Brandon Wegher

[ToughJ.Riggins]

I think we very well could see Brandon Wegher starting at Iowa or Illinois, Dan Dierking at Purdue and Mike Trumpy (likely over Daniel) at Northwestern. Things are looking up. With the dominance of Jacob Hester for the championship Tigers and the success of Wes Welker and Kevin Curtis at WR in the NFL, the caste system myth is being weakened a little.

The guy I actually fear for the most is Sam McGuffie despite his praise by every recruiting service except the two most powerful and evil ones "Caucasian Rivals.com" and the Exaggeration of Sports Performance of Negros= ESPN Scouts INC. But the good news is that McGuffie seems like a cocky kid and I think if he isn't the starter by his sophomore season he will transfer for his junior year! McGuffie won't stay on the bench like Tre Smith did at Auburn. If Rodriquez won't play him at Michigan, he will go somewhere else.

McGuffie knows he is too good to take the crap that Rivals and their ilk will give him. Heck NFLdraftscout.com already has McGuffie ranked as the 5th best RB for the 2012 class. I bet someone has told Sam this already; he needs to keep his NFL future in mind and say f%%k em to Rivals, ESPN and Rich Rod as well if he doesn't see the field. Say tudaloo to Michigan Sam if they won't play you!

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

But getting this thread back on track I do agree with ESPN that Brandon Wegher is similar to Sam McGuffie. However, I don't see that "lack of wiggle" that the speciously reasoned Tom Luginbill always finds in white athletes, yet doesn't see in much "stiffer" black athletes.

 

[celticdb15]

Just added this studshighlight tape to my myspace. Thats always a good way of displaying white athletes talent

 

[white lightning]

I just got done watching the highlight tapes from his website. This kid is scary good. He does have McGuffie potential. He actually might have better vision. He cuts on a dime. I'm very impressed.

 

[johnnyboy]

But getting this thread back on track I do agree with ESPN that Brandon Wegher is similar to Sam McGuffie. However, I don't see that "lack of wiggle" that the speciously reasoned Tom Luginbill always finds in white athletes, yet doesn't see in much "stiffer" black athletes.

"wiggle" really means carrying the ball like a loaf of bread and exposing the ball when a tackler comes at you. its the new "in" thing in college football. everyone wants a running back that can do a PS 3 madden type juke in real life and make a defender look foolish. nevermind the fact that he'll fumble 3 out of ten times. people just want to see a pretty juke. its like technically sound hb's that protect the ball, are no longer in vogue.

people tell me that if white running backs could hang with the black guys then there would be more of them in Div 1 and in the NFL, but this dude is a perfect example of why that doesn't happen. this kid is an athletic freak who runs fast and hard, makes people miss, pushes the pile and gets wicked stats, but i bet its still going to be damn near impossible for him to start a game in college as a half back. if he were black he'd have every top 20 program in the country offering him a spot at rb. sadly, that probably isn't going to happen. i say he should go to BYU or maybe colorado state. this kids need to realize that college football is once in a lifetime opportunity and choosing a school that will let you play your best position, regardless of race has to be at the top of their list.

 

[celticdb15]

Wegher will make his choice for college Saturday. Nebraska, iowa, and kansas are said to be the favorites.

 

[Guest]

Go Iowa. He could start as a true Freshman. Imagine Dierking at Purdue next year with Wegher starting at Iowa and McGuffie at Michigan and Trumpy or Daniels at Northwestern. The Big Ten is going to be awesome next year to watch.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

I am quite confident that Wegher (depending his choice), Trumpy and probably Dierking will eventually start for their programs. With McGuffie it all really depends on how things shape out. McGuffie to me was clearly one of the top 3 RBs in last years draft class, I would probably have ranked Sam first by a hair, but he choose a very tough scenario going to caste whore Michigan that just brought in fairly anti-white coach Rich Rodriguez.

But I think Sam is smart enough that if he doesn't see significant playing time by his second non redshirt season or things aren't working out in the spread for him that he will transfer. McGuffie wants the NFL badly IMHO. He is a cocky kid and is not a great student so he is putting a lot of chips in his NFL basket!

 

[Gi-15]

http://iowa.scout.com/2/782389.html

Wegher Makes The Call


By Brian Finley
HN Recruiting Editor
Posted Aug 23, 2008


Hawkeye fans have been on pins and needles waiting for top in-state prospect Brandon Wegher to make his decision. On Saturday night, the wait was over and Brandon Wegher made his announcement that he would be playing football for the University of Iowa. Learn more in this recruiting update.

Brandon Wegher, the top player in the state of Iowa, has given his verbal commitment to the University of Iowa.

Wegher is a 5-11, 206-pound running back out of Sioux City Heelan High School. He's listed as a four-star runningback, #14 at his position in the country. After a very hush-hush recruitment period, Wegher made his announcement on Saturday night, less than a week before his high school team kicks off its season against Lawton-Bronson.

