Trip to Charlottesville sealed the deal for three-star TE Witmer
For a lot of 2021 recruits, the COVID-19 pandemic cost them invaluable opportunities to take visits this spring and summer. Relatedly, it also cost a lot of players the chance to show off their full skillsets at camps.
That’s why the past month, three-star tight end Jack Witmer spent a lot of his time working his way through the recruiting process rather than showing out for college coaches.
All told, though, the Houston (TX) Cy-Fair found the right fit and so, after taking an “unofficial” unofficial to Charlottesville last weekend, he decided to commit to the Wahoos.
“What really sealed the deal about UVa for me was the people there,” the 6-foot-7, 230 pounder told CavsCorner. “The coaching staff, the players, and just the all-around character of the people there. Also, getting on campus and seeing how beautiful it is. I could really see myself there.”
It put a cap on a recruiting process that was fun even if it was frustrating.
“It’s been good,” he said prior to his decision. “But this whole virus, I mean, it's obviously a very different situation than what you would expect your high school recruitment to be. And obviously, you would think the coaches would come see you and get to talk to you in person, and look them in their eyes and stuff and shake their hands. You could see what type of person they are and be able to go see their campuses too. But obviously, that's not that's happening. It's just kind of like flipped on its head almost.”
In what should have been an exciting time, Witmer and so many other recruits have instead had to deal with so much uncertainty.
“Yeah, at some points it was frustrating,” he said. “Definitely in the earlier part of the summer, I was like ‘I really wish I could have gone to camps and stuff’ and it was like, you know, ‘I wish I could’ve been able to show my pass catching ability at these camps.’ But obviously I can't do that, so that was the frustrating part. But now, since it’s kind of picked up and stuff, I've got offers from some really amazing schools, so it's a little bit frustrating to not be able to get on campus but it is what it is. You have to keep people safe and, so I have to just have to do what you can with it even if you lose out on some things.”
Witmer said that he heard from UVa some in February and March but things really picked up once quarantine hit. TE coach Ricky Brumfield and the Cavaliers made him feel wanted.
“It was just kind of a text here and there until this last month and then I was hearing from them almost every day,” he explained.
He had to a chance to talk more extensively with Brumfield about the way he would fit into UVa’s offense thanks to a Zoom call prior to his visit. One thing that also got Witmer’s attention? The addition of CMU grad transfer tight end Tony Poljan. Brumfield and Co. made it clear to him that guys like him and Poljan are what they would love to have.
“Coach was like, ‘This kid was literally the same as you coming out of high school’ and they think of us very similarly and think they could use us in very similar ways,” Witmer said. “He was 6-7, 225 coming out of high school and I’m 6-7, 230, so it looks good. When he offered they thought I could be the next great NFL tight end to come out of Virginia. And it looks like they're going to start using their tight ends a lot more.”
Asked to describe his game, it’s clear why Witmer was so bummed to miss out on opportunities to go to camps.
“So my high school is like primarily known as the old timey ground and pound team,” he explained. “We probably run the ball 90 percent of the time. So I'm used to being that attached tight end, you know, like a Y, rarely get the ball. But this next year, we should be opening up. We got a new head coach and we'll see where it takes me. I know I can block and I think I can stretch out in the passing game and makes some big plays.
“I played D-end too in middle school but then all through high school, because our high school is known for great tight ends, I moved there,” he added. “There's been eight in a row I think that have gone D-1.It’s just always been known, like ‘Yeah you're gonna play tight end.’ So I played basketball too but I’ve been a tight end all four years of high school.”
As things moved forward, the Lone Star State product was very clear on what mattered most.
“So definitely, first and foremost is academics,” Witmer said. “It's very important to me and my family’s decision where I end up, that it's going to be somewhere where when football ends I'm going to have a good life for myself, get a good degree and get a good job after school. Then some other important things would be that I definitely want to be somewhere where the players are treated as family by the coaching staff and the players love each other. I want to go somewhere where you can grow as a man and you can grow in your faith too, somewhere where the guys on the team are Christians and it's really important to them.
“I want to go somewhere where they’ve got high character, high morals, stuff like that.” he added. “You don't want to be at a place for four years where half of the guys are failing and stuff and it's just not a good time.”
Witmer was hoping he’d be able to make his decision before his senior season. In the end, he realized he was going to choose UVa as soon as he was no longer there.
“I knew I was going to be a Wahoo right after we left the city,” he said. “I wanted to go back immediately and keep checking it out. It’s a beautiful city and we checked out everywhere where I would be as a student and even had some delicious dinner at The Whiskey Jar.”
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