Lineman gives his heart to the Lobos
Piedra Vista’s Weaver first pledged to Tech
In his pre-high school days, Dylan Weaver was a state champion age-group swimmer — using his long frame to great advantage in the backstroke.
As he entered Farmington’s Piedra Vista High School and as that long frame began to fill out, he decided to focus solely on football.
By the end of his junior year, Weaver found himself in the deep end of the New Mexico football talent pool — pursued by schools within and without the state as an offensive lineman.
Last May, Weaver got a scholarship offer from the University of New Mexico. He was excited.
He was even more excited, though, to get a scholarship offer from Texas Tech. In June, he committed to play for the Red Raiders.
End of story? No, just the beginning. On Wednesday, Weaver plans to sign a letter of intent not with Tech, but with UNM. Why the change of heart? Really, the 6-foot-7, 280-pounder says, UNM was where his heart was all along.
Born and raised in Farmington, Weaver had been watching the Lobos “ever since I was a little kid, watching the games on TV, even when they weren’t as good as they are now.
“(Playing for the Lobos) has always been a dream of mine.”
Weaver nonetheless was flattered, and intrigued, when Texas Tech pursued him. Tech plays in the Big 12, a so-called Power Five conference. Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury is young and charismatic, and he runs one of the nation’s most prolific passing offenses.
For Weaver, Texas Tech was like a shiny Corvette.
“I got the offer from Tech, and that was pretty exciting because it was a big-time, power-five school,” he said. “I went on a visit and that kind of sealed the deal.” Or did it? In the first game of Piedra Vista’s 2016 season, Weaver tore an ACL. He would
sit out the rest of the season — leaving him with lots of time to ponder his football future.
Meanwhile, UNM had not given up. Assistant coach Scott Baumgartner and recruiting coordinator Vince Natali had stayed in touch after Weaver’s commitment to Tech.
Weaver began to think about all those Lobo games he’d watched as a kid.
And if Tech was a shiny Corvette, UNM under head coach Bob Davie had become the equivalent of a sturdy red Jeep. The Lobos went 9-4 last fall, defeating UTSA 23-20 for its first bowl victory since Weaver the swimmer was just a tadpole.
During the fall, Weaver said, “I just started getting gut feelings about Texas Tech, like it wasn’t a good fit for me. I just wanted a team that had a little more discipline, I guess.”
Finally, Weaver, who also had offers from San Diego State and Georgia State, withdrew his commitment to Tech and re-opened his recruitment. On an official visit to UNM, he met Lobos offensive line coach Saga Tuitele for the first time. A new deal was sealed. “Coach Tuitele told me he doesn’t offer kids unless he sees them in person, meets them, sees what kind of person they are,” Weaver said.
“When I met him, he was unlike any other coach that I’ve talked to. He was a real guy.”
On Jan. 14, Weaver announced his commitment to UNM.
For the next few months, Weaver’s focus will be on school, conditioning and rehabbing his knee.
“I’m jogging and starting to do a lot more agility,” he said. “It’s getting there. “I’ll be ready to go June first.”
ANOTHER LOBO: Elijah Gamboa, Weaver’s Piedra Vista teammate, has announced he’ll join the UNM program as a walk-on.
Gamboa, 5-10 and 170 pounds, played quarterback and cornerback for the Panthers.