New Quarterback For Louisiana Tech

Weyman says goodbye to
'Rocky Top' and hello to Tech
Posted 07-23-03
By Bret McCormick
Staff Writer
Brett Weyman, a 6-3, 225-pound quarterback, has left the University of Tennessee to accept a scholarship offer from Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell.
“The Louisiana Tech offense is ideal for a quarterback,†Weyman said.
“I really like the coaching staff with Coach (Jack) Bicknell and Coach (Conroy) Hines. The most important thing for me is I’m just ready to get on the field and get started.â€
Weyman, who came out of Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, was hyped greatly by national recruiting analyst Max Emfinger (who said Weyman favors Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle), but that was not enough to garner any scholarship offers before the spring signing period.
Instead, Weyman chose to attend Tennessee as a “preferred†walk-on.
Looking at Weyman’s resume, it’s hard to understand how he could have gone under the radar screen by college coaches:
n Ranked 13th-best QB by Insiders
n“Recruiting Discovery of the Year†by USAToday.com
n Ranked No. 2 QB in the East by Sporting News/Student Sports
n All-Regional East by SuperPrep Magazine
n Named among the “Fab 50†players in the country
n Named to Athlon Top 25
n All-Eastern Region in Prepstar Magazine
n 2003 Emfinger All-American Team
n Ranked No. 10 overall QB by Max Emfinger
n Ranked No. 1 athlete among pro style QB’s
Weyman’s journey from his home in Charleston, S.C. was a long, tumultuous one.
Growing up as a swimmer and baseball player, Weyman was a star pitcher as a sophomore.
But the then 6-3, 185-pounder decided to pursue football with just two years left in high school.
However, there was just one problem with that decision. Weyman’s school already had a star senior quarterback, so he was going to sit the bench.
Instead, Weyman’s father, Grant, looked into sending his son to a prep school where he could come in and play. Weyman settled at Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Conn.
In Weyman’s first half as a football player he threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
He finished his junior year with 1520 yards passing with 15 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.
There were two problems heading into Weyman’s senior year. The tuition of nearly $30,000 was very expensive, and the football lost a lot of talent — including a receiver who went to Florida and most of the offensive line.
So Weyman was on the move again.
This is how he ended up at Fork Union — where he ran into more problems.
It turned out that Fork Union had a tough running game — and two other quarterbacks.
Fork Union fielded two teams — a high school and a postgraduate — and Weyman was the only high school player on the postgraduate team.
He completed 72 percent of his passes that year (52 of 73) for 914 yards and six touchdowns.
Because he played on the postgraduate squad, Weyman competed against collegiate players during his senior year, as Fork Union played freshman teams throughout the state of Virginia.
But because his stats were not great, many of the colleges did not jump on Weyman’s bandwagon — despite his posting a time of 4.61 seconds in the 40-yard dash and of 4.12 seconds in the pro shuttle (the fastest for all pro style quarterbacks in the country).
What also hurt Weyman’s recruiting was that no video of Weyman playing made its way around the recruiting circles until January of his senior year — just a month away from Signing Day.
Emfinger — who just raves about Weyman’s potential — sat down with Weyman and made a list of schools who might need a quarterback and came up with a list of five
However, none of those schools had a scholarship available at the time to give to Weyman.
Emfinger advised Weyman to visit the three schools he really wanted to go to and walk on at one to try and earn a scholarship.
The three schools that Weyman chose were Tennessee, Alabama and Tech.
Emfinger said Weyman is “10 times better than some kids who got scholarships,†but they waited so long to get into the recruiting game that it ended up hurting Weyman.
Weyman chose Tennessee.
“If all things are equal, Tennessee is the best one to go to,†Emfinger said, citing the chance to compete for a national title and Southeastern Conference title. “Louisiana Tech was always in the back of (the family’s) mind because Tech threw 600 times last year.
“You prepare a quarterback for the pros if you throw the ball 600 times a game.â€
Weyman reported to Knoxville on May 29 to start summer school and begin working out in voluntary workouts.
Weyman said he was working out five times a week with the linebackers and running with the defensive backs and receivers.
He also said he enjoyed having the chance to throw to the receivers at Tennessee and how Tennessee starting quarterback Casey Clausen went out of his way to help Weyman.
