This tight end will get to see Miami firsthand after a long-distance courtship

Jalen Wydermyer’s father grew up a fan of the Miami Hurricanes, so the three-star tight end was raised on stories about Miami’s heyday. Wydermyer watched enough 30 for 30 documentaries and YouTube clips to be at least somewhat intrigued when the Hurricanes offered him at the end of last year. Todd Hartley went all the way to Texas for Wydermyer, so the receiver knew Miami had to want him badly.

Hartley simply urged Wydermyer to do his research. The tight ends coach wanted the prospect to understand the Hurricanes’ history at the position.

It worked.

“Once Coach Hartley kind of opened Jalen’s eyes,” said John Snelson, Wydermyer’s coach at Dickinson, “that really, really piqued Jalen’s interest.”

This weekend, Wydermyer will finally get to see in person what Miami is about. The senior will take his first official visit to South Florida. He will set foot on the Coral Gables campus for the first time. He will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens for the Hurricanes’ home game against the Duke Blue Devils. The Hurricanes hope their first — and potentially only — impression will be enough to convince Wydermyer to come to Miami all the way from Texas.

While the Hurricanes are still targeting a more highly ranked prospect in four-star tight end Keon Zippereer, landing Wydermyer might be a better for Miami. The Hurricanes already hold one commitment from three-star Tampa Jesuit tight end Larry Hodges, and Hodges and Zipperer are similar prospects — somewhat undersized, yet exceptionally versatile in the same mold as Brevin Jordan or Chris Herndon.

Wydermyer would give Miami something different. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, Wydermyer has a prototypical frame to split out wide and win jump balls. The No. 17 tight end in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Wydermyer is a prospect in the same mold as Will Mallory or David Njoku.

“Jalen’s a special talent. There’s not a whole lot of 6-5, 240-pound kids that can run as well as he can and has that knack for getting open,” Snelson said. “He’s really one of the premier tight ends in the country.”

Snelson has been hearing about Wydermyer for years before he finally suited up for the Gators as a freshman. Wydermyer has two older brothers who had good careers at Dickinson, but everyone always told the coach the third could truly be special.

“Everybody just always said, ‘Wait ‘til the baby gets here. Wait ‘til the baby gets here,’” Snelson said. “His brothers were ultra-talented, too, they just didn’t have Jalen’s size.”

A MaxPreps roster from Wydermyer’s sophomore year lists him as a 6-foot-5, 215-pound wide receiver and frame alone made Wydermyer a factor early on.

Back then, he truly was just a wide receiver. High school tight ends typically fall in one of two categories: Either they’re straight-up blocking tight ends or they’re wide receivers, who might line up on the edge of the offensive line a few times per game.

“Early on he would’ve fallen into that big wide receiver category, but he made it a priority to work on that part of his game,” Snelson said. “He’s truly a dual-threat, do-it-all guy and he’s really just scratched the surface of what he can be.”

The Hurricanes are doing everything they can to convince Wydermyer they’re best suited to unlock his full potential. Texas A&M and Ole Miss are regarded as the two favorites by the 247Sports Crystal Ball, and the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs are always tough to beat should they decide to make a serious run at Wydermyer.

Miami, however, has history on its side. The Hurricanes landed their two top tight end targets in the Class of 2018. Hartley doesn’t miss often, and he’s doing all he can with Wydermyer.

“Coach Hartley’s done an excellent job of recruiting Jalen,” Snelson said. “We have lots of college coaches coming through our door, all of them do a good job, but Coach Hartley is an outstanding recruiter, building relationships and going the extra mile

News and nuggets:

▪ JJ Weaver has pushed back his decision date. The four-star defensive end from Moore in Louisville, Ky., originally planned to commit Tuesday, but told 247Sports he’s pushed his commitment back to Nov. 30. Miami is battling the Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats for weaver, who dropped the Purdue Boilermakers from his top group earlier this week.

▪ Samuel Brooks still isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to early enroll. The three-star outside linebacker from Northwestern said he has a couple classes which could still hold him up if he can’t complete them by early January.

▪ The Hurricanes sent out an offer to a particularly intriguing Class of 2020 prospect Thursday when they made a move with Ladarius Tennison. A four-star athlete in the 247Sports rankings, Tennison is only 5-foot-9, but is a standout running back and middle linebacker for Rockledge. He attended Paradise Camp in July and holds additional offers from the Boston College Eagles, North Carolina Tar Heels, Kentucky Wildcats, South Carolina Gamecocks, Baylor Bears and Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

This story was originally published November 2, 2018 at 12:52 PM.