2019 NFL Draft Profile: West Virginia Tight End Trevon Wesco

The West Virginia Mountaineers are poised to see a lot of former players come off the board this weekend in the 2019 NFL Draft - Trevon Wesco projects to be one of them.

Wesco hails from Martinsburg, West Virginia and is an alumnus of Musselman High School in Inwood, WV, where we went to school together. While at Musselman, Wesco was a name that everybody knew due to his superior skills on the football field, but also on the basketball court.

Standing at 6’3”, he was usually bigger than any athletes he competed against and was able to create mismatches in the paint, but he also had the agility to play on the perimeter and beat guys off the dribble.

On the gridiron, Wesco played wide receiver for his first couple seasons, while the Applemen were able to start Caleb Dembeck at QB, who went on to play Division 2 football at both Shenandoah University and Shepherd University. However, after Dembeck graduated, the Applemen struggled to find a consistent athlete to play QB, so Wesco slid into the pocket and quarterbacked Musselman in his final season of high school. It was a dynamic backfield that year, as Wesco teamed up with RB Deonte Glover, who earned All-State honors and played for the Mountaineers in 2015 before transferring to Shepherd University.

Unfortunately, during a game at Spring Mills High School during his senior year, Wesco landed awkwardly on his knee and tore a meniscus, effectively ending his season and diminishing his chances on earning a Division 1 scholarship offer.

He was back for basketball season, however, and was part of one of the most talented Applemen squads in recent memory. However, their season ended in the sectional playoffs as the Eastern Panhandle featured future D1 basketball players Donte Grantham of Martinsburg (Clemson, OKC Thunder), CJ Burks of Hedgesville (Marshall) and Jahlil Jenkins of Jefferson (Farleigh Dickinson), along with a slew of D2 prospects.

After graduating in 2014, Wesco decided to go to junior college for a couple of reasons: 1) He didn’t have the academic record to get into most colleges, and 2) He needed to put together some tape for coaches to see. So, Wesco enrolled at Lackawanna College in Lackawanna, Pennsylvania, where he completely transformed his body and began honing his skill as a tight end.

Side note: I remember seeing Trevon at a Musselman football game in 2015, just 5-6 months after he graduated, and he was HUGE. It’s clear that one of the first things they wanted to do at Lackawanna was bulk him up, and they definitely succeeded at that. His draft profile lists him at 267 pounds (very Gronk-esque).

After one year at Lackawanna, Wesco had fielded a handful of D1 offers, but he ultimately decided to come home to Almost Heaven, when he committed to the Mountaineers in May 2016.

At first, Dana Holgorsen and Jake Spavital didn't really utilize Wesco much in the offensive game, as he appeared mostly on special teams during his first two years in Morgantown. In 2016-2017 combined, Wesco had 2 catches for 7 yards and a touchdown. He played so infrequently that when he did make it on the field, my high school buddies and I would almost have a “Wesco tracker” during the games at Milan Puskar Stadium - yelling for the others when we spotted him on the field.

In 2018, we didn’t have to yell anymore.

His senior season for WVU was special. He caught 26 passes for 366 yards and a TD, had a number of highlight reel plays where he carried full-grown men on his back 5-10 yards downfield before finally being brought down, and really gave Will Grier a viable 3rd-4th option in the passing game. He was honored as a member of the All Big-12 1st Team, and earned an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he was able to give scouts another look at his ability to play TE or full back.

That’s not even touching on his blocking, arguably the most impressive part of his game. In every draft profile I’ve seen, scouts salivate over Wesco’s willingness to get his hands dirty and finish his blocks. He was essentially a 6th lineman for the Mountaineers last season, giving the halfbacks another big body opening holes for them in the trenches. This is likely be the skill that gets Wesco drafted this weekend.

Highlights

Strengths

As mentioned above, Wesco is a very good blocker. At the point of attack, there isn’t a better TE/FB in this Draft. He also has pretty good hands, evidenced by his offensive efficiency in the 2nd half of the Mountaineers 2018 season.

Weaknesses

He hasn’t proven that he’s a consistent, reliable pass-catcher. He had only 28 catches over 3 years at WVU, and although Holgerson’s play-calling is partly to blame, Wesco will need to improve upon this aspect of his game as he transitions into being a professional. He’ll need to continue to improve his run-blocking ability, but I’m not worried about that, because his position coach for his NFL team will teach him the proper way to do it.

Possible Fits

There’s an argument to be made that Wesco could fit on all 32 NFL teams. He’s such a versatile player and every team needs guys who can block consistently and effectively. Should he get drafted by a team that features the TE/FB in the passing game pretty frequently (i.e. San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs), he’ll probably have a better chance of playing early on in his career.

Projection

This is really hard to project, because as I’ve said, he could very well go to any of the 32 teams - a good predicament to find himself in. You can expect to hear Wesco’s name called between the 4th and 6th rounds this weekend. When you do, you’ll hear a mini-eruption from Inwood, West Virginia as one of our own makes it to the NFL.

Congrats, Trevon. We’re all extremely proud of you! Let’s go, Mountaineers!