Brandon spent this summer working hard to improve his numbers, and did a great job. According to his Scout.com profile, Wegher made the following strides during off-season training:

Weight: 206-Up 14 pounds since spring

10 Yard: 1.31 seconds- Down .03 seconds since spring

40 Yard: 4.28 seconds- Down .13 seconds since spring

Pro Agility: 4.03 seconds- Down .07 seconds since spring

Vert: 36"- Up 1 inch since spring

Bench: 345- Up 40 pounds since spring

Squat: 485- Up 15 since spring

Hang Clean: 260- Up 40 pounds since spring

Wegher becomes the fifth current known commitment of the 2009 class, and the fourth from the state of Iowa. Wegher's choice comes less than a month after fellow four-star in-stater Keenan Davis made his pledge to the Hawkeyes out of Washington High School in Cedar Rapids.

We'll have more from Wegher on his decision soon, so check back soon!


how about those numbers??

 

[blue_mentos]

"
Weight: 206-Up 14 pounds since spring



10 Yard: 1.31 seconds- Down .03 seconds since spring



40 Yard: 4.28 seconds- Down .13 seconds since spring



Pro Agility: 4.03 seconds- Down .07 seconds since spring



Vert: 36"- Up 1 inch since spring



Bench: 345- Up 40 pounds since spring



Squat: 485- Up 15 since spring



Hang Clean: 260- Up 40 pounds since spring
"


Are you serious!? i dont know if the 40 was hand-timed, but thats still incredible. A 40 pound increase in the bench in only a couple months is a monster stat as well. Hopefully he continues to be determined, and if so, the sky's the limit for this guy! I think he made a great choice in Iowa. They have treated their athletes relatively fairly in the past, and from what I've heard, he'll have the chance to contribute right away.

 

[Gi-15]

thats probably hand-timed, I'm always skeptical of HS players running under 4.4 personnally, but it's still great that he is progressing. And he still have 1 year to train before college. And then 4 years of college before the NFL.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

It's got to be hand-timed. I am an athletic measurables and agility drill buff. The NFL electronic timed record in the 10 yard dash is Chris Johnson from last year's 1.40, which bested Eric Weddle's former shared record of 1.42 btw. Danny Woodhead is very close at 1.43 also. Hand-times start at first motion and there is a stopwatch reaction consistently in the 0.1-0.15 second range. So that would make Wegher's PB 10 yard clip, still a blazing 1.41-1.46. Even a 1.46 would have been tied for second fastest among RBs at last years NFL combine with Felix Jones if I recall.

Jacob Hester equaled Darren McFadden over 10 yards btw at 1.5 flat. IMO whites may have a slight advantage in short area burst. With very limited whites at speed positions invited to the NFL combine whites have several of the top 10 yard dash, short shuttle and 3-cone times! Wegher's 40 time (NFL combine wise, using his pb 4.28 time) stands somewhere in the 4.38-4.43 range! If Wegher makes it to the NFL combine, I would project him to run in the 4.35-4.5 range (you only get 3 tries under pressure, so adjusted times I've found are usually around the same as H.S). Sam McGuffie has been consistently running his hand-timed 40 yard dashes over the past year in the 4.23-4.35 range according to info I've seen from other message boards. SO I would expect maybe between a 4.3 and 4.45 from him at the combine if he makes it that far.

Edited to add: But these guys best advantages like many whites is there insane initial burst. McGuffie could very well run a record 1.4 flat 10 yard clip, just like Chris Johnson, but his 10.8 PB 100 meter speed would not allow him to equal Johnson's electronic record 4.24 40 yard dash. Still, McGuffie already has "at least equal" breakaway speed to your average NFL starting RB!Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

an in-depth article on Wegher, talking about how talented he is and how hard he works to get even better.

Wegher making dreams come true
By Steve Allspach, Journal sports writer

It was a dream of gigantic proportions for a third-grader.

Some might have considered it a pipe dream. Unrealistic.

Not Brandon Wegher, not Iowa's premier high school running back, not the superb 5-11, 206-pound speedster who has rushed for 4,109 yards as a prep, including 2,334 last year and a whopping 573 in just two games this season.

"I was pretty little when I talked about some day playing football at places like Iowa, Nebraska and Notre Dame,'' recalls Wegher. "I don't know if people believed something like that could happen, but I was determined to make it happen each year I got older.

"There have been so many people helping me make it possible, my parents, coaches, teammates, so many people.

"Realizing a dream-come-true now makes me want to work even harder to take it to the next level.''

The next level for The Journal's Metro Athlete of the Week is the University of Iowa.

