2024 Notre Dame OL Target Caleb Brewer Is "Extremely Physical"

Steven O’Neil has been coaching at Wyomissing High School for a long time and he hasn’t seen somebody quite like Caleb Brewer‍ come through his alma mater.

“This is my 18th year coaching here back at my high school and because of how physical he plays, Caleb is the first one that I've had to legitimately, consistently tell to calm it down a little bit at practice,” says O’Neil, who coaches offensive line and defensive line for the Spartans.

“He just wants to go hard all the time. He's burying scout team players who are also special teams guys for us. I'm like, 'Caleb, I understand you want to go 100 miles an hour. Sometimes we've got to anchor it down against the guys who can't match up with you.' He's always going 100 miles an hour.”

That drive is part of the reason the 2024 Pennsylvania offensive lineman has put together an offer list that includes schools like Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech among several others.

“He's extremely physical,” O’Neil says. “One thing we really focused on going into this season, and I think it shows on the tape, was finishing, finishing people to their backs. He took great pride in that, not just driving people off the ball, but finishing them. He did a great job of that.”

With a deep offensive line this past season, the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder actually played tight end for Wyomissing as a junior. O’Neil gives Brewer a ton of credit for embracing a position he knows won’t be his future.

“He knew that he was a blocker 95 percent of the time,” says O’Neil. “That's why we put him there, to take advantage of how well that he down blocks and that's the basis of our Wing-t outside plays. We want the 295-pound tight end to block down.”

Wyomissing has had an impressive run over the past three years, winning 37 of 40 games with a pair of losses in the state final and another in the state semifinals.

“I'm thinking we're going move in back to tackle this year because we lost four seniors up front, so everyone will get a better Hudl film next fall,” says O’Neil. “But he'll be doing the same things in our Wing-T offense. He's going to be coming down on people and burying them, that's what I expect.”

In addition to the size and drive, O’Neil points to Brewer’s athleticism. Brewer is currently one of the top wrestlers in the state of Pennsylvania among heavyweights.

“You can tell just by his ability to go out for passes, catching balls on DBs at 300 pounds,” he says. “He moves so well and he's got incredible feet. Then, the wrestling background that helps with the hips, that helps with the flexibility and the hand fighting that's involved up front. Those are all things that go hand-in-hand and that's why college coaches are looking for the multi-sport athletes who can do many things.”

Off the field, Brewer checks all of the boxes as well, according to his coach.

“You don't have to worry about the academics because he prides himself on his academics,” says O’Neil. “That's one of the reasons that Notre Dame is going to be very appealing for him because he knows what a Notre Dame degree will mean to him in the future, regardless of college football and potentially the NFL.

“If things don't work out, he gets hurt, he's got the long game in mind. If he walks out with a big-time college degree from a program that means something, that's incredibly valuable. He's a smart kid.

“In the weight room, he's a horse. With his teammates, he kind of goofy fun...until practice starts. Once practice starts, he flips the lid. He's very popular.”

Brewer is going for captain as a senior, which involves an extensive process at Wyomissing, including applications, interviews and community service.

“It's a whole big deal,” O’Neil says. “These guys have to complete by the end of the school year before they even get into summer workouts. I think he's going to accomplish all those things. He's respected by his peers.

“I told him he's got to be the leader. We lost some big-time linemen last year and he's got to take over that leadership role and he's embraced that. He's already a captain of the wrestling team. He's already developing leadership as a junior.”

Brewer has visited Penn State multiple times along with Michigan, Maryland and Rutgers. He’s likely to make stops at Pitt, Tennessee, South Carolina and Notre Dame in the coming weeks and months.

“Those are the ones that I know for sure. Once wrestling season ends, he's going to hit it hardcore.”

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