Jalen Wydermyer highlights 'versatility' in A&M's tight end room

Former A&M TE Jalen Wydermyer joined us on TexAgs Live to provide an update on his life and experience in the UFL and NFL. Wydermyer also talked about his time at Texas A&M, the talent in the Aggies' current tight end room, head coach Mike Elko and more.

Key notes from Jalen Wydermyer interview

• The UFL has been amazing and a great experience under our GM Steve Kazor and Mike Nolan. They gave me the opportunity to keep playing, and I'm taking in every opportunity to play.
   
• It was fun to play against Jace Sternberger and Leon O'Neal Jr. We had a few matchups, and Anthony Hines is a stud. Having that back and forth during the game... If anyone knows me, I'm very competitive, and O'Nea and I were going back and forth. It was fun.
   
• Sternberger is a dog. We didn't play together here, but I've learned so much from him here. He's helped me in my pro career, and we just got off the phone a few days ago.
   
• The level of an athlete in the UFL, I didn't know how it would be when I first went into it. I talked to one of the older guys, and they said it's no cakewalk. It's not the NFL, but they have NFL experience. Everyone is old or young or trying to get back into the NFL or way out. It was a great experience, and I was sure it wasn't a cakewalk.
   
• I would definitely say my plan is to keep training and go back to the NFL. I already signed my contract to go back to the Michigan Panthers. So, how it works, I can't sign with another UFL team, and it won't stop me from going to the NFL. If I get a call from a team and they want to pick me up, my contract will still be there, and I'll say I'll stay with an NFL team and keep moving. That whole business is set up to get you where you want to be.
   
• It's helped me stay connected to football. I took a year and a half off, and it was tough. It was getting back, and a great transition period to get back on the field. It was also a confidence thing, and if I still had it. Last year, I led the league in the PFF grade among tight ends. I know I still got it.
   
• I've been playing the game since I was four years old. Once you don't get the opportunities to get back in the league, it's like a crisis, and what do I want to do for the rest of my life? When I had a job, I was like, “I want to play football, and get back on the field.” That's what I was put on this earth to do. I'm still young, and Mr. Kazor and Coach Nolan called me and said to come play for us, and I said, “I'll be there.”
   
• I worked security, and I hated it, but it was the closest thing to football, throwing people out of the club. No one messed with me. It was fun. It was a thing to keep me busy. Try a job and see how it goes. My dad said, “You’ve never had a job, so get an easy one like security.” As I was doing that, I was like it's a no-brainer to go back to football.
   
• I would say I wasn't recruited under coach Kevin Sumlin, but when Jimbo Fisher came, he put his eyes on me, and he came to my basketball games. He said I was a great basketball player, but he said I could be a great football player. I got a ton of offers and SEC offers. When I got my first one, that's when A&M, Alabama and Georgia all rolled in. It was either A&M or Miami, and I knew A&M was home for me. I sat down with Fisher and he told me what I could do here, and my skill set and after football. A big part was the Aggie Network.
   
• It took the first touchdown against Clemson to get acclimated, and the biggest transition was the speed of the game from high school to college. My first SEC game was Auburn. I caught the ball from Kellen Mond, and I caught it, and I remember getting hit on my right side, and I went, "These guys aren't playing. They hit hard." Now, I'm doing stuff that I wasn't even thinking of doing. I'm just automatically doing it. “Hey, the ball is coming towards me. He's got my left hand. I'll stick out my right.” My body is automatically doing it. Once I got the speed of it, it was a breeze from there.
   
• It's a blessing to be in the same category as Sternberger and Martellus Bennett. Growing up, I was a Patriots fan, and watching him, I was like, "Man, I never thought I would be on the same level as him" with A&M’s records. All I do is play football, and one day someone told me I beat the receiving record by a tight end. It's a blessing, and it definitely shows the work that I put in to get where I'm at.
   
• I remember the day I got signed. I was going for a workout with the Patriots and didn't expect to get signed that day. Bill Belicheck said he liked me and told me to come in. I went to stay in Boston, and I needed my stuff shipped because I had nothing. For a few weeks, I used team apparel. I went to him, said I loved it here, told the story of loving football and watching Rob Gronkowski growing up. He cracked a smile. It was very little to him, but huge to me. He's the greatest coach of all time, and he doesn't smile when winning Super Bowls, and I just made him crack a smile. I told him one of the reasons I play the sport today, and it was a huge blessing and honor to play for him.
   
• Once you're around great players and individuals, it feels different. It was a different atmosphere with Belicheck. Another great coach, Sean McDermott, had a standard they went by and respecting the standard is the biggest part. Those coaches always talk about the little things. They emphasise the little things. That's what makes teams great. If you're not doing the little things and holding things accountable, you won't win any games. When I got to the Bills and Patriots, I knew that was the biggest thing, the standard.
   
• Those guys are great right now at A&M. Theo Melin Öhrström is my guy. We have a great group of guys. From now on, the tight end can get thrown to more. Everyone can do that, and the versatility is second to none. A&M has one of the best tight end groups in the nation. I'll be at the games.
   
• Mike Elko, I love him. He's a no-nonsense type of guy, but will sit down and talk to you. He always respected my game. He was a defensive coordinator when I was here. He would come to me and say, “Hey! Great play. Keep doing that to our defense, and keep showing us this and that. On Saturday, it can be fixed.” That's what it was about with the details. I respect him, and I think he's a great head coach so far.