The 17-year-old son of Rick and Cathy Wegher ended a spirited recruiting campaign by some of the country's strongest programs by announcing Aug. 23 he would accept a scholarship offer from the University of Iowa.

"I never took an official campus visit to any of the colleges recruiting me,'' says Wegher, who rushed for a career-best 320 yards on 34 carries and three touchdowns in helping the No. 1-ranked Crusaders to a 28-13 conquest of No. 2 Harlan in a showdown of the state's top two Class 3A teams last Friday at Memorial Field.

"My dad and I just went to some campuses (like Iowa, Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Penn State and Oklahoma),'' adds Wegher. "And in the end, it was Iowa that just felt more comfortable for me.

"Coach Ferentz (Kirk) and Coach Morgan (Reese) were straightforward and very honest, in my estimation. I've always wanted to be a running back, so any talk about being an athlete (possibly moving to another position) didn't interest me.

"At times, the whole thing (recruiting) got to be annoying and that's why making a decision early has taken a big weight off my shoulders.

"Now, me and my teammates can concentrate on our goal and that's to get back to the state championship game -- and win it.''

Despite operating at less than 100 percent because of a leg injury, Wegher still rushed for 123 yards in a 42-7 loss to Keokuk in the state title game last year.

Against Harlan on Friday, he scored on runs of 21, 88 and 43 yards, hiking his season total to eight touchdowns after scoring five times in a 62-13 opening win at Lawton-Bronson.

"Brandon is bigger, stronger and faster this year,'' says Heelan Coach Roger Jansen. "He is such a punishing runner. I don't think we want to make it a habit of running him 30 or 35 times a game because he's out there so much.

"My gosh, he does our kicking (punting and placements), plays defense, returns kicks and, I'll be honest, we really haven't shown much in the way of utilizing him as a pass receiver.

"Brandon Wegher was born to be a football player. He's a natural talent, but also a great story for little kids in that he's shown that if you're willing to put in the time and work hard you can make dreams come true.''

After running for 1,022 yards as a sophomore (he also had 180 on 24 carries as a ninth-grader), he set the city's single-season rushing mark with his 2,334-yard total last season, scoring 34 touchdowns, 31 by rush.

Iowa's single-season best is 3,109 by Williamsburg's Dustyn Baethke in 13 games in 2002 and the state's career record of 7,421 yards is held by North Mahaska's Levi Ferguson, whose final prep campaign was in 2005.

 

[SteveB]

Wow, I was checking to see how Wegher finished up his senior season and his numbers were incredible.

14 games, 362 att, 3238 yds (new Iowa state record), 51 TDs

He lead his team to the 3A State Championship. Iowa got a good one.

 

[sunshine]

Probably the best HS white RB prospect in several years!

 

[Riddlewire]

Probably the best HS white RB prospect in several years!

Only if you completely ignore Zach Barket, who had 4,187 yards rushing and 66TD on the season, which both rank second all-time in the nation. He also ran for 2,518 yards and 26TD as a junior. I don't mean to downplay Wegher's accomplishments. He's a great talent. But the lack of national attention that Barket has received is nothing short of criminal.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Yeah but what are Barket's athletic measurements? Wegher combines both amazing on field play with superb measurements and a game film that really stands out as an absolutely "elite" talent.

With the off the charts numbers Barket put up in football crazy Pennsylvania combined with his solidly built physique I am sure he could be a starter in Division IA. However, Wegher could win the Doak award if the Iowa offense clicks with him.

But to discuss Barket further; his numbers are so good that he would be getting Division IA offers even with a 4.75 40 time if he were black. I'm sure Barket runs faster than 4.75! Remember Mike Hart played tailback for Michigan at 5'9 200 lbs and ran a 4.67 and is now in the NFL. There is a big lie about what NFL level tailback speed really averages at; the NFL Combine average last year was 4.56!

 

[celticdb15]

Exactly Tough J the only place i have ever seen this myth of ultra fast athletes to not be true besides on this site,is on Draft Daddy i love their fair analysis of players of all races. I agree im guessing Barket probably runs in the 4.6 range. Wegher is jsut phenomenal if you watch his highlight tape he has blinding speed and can flat out fly. Well said btw that would be awesome if BYU did offer Barket!

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Comes in at a low and disturbing 33 overall in the NFLdraftscout.com just released RB ranks for the 2013 draft class. Iowa has great blocking and Wegher should move up fast in the rankings if he plays. Wegher is more talented than Jeff Brinson and Jewel Hampton; although some message board fans are comparing Hampton to the next Shonn Greene saying he fits the Iowa offense perfectly with his style. Trust me Wegher will do fabulously if he plays!

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Let me correct myself: I I'm pretty sure it is Jeff Brinson some DWFs are comparing to Shonn Greene on message boards saying he's "a sleeper" for the starting HB job.

