tight end/defensive end
Eric Weber.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder had
received a minimal amount of attention from college recruiters with
Football Bowl Subdivision Charlotte and some regional Football
Championship Subdivision schools his only scholarship offers entering
the New Year. The previous ECU coaching staff had also shown interest,
but it wasn't until first-year head coach Scottie Montgomery got his
assistants on the road recruiting that the talk became serious with
Weber.
Adams extended a scholarship offer to
Weber on January 21 and an official visit to ECU's campus followed eight
days later. Weber promptly made a verbal commitment on Jan. 31 to join
the
recruiting class of 2016.
“He's known Coach Adams for a while
and that was a big help,'' Blythewood head coach Dan Morgan said about
Weber's recruitment. “Then, when he got to meet Coach Mo, he really
enjoyed getting to know him. That was a huge thing. We already have
(walk-on freshman placekicker) Tucker Smith up there.
“Eric had gone up there to watch a
game this past season and really enjoyed it. It's just a great school
and one he's always liked. There are a lot of kids on our team who like
East Carolina. We have a good connection.''
Weber is one of 10 recruits who have
given Montgomery and his staff a verbal commitment in the past month.
He's the second tight end making a pledge to the class, joining
Anthony Whatley
from Jacksonville, FL, who flipped to the Pirates Monday from Marshall.
Morgan first encountered Weber as a
lanky freshman who was pondering whether to concentrate on baseball or
football. He chose the gridiron and played for the Blythewood
ninth-grade team, but his potential was evident even then to the varsity
coaches.
“When we looked at him it was like,
'Wow! He's heads and shoulders taller than the other kids,'' Morgan
said. “He hasn't grown much taller than he was during that freshman
year, but he has filled out. But you could see how athletic he was, even
as a ninth grader.''
Morgan would have to wait two more
years to see that potential realized. Weber moved before his sophomore
season from Blythewood to Fayetteville, NC, where he played for 4-A
powerhouse Jack Britt. Although he saw limited action for the
Buccaneers, Weber did mange to make four catches for 22 yards and a
touchdown on offense that season.
A year later Weber was back in
Blythewood, much to Morgan's delight.
“When he left us we were pretty upset
about it, even though we understood he'd be back,'' Morgan said. “It was
a pleasure to see him because he was bigger and stronger. He'd developed
this physical body that you don't get often in a high school player. The
guy is 6-3, 220 pounds, with great hands and who was a heck of a
blocker. He was just a heck of a football player.''
Weber has been a tight end starter
the last two seasons for the Bengals, but may have done the most damage
at defensive end after pulling double duty there as a senior. He made 65
tackles, eight tackles for loss and two sacks for a 9-4 team.
But it's as a tight end/H-back that
Morgan said Weber was most impressive, despite making just nine catches
for 168 yards last season.
“Early in the season our quarterback
threw a pass over the middle,'' Morgan said. “Eric had three defenders
draped over him and he still out-jumped them and came down with the
ball, no problem. Then one of their defenders laid a big lick into him.
But he still hung onto the ball. It was an impressive play and one you
don't see that much out of a high school kid.''
ECU is expected to transition into a
more physical style on offense under Montgomery, and that fits Weber's
strengths perfectly, according to Morgan.
“There is definitely going to be a
shift into a more physical style of offense up there,'' Morgan said. “I
think he's a good fit for them. He can definitely go right in and play
right away. He has the size and strength already.''
The Pirates only have one scholarship
tight end currently on their roster in junior Stephen Baggett, so Weber
and Whatley may both get an opportunity to play early next fall.
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02/03/2016 02:41 AM |
