Weber State tight end wanted to be a Bear
Cal had three distinct chances to nab Andrew Vollert.
He played at St. Ignatius High, San Jose State and CCSF, and each time the tight end was looking to move to another school, Cal passed.
Now, the Bears will have to find a way to stop the FCS AllAmerica selection as he leads Weber State into Berkeley for Saturday’s game fueled by years of rejection.
“I considered them, but they didn’t consider me,” Vollert said in a phone interview this week. “I haven’t forgotten that. They passed on me after high school, junior college and college. I have not forgotten that.”
Cal wasn’t alone in missing on Vollert, a 6-foot-5, 245pounder from San Mateo, who earned Newcomer of the Year honors in the Big Sky Conference after his 62-reception, 840-yard, seven-touchdown 2016 season.
He beat Sacred Heart Cathedral for the Central Coast Section Division III crown in front of about 12,000 fans at AT&T Park in 2011 and helped St. Ignatius to the school’s only CCS Open Division title, an overtime victory against Bellarmine in 2012. Still, his only offer was as a walk-on at San Jose State.
Vollert had 22 catches for 335 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2014 at San Jose State, where he also played for the depleted basketball team for three games.
“My claim to fame is that I went 1-for-1 on three-pointers,” Vollert joked. “That’s a better percentage than Steph Curry had in college.”
When tight end coach Terry Malley, who had coached Vollert’s father at Santa Clara, left San Jose State, the tight end decided to transfer to CCSF. Vollert was hoping that the program could get him exposure, and he wanted to remember what it was like to win.
Vollert had six catches for 56 yards and a touchdown in his debut, but his season was cut short by an ankle injury. That also meant his recruiting video was cut short.
After some recommendations from the CCSF coaches, the Weber State staff hunted down Twitter video of Vollert. The Weber coaches were impressed by what he had done as a freshman at San Jose State and how he’d grown since then.
The only thing Vollert knew of Weber State was that Oakland’s Damian Lillard went there to play basketball. The tight end wasn’t even aware that the school was in Utah, but after an official visit, he made the decision to enroll.
“I can’t imagine life without football,” he said. “I’m going to play football until they say I can’t play anymore.”
Vollert helped Weber State to the playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2016, and the Wildcats opened this season ranked among the Top 25 in the FCS coaches’ poll for the first time since 2010.
He had five catches for 50 yards and a score in the season opener, a record-setting, 76-0 victory over Montana Western. That marked the most points in school history and the program’s largest win margin and first shutout in 10 years.
“Andrew Vollert, in my opinion, is the best tight end in FCS football,” Weber State head coach Jay Hill said. “He catches the ball, he gets open, he catches it in traffic and he’s got NFL scouts who really like him. He’s a great player.
“We’re darn lucky to have him. He’s a definite mismatch for us at our level of football. … We were lucky to get him, and he’s come up here and flourished.”
On Saturday, he’ll get to go home again.
Vollert expects about 75 family and friends to be in attendance at Memorial Stadium, including his grandparents for the first time in two years, but he was able to secure tickets for only his parents.
“I think a lot of the guys are excited to play on the big stage,” he said. “A lot of guys think they could have gotten Pac-12 offers and could be playing big-time football.
“Saturday, Sept. 9, is kind of our chance to back up that talk.”