Jewel Hampton is currently the front runner, but if Wegher doesn't see the field at least "as an important" role player by his second year, it would be a sham and he should transfer. Don't become another Tre Smith Brandon! He's got to get the starting job before his career is up there to get a shot at the next level and he will have to smell the situation out. I hope Iowa doesn't red shirt him this year.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Here's a nice Wegher article with some praise in it from "less a vermin of a man" Tom Lemming (comparative to Luginbill anyway):

a large <snip>

Wegher, Davis to sign with Iowa today

Andy Hamilton - Iowa City Press-Citizen - February 4, 2009

The trickiest part of the recruiting process for Brandon Wegher was perhaps figuring out where to start.
Advertisement

There was a seemingly endless supply of highlights to pick through of the Sioux City Heelan star. There were touchdown runs with Wegher slicing through the middle of a defense before linebackers and safeties could get a hand on him. There were clips of him running away from cornerbacks as if they were chasing in ski boots. There were spin moves and cuts that left defenders tackling air and catches in double coverage.

But which were the highlights of his highlights? Which were the type of plays that would show enough explosiveness and skill to prove Wegher was big enough and fast enough to play running back at the highest levels of major college football? Which plays showed he wasn't just another high school kid with a YouTube video?

"The colleges get so many recruiting tapes today that those first few plays ought to be pretty good," said Wegher's father, Rick, who played running back at South Dakota State and in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders. "It was a way just to say, 'Here, click on it and see what you think.' Then obviously they liked the film a lot so they called back and asked if we could send them the real deal."

Wegher's three-minute video clip hit the Internet a couple days before Thanksgiving in 2007. By Valentine's Day, he had become the object of affection for dozens of college football coaches across the country.

"(The highlight videos) help, but you have to be great or you'll look stupid," Chicago-based recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. "Everybody puts out highlight videos now -- everyone, every single kid, so it doesn't really matter. They all get on the map.

"It's sort of like leading a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You can lead any college coach you want to at least look at a film, but they're not going to offer unless they think he's great. I'm loaded with films of kids who can't play. I wind up going and looking because I feel obligated and I think, 'What a waste of time.' But Wegher's film was great."

Since that highlight reel made its way onto YouTube, nearly 33,000 viewers have watched the Sioux City Heelan star slice through defenses, dozens of college programs have extended scholarship offers and Wegher has become one of the most publicized recruits in the Midwest and a cornerstone to Iowa's recruiting class.

"Living in the state of Iowa, it's not like you can go anywhere and not have someone say, 'Good luck next year' or 'I hope you do well,'" said Wegher, who is one of 18 high school players who are expected to sign a National Letter of Intent today to join the Hawkeyes. "(But) it's what I do next year. It's not what I do now."

Wegher's recruitment took off after his father launched a marketing campaign that featured the YouTube highlight video and a Web site (wegherfootball.com) that features more videos and statistics.

"We just needed to get him on a list," Rick Wegher said. "We put together a video on YouTube and that sort of helped. His highlights and game films were really good, so it was a matter of just getting those out so people could see them."

Within months, offers rolled in from Iowa, Penn State, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Arkansas and dozens of other programs.

"He's got really good speed, vision and balance," said Lemming, who ranks Wegher the 73rd-best prospect in the country. "He's sort of a three-ring circus."

"Every week it was something new," Heelan coach Roger Jansen said. "He never ceased to amaze us. Just about the time you'd think that was the best run you'd ever seen, he'd come up with something else. He's a special kid, a once-in-a-lifetime."

Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or ahamilton@press-citizen.com.

<snip>

The rest of the article can be found here:
[url]http://hawkcentral.press-citizen.com/article/20090204/HAWKS0 104/902040350/1058/hawks0104[/url]

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

From reading that article; marketing yourself certainly helps you get buzz on the recruiting trail. White RBs have to be die hard about marketing themselves; with great highlight tapes etc. because they will get "the lack of hip fluidity/overachiever" crap from a$$holes like Tom Luginbill. He is public enemy #1 of this site and has even surpassed Rivals now. The DWFs are like sheeple and don't know how to break down film so they follow the Luginbills like blind squirrels.

 

[jacknyc]

I found this from an Iowa TV station website.
They pick Wegher as Iowa's top HS athlete of the year. They have a bio and video feature (on the right) about him.
They also have bios and videos for the 8 runner-ups. Some talented young (white) athletes that I wouldn't know about otherwise.
Check it out.
http://www.kmeg14.com/Global/story.asp?S=10339632&nav=menu609_4

 

[whiteathlete33]

This guy is just as talented as, if not better then McGuffie.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

check out Wegher's senior year highlights. if anything, he looks even MORE explosive than before ... and MUCH stronger.

if there's a better running back out there, i've not seen him. barring injury, he should be an impact player for the Hawkeyes.