In the end, Weyman figured he was not going to get his scholarship before the beginning of fall practice like he had hoped — despite competing with senior C.J. Leak for the backup spot.
Emfinger said, for all intents and purposes, Weyman was already ahead of Leak.
However, head coach Phil Fulmer said he wanted to see how Weyman performed with pads on in an 11-on-11 situation, as compared to the 7-on-7 workouts.
According to Emfinger, Clausen was really excited about Weyman’s ability and wondered how he was unable to get a scholarship.
Upon making his decision to leave Knoxville for Ruston, Weyman told The Knoxville News, “I walked into (Fulmer’s) office and said, ‘Coach, I want to thank you for the opportunity you gave me, but I’ve chosen to accept a scholarship opportunity at Louisiana Tech.’ I told him it was an incredible experience for me ... he was shocked.â€
Fulmer said he did not have any scholarships to offer Weyman, but Emfinger disputes that claim, saying Tennessee has four open scholarships.
“What made me change my mind was Coach Bicknell offering a scholarship,†Weyman said.
“When a coach offers a scholarship, he’s putting money on the table. It says they want to help you be the best.â€
Weyman most likely will redshirt his freshman year — along with Zac Champion, another incoming freshman quarterback for the Bulldogs. Both Luke McCown and Maxie Causey are seniors this year.
Emfinger said he thinks it is key for Weyman to redshirt because he needs the time to learn the offense, but he also believes Weyman has the talent to play right away.
“He has the ability, talent, arm, arm strength, brains, everything it takes to be a great quarterback,†Emfinger said, “but he doesn’t have the experience.â€
Weyman said he understands and respects the tradition of Tech’s passing game — and what McCown has been able to do. Therefore, he does not have a problem sitting the first year.
“It’s not a problem at all,†Weyman said. “(Tech has) a very developed system, and there’s a lot to learn. The redshirt year will only help me to learn the system.â€
Weyman said he plans to report to Ruston at the beginning of August and get ready for preseason practice. Despite sitting out a year, he said he wants to work hard and be ready to play if he is needed.
'Rocky Top' and hello to Tech
Posted 07-23-03
By Bret McCormick
Staff Writer
Brett Weyman, a 6-3, 225-pound quarterback, has left the University of Tennessee to accept a scholarship offer from Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell.
“The Louisiana Tech offense is ideal for a quarterback,†Weyman said.
“I really like the coaching staff with Coach (Jack) Bicknell and Coach (Conroy) Hines. The most important thing for me is I’m just ready to get on the field and get started.â€
Weyman, who came out of Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, was hyped greatly by national recruiting analyst Max Emfinger (who said Weyman favors Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle), but that was not enough to garner any scholarship offers before the spring signing period.
Instead, Weyman chose to attend Tennessee as a “preferred†walk-on.
Looking at Weyman’s resume, it’s hard to understand how he could have gone under the radar screen by college coaches:
n Ranked 13th-best QB by Insiders
n“Recruiting Discovery of the Year†by USAToday.com
n Ranked No. 2 QB in the East by Sporting News/Student Sports
n All-Regional East by SuperPrep Magazine
n Named among the “Fab 50†players in the country
n Named to Athlon Top 25
n All-Eastern Region in Prepstar Magazine
n 2003 Emfinger All-American Team
n Ranked No. 10 overall QB by Max Emfinger
n Ranked No. 1 athlete among pro style QB’s
Weyman’s journey from his home in Charleston, S.C. was a long, tumultuous one.
Growing up as a swimmer and baseball player, Weyman was a star pitcher as a sophomore.
But the then 6-3, 185-pounder decided to pursue football with just two years left in high school.
However, there was just one problem with that decision. Weyman’s school already had a star senior quarterback, so he was going to sit the bench.
Instead, Weyman’s father, Grant, looked into sending his son to a prep school where he could come in and play. Weyman settled at Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Conn.
In Weyman’s first half as a football player he threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
He finished his junior year with 1520 yards passing with 15 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.
There were two problems heading into Weyman’s senior year. The tuition of nearly $30,000 was very expensive, and the football lost a lot of talent — including a receiver who went to Florida and most of the offensive line.
