Commitment Spotlight: TE Jared Wiley

It is no secret Texas needs quality tight ends to help the Tom Herman offense be successful. After signing Cade Brewer and Reese Leitao in 2017, the Longhorns took one player at the position in the 2018 class, Malcolm Epps out of Spring Dekaney. 2019 set up to be another year where the Longhorns wanted to take multiple commitments at the position. Tom Herman and Co. went out of state for one, securing a commitment from Chandler (AZ) tight end Brayden Liebrock in early May. The second slot was filled today with the commitment of Temple (TX) tight end Jared Wiley.

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Wiley was extended an offer in February, and the Longhorns immediately jumped to top of his list. On May 10th, Wiley named a top 3 of Texas, Houston and Missouri. Ultimately, the Longhorns won out and now have the luxury of having 2 high-upside and athletic tight ends in the same recruiting class.

The 6’5, 225 pounder is ranked as the 1185th player in the country and the 43rd best Tight End, according to the 247sports composite rankings.

Film Analysis

Player Information

Name: Jared Wiley

Position: TE

High School: Temple High School

City & State: Temple, Texas

Measurables

Height: 6’5 (Unverified)

Weight: 225 (Unverified)

40-yard: 5.03 (ESPN)

Shuttle: 4.71 (ESPN)

Vertical: 28.1 (ESPN)

Statistics

2017- 25 REC, 323 Yards, 4 TD’s

Film

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7492330/5a0c7eb4e984d40e3877972c

Pros:

Played with his hand in the dirt and as a receiver flexed out wide. Seemed very comfortable in both roles.

Tough to bring down. Repeatedly showed the ability to absorb blows and always has his feet churning for extra yards. Not afraid to lower the shoulder and push the pile forward

Plays well in traffic. Has the ability to make catches over the middle and with defenders surrounding him.

Displays a high football IQ. Has great awareness wherever he is lined up on the field and knows where the soft spots in a defense are. Wiley also spent a season as a backup QB, so he knows what to look for.

Very willing blocker. Uses his frame well and shows the potential to be a good inline blocker down the road.

Carries his weight very well. Shows good agility in the open field. While he will never be someone who can run by somebody, he has good speed for his size.

For a guy who projects as a Tight End, Wiley shows the ability to run a variety of routes effectively. Looked very comfortable going up the seam as a TE, but also was reliable when running hitches and wheel route when he was lined up as a receiver.

Displays solid hands and good body coordination when having to make adjustments on the football.

Cons:

As with most tight ends coming out of high school, there will be an adjustment period with learning blocking techniques at the college level. Shows he is willing, but still needs to improve hand placement and play with better leverage at the POA.

Carries his weight well to the point that he looks a bit lanky. Will need to spend some time in the weight room and add some good weight.

Play strength seems to be a bit of an issue at this point, but that will improve once he spends some time with Yancy McKnight and the training staff.

As mentioned in the pros, he lacks the speed to break away from tacklers in the open field.

Would like to see some more wiggle and elusiveness when it comes to getting YAC.

Spent some time at quarterback last year and will likely do the same in 2018, which could be both good and bad.

Summary

The tight end position may be hardest position to recruit. There are becoming fewer and fewer true tight ends coming out of high school. What Wiley represents is both a combination of skills and projection. The first thing that sticks out when you turn on the film is Wiley’s experience as both a TE and a WR at the high school level. The Temple coaches utilized him in a traditional TE role at times, where he showed the ability to be an effective blocker, while also serving as a receiving threat. When he flexed out to receiver, Wiley showed good hands and a diverse route tree.

For a guy standing at 6’5, Wiley shows good agility with the ball in his hands. His previous experience at quarterback shows in his game, as he has the ability to find open spots in coverage to sit down for his QB. He flashes the ability to play well in traffic, catching several tough passes where he was blanketed by defenders. He also high points the ball well and could be a dangerous target near the goal-line.

The biggest question mark as he transitions into college will be his development as a blocker. While he shows a willingness to block, he will likely need to beef up in the weight room to be able to handle college defenders. If he is able to add weight and learn to utilize his size to leverage defenders in the run game, Wiley could develop into a very good player.

Final Verdict

Very early in his tenure at Texas, Tom Herman emphasized how important the tight end position would be for his offense. Cade Brewer flashed major potential as a freshman, and Reese Leitao has received his some praise for his practice performance. It appears the tight end position is beginning to take a turn for the better for Texas after years of sub-par production. The depth will likely allow Wiley to take a redshirt year to pack on some good weight, which should be very beneficial.

Texas had several options when it came to recruiting the tight end position, but the offensive staff made Wiley a priority several months ago and never wavered. Assuming he takes the next step developing as a blocker, Wiley will give Texas another major contributor and possible multi-year starter at one of the most important positions in the Longhorn offense.