In our second countdown article for the day, it’s time to talk about an under-the-radar defensive end with intriguing potential, no. 12 Tyler Wegis.

The 6-foot-6 and 230 pounder came to Utah looking to fill out his frame for the end position and so far so good. In 2020 he was listed at 210 pounds, so he gained 20 in the offseason. He didn’t see any action in his first year.

At San Juan Hills HS, Wegis was

First-team all-Orange County as a senior and Second-team All-Sea View league as a junior. He had 92 total tackles (37.0 TFL, 10.5 sacks) as a senior, adding three passes defended, two fumble recoveries, three fumbles forced and a blocked PAT. San Juan Hills won the 2019 CIF-SS Division 4 Championship.

He finds himself as part of a young but deep defensive end group.

UteNation take

The most likely scenario for Wegis to see playing time in 2021 is on passing downs, as he’s still a bit on the lighter side with his weight. Currently, he’s battling for the fifth spot in the rotation behind Mika Tafua, Van Fillinger, Xavier Carlton and Miki Suguturaga. He should also be an effective special teams player with his height and leverage.

Alex remembers Wegis’ recruitment

Wegis was a late-bloomer who, in between his junior and senior year, grew two inches and packed on 40 pounds. A three-star defensive end with a 5.6 rating, Wegis chose Utah over 11 other schools, including Cal, Washington State, Virginia, Boise State and Oregon State. The Utes were his first P5 offer and he unofficially visited the school with his dad the week in 2019 in which the Utes annihilated Arizona State with one of their best defensive performances in school history.