Where to go?
Heelan star Wegher weighs numerous football offers
By Terry Hersom, Journal sports editor | Posted: Friday, April 11, 2008
Bishop Heelan's Brandon Wegher leaps past Le Mars defenders last September at Memorial Field in Sioux City. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
Posted from 04/11/08:
All of that flattering attention was fun for awhile.
Brandon Wegher won't deny that.
Now, though, the Bishop Heelan running back would just as soon put an end to the tumult of attention he's received since the end of a record-setting junior football season last fall.
Approximately 15 schools - colleges as far away as Auburn, Penn State and San Diego State - have already made scholarship offers, Wegher said.
The list also includes Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
And, he'll be making an unofficial visit to Notre Dame next week.
But the process is growing tiresome.
"I'd love to get it over as soon as possible," said the 5-11, 190-pounder, up 10 pounds since the end of Heelan's Class 3A state runner-up season. "Once I find the right college, I'm going to be done. I'm not going to wait it out."
Wegher's 2,334 yards last season shattered the 2-year-old city rushing mark of East's Tre-Darrius Canady by a whopping 458 yards. And, with nearly the entire Heelan starting lineup returning next fall on offense and defense, there's plenty of activity in the weightroom.
"Our team is pretty motivated right now," said Wegher, who hits the weights for about two hours a day.
The off-season training regimen is, of course, a big key toward the physical gains Wegher can make above and beyond the normal maturation process.
And, he's definitely getting faster and stronger.
In addition to a bench press of 305 pounds, he set a record in the 60-meter dash at last month's Dan Lennon Invitational, posting a fully automatic 6.99-second clocking to break a mark held by Tierre Green, a former University of Nebraska defensive back.
Last Saturday in Cherokee, Wegher set a Tomahawk Relays record of 10.69 seconds, a wind-aided and hand-timed clocking, in the 100-meter dash.
He'll likely be one of the top-seeded performers in the prep boys 100 at the Drake Relays later this month.
"I'm not a real big track fan," said Wegher. "I'm just out there to stay in shape and get faster."
"It's hard to compare these times from around the state because most of them are hand-held times," said Don Oberle, head coach of the Heelan boys track team. "Somebody starts the clock when they hear the sound instead of going by the smoke."
Oberle did note that Burlington's Jarred Herring, last year's prep 100 champ at Drake, won the 60 at last month's Dickinson Relays, an unofficial state indoor meet hosted by Northern Iowa, in 6.93 seconds. So, Wegher's Dan Lennon effort was in the ballpark.
"Those are both FAT (fully automatic) times, so you can compare those guys to being about the same," said Oberle.
The Heelan coach held Wegher out of the open 100 at Monday's Shilling Invitational in Le Mars due to the cold weather.
"It was two days after Cherokee and the only thing we were really trying to accomplish was to improve our 4x200 time for Drake," he said. "We didn't, but it wasn't a good night for sprinting. You need 70-degree weather and nice sunshine. You don't need 40-degree Northwest Iowa weather."
Preston Ives, a sophomore who ran an impressive second to Wegher in Cherokee, clocking :10.83, is a member of Heelan sprint relays with ambitious hopes for Drake. The 4x100 foursome also includes senior Trevor Sims and junior Sean Keane. In the 4x200, Oberle's pool of candidates also includes junior Ben Rickord and sophomore Nate Berger.
Wegher's brother, Cole, a sophomore, could be a factor in the relays later in the season, but he is still rehabbing a shoulder on which he had surgery after the football season.
All of that flattering attention was fun for awhile.
Brandon Wegher won't deny that.
Now, though, the Bishop Heelan running back would just as soon put an end to the tumult of attention he's received since the end of a record-setting junior football season last fall.
Approximately 15 schools - colleges as far away as Auburn, Penn State and San Diego State - have already made scholarship offers, Wegher said.
The list also includes Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
And, he'll be making an unofficial visit to Notre Dame next week.
But the process is growing tiresome.
"I'd love to get it over as soon as possible," said the 5-11, 190-pounder, up 10 pounds since the end of Heelan's Class 3A state runner-up season. "Once I find the right college, I'm going to be done. I'm not going to wait it out."
Wegher's 2,334 yards last season shattered the 2-year-old city rushing mark of East's Tre-Darrius Canady by a whopping 458 yards. And, with nearly the entire Heelan starting lineup returning next fall on offense and defense, there's plenty of activity in the weightroom.
"Our team is pretty motivated right now," said Wegher, who hits the weights for about two hours a day.
The off-season training regimen is, of course, a big key toward the physical gains Wegher can make above and beyond the normal maturation process.
And, he's definitely getting faster and stronger.
In addition to a bench press of 305 pounds, he set a record in the 60-meter dash at last month's Dan Lennon Invitational, posting a fully automatic 6.99-second clocking to break a mark held by Tierre Green, a former University of Nebraska defensive back.
Last Saturday in Cherokee, Wegher set a Tomahawk Relays record of 10.69 seconds, a wind-aided and hand-timed clocking, in the 100-meter dash.
He'll likely be one of the top-seeded performers in the prep boys 100 at the Drake Relays later this month.
"I'm not a real big track fan," said Wegher. "I'm just out there to stay in shape and get faster."
"It's hard to compare these times from around the state because most of them are hand-held times," said Don Oberle, head coach of the Heelan boys track team. "Somebody starts the clock when they hear the sound instead of going by the smoke."
Oberle did note that Burlington's Jarred Herring, last year's prep 100 champ at Drake, won the 60 at last month's Dickinson Relays, an unofficial state indoor meet hosted by Northern Iowa, in 6.93 seconds. So, Wegher's Dan Lennon effort was in the ballpark.
"Those are both FAT (fully automatic) times, so you can compare those guys to being about the same," said Oberle.
The Heelan coach held Wegher out of the open 100 at Monday's Shilling Invitational in Le Mars due to the cold weather.
"It was two days after Cherokee and the only thing we were really trying to accomplish was to improve our 4x200 time for Drake," he said. "We didn't, but it wasn't a good night for sprinting. You need 70-degree weather and nice sunshine. You don't need 40-degree Northwest Iowa weather."
Preston Ives, a sophomore who ran an impressive second to Wegher in Cherokee, clocking :10.83, is a member of Heelan sprint relays with ambitious hopes for Drake. The 4x100 foursome also includes senior Trevor Sims and junior Sean Keane. In the 4x200, Oberle's pool of candidates also includes junior Ben Rickord and sophomore Nate Berger.
Wegher's brother, Cole, a sophomore, could be a factor in the relays later in the season, but he is still rehabbing a shoulder on which he had surgery after the football season.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
