NFL Draft Sleeper RB Brandon Wegher Ready For New Challenge

So what was it after all this time away from the game that allowed Wegher to have such great success on the football field?

“I was just blessed to stay healthy all season but mainly that was my second year there so, after the first year I really sat down and decided I wanted to go all in and try to get noticed by scouts from the NFL. From everything — my diet my training, I just had a mindset that I wasn’t going to be stopped. All those things put together really helped me have a great season.”

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Apparently, having the mindset that he wouldn’t be stopped worked out well for Wegher, because nobody could do it. As I mentioned before, he averaged over eight yards per carry and rushed for 39 touchdowns. When you look at his highlight tape from the 2014 season, it feels like he scores on every single play.

That kind of dominance got him noticed by NFL scouts and talent evaluators across the country, and Wegher was invited to play in the Medal of Honor Bowl. Which, by the way, he also had a fantastic game, rushing 14 times for 90 yards.

“That was a great experience, they put on a great game. I was really blessed to have an invite to play in that bowl. Playing against good competition again, not saying NAIA is not good but the speed of the game — the size stuff like that is different. I played at Iowa so I’ve seen that speed before and it was just nice to play against that competition again.”

Despite the fact that it’s been a long time since he played against that level of competition, the speed of the game has never seemed to be too much for Brandon. He has phenomenal athletic ability, power, speed, runs with a purpose, and isn’t afraid of contact. He is currently training at the renowned IMG Academy in Florida, getting himself acclimated to the physical and mental grind of an NFL offseason.

Ready for breakfast at 6 AM, he’s doing positional workouts, speed and agility training, weight lifting, classroom activities, nutrition classes, and even an “NFL mindset” class. Wegher and a variety of other prospects preparing for the draft are all putting in long workdays, getting ready for the most important interviews of their lives to this point.

Getting his name back into the spotlight was something that earned Wegher the opportunity to participate in a pro day, but he doesn’t have anything solidified at this point.

“I have a couple of options that I’m weighing right now. They aren’t for sure so I don’t have one on the books yet.”

With all the positive momentum, it’s clear that Wegher absolutely loves football. How could you be away from the game for so long, come back the way he did, dominate the way he did, and not love football? His passion for the game was once in question by analysts and fans, but it took a lot of what Wegher considers his most potent asset as a player to come back the way he did.

“My best asset as a player, my first one is my heart, I’ve got so much heart for the game of football. We haven’t gone through my story but I think to do what I’ve done I feel like it’s taken a lot of heart to make a comeback as I did. I have had a lot of coaches tell me I’ve just got so much heart for the game. I love football it’s a big part of my life.”

Wegher’s story is so compelling as a prospective pro athlete. To go from the in-state star football prospect to BCS bowl game star to almost out of sight entirely is something that draws the interest of so many because it really was a mysterious situation. Part of it is, Wegher became a father about four years ago to his son, and that forced him to have to make some decisions.

“I did give up a lot of things in my life but I would not change my route to where I’m at. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. My experiences really forced me to become the man I am today.”

And what does that mean to Brandon?

“To me it means I’m a responsible, well-mannered man — I’m a great father, I make the right decisions — basically I just make decisions like a man would.”

That kind of mindset is exactly the one that Wegher needs to have, to make sure he makes the right decisions and to show NFL teams and really his prospective employers that he is a changed man. He says that he’s talked to most of the NFL teams, and the main thing he wants them to see is that he’s open to talking about his past but that it is no longer the man that he has become.

He has changed, and he wants the team that takes him in this offseason to be one knowing that he’s already made good on his ‘second chance’ in his life — that he’s not the guy that was let go from the Iowa football program.

“I’ve already met with almost all the NFL teams and the biggest thing I’ve really wanted to get across is that I’m straight up honest that I have made mistakes and I just want a chance to prove that I’m a different person than people portray me as.”

And most people felt free to portray them whatever way they wanted to, regardless of what it did to Wegher’s reputation or to what people thought of him. I asked him about what his experiences in 2009 with Iowa meant for him and how they’ve shaped him today.

Brandon Wegher running for the Iowa Hawkeyes against Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl

“In 2009 I was at Iowa. I did leave the program there and there’s a lot of rumors out there about stuff that happened there but I mean, if I could I would like a chance to thank the Iowa coaching staff and University for giving me a chance to play there. Winning that Orange Bowl there were a lot of guys who went pro from that team and you really learn how to work hard. I did have a great experience while I was at Iowa, it was just unfortunate why it didn’t work out.”

Though it didn’t work out at Iowa, the ultimate dream of playing in the NFL is still very much a reality for Wegher, and he’s focused on making that come to fruition. This year’s running back group coming into the NFL is one of the best I can remember in a long time, and I honestly believe that on an even playing field of competition, Wegher would stand out as one of the top 10 backs in this class.

He knows about the depth of his class, but he’s not necessarily concerned about how that will affect his draft stock at all.

“I know this is a great class of running backs but I’m not really worried about other running backs. I’m focused everyday on the things I need to get better at, the things I need to improve, and that’s really what I’m focused on right now.”

And so, for the next couple of months, Wegher will continue to grind, continue to prepare for the NFL. He’ll continue to put himself in a great situation to succeed, and my guess is that as the draft season progresses along, his name will become more well known.

Wegher is not unlike many college athletes who have endured trials and a lot of pressure in their respective situations along the way. He is a guy who acknowledges he made mistakes, but he wouldn’t change the path he’s taken to where he’s at now. It hasn’t been easy for Wegher, but the most important thing is not that he ever finished his career as a member as the Iowa Hawkeyes, nor is it that he became a collegiate All-American (which he did) or that he played against the best competition he could for four or five years.

The most important thing for Wegher and for NFL scouts is that he is a new man, changed for the better by his experiences. His love for the game will always produce the fruit he wants it to as long as he continues to work hard, but being a good father and a good man were at the top of his list of things that he wanted to be and needed to be in order for football to really take care of itself.

I’m excited for Brandon Wegher’s NFL career, for what he is able to do on and off the field, and I think some team is going to come away with a really great young man who is going to work his tail off. His path to the draft has been difficult, but where he’s at now is something Iowa fans and draft fans can be proud of.