Authored by: Ed O'Brien, @EdOBrienCFB
Wimberly has started to garner attention for his exploits on the football field and doesn’t take it for granted. “Getting recognized at a young age, for the sport I love, is great,” said Wiimberly. It feels surreal to be getting the attention I’m starting to get now. Some people wait their whole high school career and don’t get any. I am very lucky and I am definitely not taking it for granted.”
One would think that with the numbers he put up, Wimberly would favor the offensive side of the football. Statistically, his best game of the year was against Freedom High School. In that game, Wimberly rushed 26 times for 327 yards and six touchdowns. You would think he’d consider that as his best game of the year. “For me, my best game of the year was against Bethlehem Catholic”, Wimberley said when asked about his best game from the 2021 season. I had two interceptions and scored four touchdowns. I am always more proud of my defensive play even though most people focus on me carrying the football.
Despite being an eighth grader, Wimberly has shown that he mature enough to handle playing with and being around older kids. “I try my best to be a leader,” Wimberly said when asked how he’s able to deal with being the youngest player on the team. “Being the only eight grader on our freshman team, I have to keep myself (and my emotions) in check. I want everyone to play their best and I try to get that out of them as a teammate. When I was playing in youth leagues with weight limit, I would show up early to practice and run with the linemen who were close and needed to lose weight.”
Wimberly says he’s had dreams of playing in the NFL ever since he was six-years-old. His mother took him to a tournament he was participating in at Lincoln Financial Field and Wimberley found himself “in awe”. Wimberly already has an in-state school that he would love to hear from in the future: Penn State. “I’m from Pennsylvania, so Penn State is an obvious choice. I would love to be one of the Lawn Boyz. I got to go to a camp last year and met Coach (James) Franklin (head coach). It’s a great environment. I watched the whiteout game this year on TV. It would be awesome to play in front of that crowd (Beaver Stadium).”
With his 2021 freshman football season coming to a close, Wimberly already knows what he plans to do during the upcoming offseason. He is a multi-sport athlete who plays football and runs track and had plans at getting better at both. “My plans for the offseason are to bulk up, get faster, and just become an overall better football player,” said Wimberly. “I want to play varsity (football) next year, so I have to be ready. I would like to travel a beet for some camps and focus on improving my game.” Wimberly’s also wants to improve his speed while he participates in track & field. “I made it to the Junior Olympics last year for the 100M and 200M”, revealed Wimberly.” I want to go back. My goal is to get under 11 seconds and 22.5 seconds for those races next year.”
When asked about his immediate goals going forward, Wimberly kept it simple.
“My main goals moving forward are becoming the best football player, the best man I can be, and get the best grades I can get.”
ED O.B.’S EXTRA POINTS
Wimberly’s highlights are phenomenal and the fact that he runs track makes him a more impressive football prospect. As a matter of fact, it will make him a more attractive prospect to college coaches. They love prospects who play multiple sports and a skill player who also runs track with fast times will always get a college coach’s attention. On top of that, he loves to play defense and wants to be known as a complete player.
When asked about what he likes about playing football, Wimberly said:
“My favorite thing about playing football Is letting loose. Any stress or emotion I’m feeling, I can put it all on the field. The best part of playing running back is running through the middle, breaking a tackle, and all I see is green. It’s honestly the best part of playing offense. Defensively, I love being on an island manned up against the other team’s best receiver. It’s one of the most challenging parts of football for me and I really like it.”
Wimberly is certainly mature beyond his years mentally and physically. He has a bright future ahead of himself.
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