A player that turned up on so many “sleeper” lists for the class of 2018 was defensive end Tate Wildeman. The Legend High School standout has a great frame (6-6, 245) and motor. He should fit perfectly as a defensive end for defensive line coach Mike Dawson and defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. Wildeman made the trip from Colorado to check out the spring game so I caught up with him to get his thoughts.
“I thought we played very well overall as a team”, Wildeman said. “The coaches did well and the Red team really got after it.”
Home sweet home 📍📍
— Tate Wildeman (@tatethegreat68) April 21, 2018
With eight early enrollees already on the team from the 2018 class, I asked him what his thoughts were on the performance of the guys already on campus.
“I think they dominated," Wildeman said. "Adrian [Martinez] obviously had a great day. Barret [Pickering] did great with extra points, and I thought Will Farniok played well on the offensive line.”
The defender was definitely keeping an eye on his future position group during the game. He was very pleased with what he saw from the guys he will be joining soon in that room.
“I thought they played well," he said. "I like how the offense is going fast because it keeps the defense on their toes. It puts us in those situations that we can be prepared for when we are playing other teams.”
Wildeman told me that he did get some time with the staff but not a lot. He talked with Scott Frost, Chinander and Dawson during his time in Lincoln. Like the 2019 recruits, the fan support for the spring game really stood out .
“It was awesome," Wildeman said. "You know, I got there a little late unfortunately but it was so great to see the stadium rocking. It almost felt like a game day. It ended up being a great game too.”
Wildeman will arrive in Lincoln on May 29. As for the roommate situation, he tells me that he will be with Cam Jones and Cam Taylor for sure but they aren’t 100-percent sure yet who the fourth guy will be, but they’ve got time to get that figured out.