On Wednesday, 3-star defensive lineman Jailen Weaver made things official. The versatile (6-8, 280) lineman was the final player to send in his letter in that morning.
Jailen Weaver, Welcome to #TheGoodLife
Follow: @JailenWeaver#GBRXXI pic.twitter.com/zJECfZbRVs
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) December 16, 2020
I caught up with Weaver’s mentor and former coach, Shamawn Wright. I wanted to learn more about one of the latest additions to defensive line coach Tony Tuioti’s room. Wright has been Weaver’s mentor since eighth grade. He was also Weaver’s coach in football at Antioch High School his freshman and sophomore seasons, as well as the head track and field coach.
The pair has focused a lot on the emotional aspect of transitioning to college for Weave.
“I feel like for me personally that was like the biggest thing was to trying to find the right home for Jailen,” Wright said. “Somewhere where he could go and it’s going to be a home away from home. I feel like that with Coach Tony, the conversations that I have with Coach Tony or even the conversations that I have with Coach Frost. It seems like the right fit for him.
“It’s away from a lot of things, it’s not as fast as it is in California. There’s a lot of things in California and then Nebraska is going to be different scenery for him and it just fits this personality because he is someone that wants to go hunting, likes go fishing, likes to work on cars. I think with that transition for him going to Nebraska being around some good coaches like Coach Tony and Coach Frost that going to look out for him. I think he’s going to do amazing at the college level.”
Weaver has an interested combination of skills n the football field. For being such a big lineman, he moves well. Wright credits that to the variety of sports he’s played throughout his high school.
“The player that Jailen is, he’s very athletic,” Wright said. “He’s a three-sport athlete. He runs track and field, he started on varsity basketball as a sophomore center. He also just a football player. He’s very athletic, he’s fast and light on his feet. He’s very long and rangy. I think with the quickness and speed with him being long that’s a big advantage for any defensive lineman. Plus, him knowing how to use his hands as well.”
Weaver seems to be exactly what the defensive coaches have been looking for on the recruiting trail. Tuioti and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander have compared Weaver to Erik Armstead and Deforest Buckner. They all have similar body types. Weaver is looking forward to joining the program this summer to get to work.
“He’s ready to get out to Nebraska and away from home,” Wright said. “I think his biggest thing is that he wants to view and see another place. He wants to live in another environment. So he’s looking forward to just change of scenery.”
.@JailenWeaver welcome to #thegoodlife my friend, can't wait to get you up here!!! ☠️🎈🤙 pic.twitter.com/VFyQhFOxcG
— Tony Tuioti (@CoachTuioti92) December 16, 2020