So Weyman was on the move again.
This is how he ended up at Fork Union — where he ran into more problems.
It turned out that Fork Union had a tough running game — and two other quarterbacks.
Fork Union fielded two teams — a high school and a postgraduate — and Weyman was the only high school player on the postgraduate team.
He completed 72 percent of his passes that year (52 of 73) for 914 yards and six touchdowns.
Because he played on the postgraduate squad, Weyman competed against collegiate players during his senior year, as Fork Union played freshman teams throughout the state of Virginia.
But because his stats were not great, many of the colleges did not jump on Weyman’s bandwagon — despite his posting a time of 4.61 seconds in the 40-yard dash and of 4.12 seconds in the pro shuttle (the fastest for all pro style quarterbacks in the country).
What also hurt Weyman’s recruiting was that no video of Weyman playing made its way around the recruiting circles until January of his senior year — just a month away from Signing Day.
Emfinger — who just raves about Weyman’s potential — sat down with Weyman and made a list of schools who might need a quarterback and came up with a list of five
However, none of those schools had a scholarship available at the time to give to Weyman.
Emfinger advised Weyman to visit the three schools he really wanted to go to and walk on at one to try and earn a scholarship.
The three schools that Weyman chose were Tennessee, Alabama and Tech.
Emfinger said Weyman is “10 times better than some kids who got scholarships,†but they waited so long to get into the recruiting game that it ended up hurting Weyman.
Weyman chose Tennessee.
“If all things are equal, Tennessee is the best one to go to,†Emfinger said, citing the chance to compete for a national title and Southeastern Conference title. “Louisiana Tech was always in the back of (the family’s) mind because Tech threw 600 times last year.
“You prepare a quarterback for the pros if you throw the ball 600 times a game.â€
Weyman reported to Knoxville on May 29 to start summer school and begin working out in voluntary workouts.
Weyman said he was working out five times a week with the linebackers and running with the defensive backs and receivers.
He also said he enjoyed having the chance to throw to the receivers at Tennessee and how Tennessee starting quarterback Casey Clausen went out of his way to help Weyman.
In the end, Weyman figured he was not going to get his scholarship before the beginning of fall practice like he had hoped — despite competing with senior C.J. Leak for the backup spot.
Emfinger said, for all intents and purposes, Weyman was already ahead of Leak.
However, head coach Phil Fulmer said he wanted to see how Weyman performed with pads on in an 11-on-11 situation, as compared to the 7-on-7 workouts.
According to Emfinger, Clausen was really excited about Weyman’s ability and wondered how he was unable to get a scholarship.
Upon making his decision to leave Knoxville for Ruston, Weyman told The Knoxville News, “I walked into (Fulmer’s) office and said, ‘Coach, I want to thank you for the opportunity you gave me, but I’ve chosen to accept a scholarship opportunity at Louisiana Tech.’ I told him it was an incredible experience for me ... he was shocked.â€
Fulmer said he did not have any scholarships to offer Weyman, but Emfinger disputes that claim, saying Tennessee has four open scholarships.
“What made me change my mind was Coach Bicknell offering a scholarship,†Weyman said.
“When a coach offers a scholarship, he’s putting money on the table. It says they want to help you be the best.â€
Weyman most likely will redshirt his freshman year — along with Zac Champion, another incoming freshman quarterback for the Bulldogs. Both Luke McCown and Maxie Causey are seniors this year.
Emfinger said he thinks it is key for Weyman to redshirt because he needs the time to learn the offense, but he also believes Weyman has the talent to play right away.
“He has the ability, talent, arm, arm strength, brains, everything it takes to be a great quarterback,†Emfinger said, “but he doesn’t have the experience.â€
Weyman said he understands and respects the tradition of Tech’s passing game — and what McCown has been able to do. Therefore, he does not have a problem sitting the first year.
“It’s not a problem at all,†Weyman said. “(Tech has) a very developed system, and there’s a lot to learn. The redshirt year will only help me to learn the system.â€
Weyman said he plans to report to Ruston at the beginning of August and get ready for preseason practice. Despite sitting out a year, he said he wants to work hard and be ready to play if he is needed.