Coach: 2019 DE Joseph Weté Has Right Attitude
Lou Holtz once said, “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
The former Notre Dame head coach would have loved Joseph Weté. Gonzaga College High School head coach Randy Trivers certainly does.
“It starts with his attitude,” Trivers said of the 2019 defensive end from Washington, D.C. “Joseph has a real passion for the game. He’s got a passion for being the best he can be. He has a real desire to really get better.
“A lot of times guys are excited about the games or excited about the results, but not necessarily as excited to prepare. He’s very, very passionate about how he prepares to be a good player. That’s what helps him improve and be as good as he could be.”
Trivers traces Weté’s success on the field to that preparation.
“He practices with the right purpose,” the coach added. “He prepares in the weight room, strength and conditioning with the right purpose, the meeting room. He does things with a very good attitude with regard to how good he wants to be.”
That’s not always the case with elite athletes, especially young ones, according to Trivers.
“He’s a kid who has a great attitude in terms of being coachable,” said Trivers. “He does not resist coaching. Some talented athletes might resist coaching like, ‘I got it. I know how good I am. I got it.’
“He’s a guy who embraces criticism and critique. He really genuinely wants to get better. He’s a really, really strong prospect because of his combination of physical gifts and attitude.”
Trivers said it starts with Weté’s attitude and then goes to his physical gifts.
“He’s been blessed with great athletic ability and a great frame that is going to continue to grow and develop and blossom as he gets older, more mature and continues to work,” the coach said of the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder junior.
“When you have those gifts and then that attitude, it’s a great formula for someone to be able to fulfill their potential. A lot of times, you recruit a high school student-athlete and have to project, ‘Where’s this guy going to be when he’s 19, 20, 21, 22 years old? What’s his body going to look like? How’s he going to move?’ It’s always helpful as you’re projecting to know what a young man’s core values are and his motivation and his level of commitment to his craft. I think he’s a guy who is a sure bet to be a high-achiever with regard to his potential because of his attitude.”
Weté has offers from schools like Notre Dame, Georgia, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Michigan, USC, Duke and Boston College among others.
He told Irish Sports Daily some schools are looking at him as a defensive end while others see him as an outside linebacker. Weté told us his preference is just to play football.
“It depends on the system and the team, what people want to do,” his coach said. “He has the capability because he runs so well and has such good length. He’s smart. He’s very, very intelligent. He’s going to be a guy who could do whatever that system, scheme, staff wants him to do.”
Weté doesn’t have any sort of leaderboard at this point, but Trivers did acknowledge “Notre Dame is a heckuva institution.”
“There are very few places out there with its history, tradition and prestige, so certainly they have his attention,” he continued. “Joseph is not one of these kids who blows with the wind where today it’s this school because they’ve got a nice uniform or it’s this school because of this or that. He’s more cerebral.
“He’s in the listening mode and gathering information right now. As we continue to progress in the next several weeks, he’ll learn more and start to get more of an idea of what he wants. As far as who’s in the lead and all of that stuff, he’s just gathering information right now and seeing what’s available and trying to really make sense of all of this.”
Weté hasn’t locked in any upcoming visits to this point.
“We’re working on it,” Trivers said. “Everybody wants him to come, so you’ve got to really think about where you want to go, you only have so many days and so many weekends.”
He could have a decision by the summer, but if he isn’t ready, he’ll let the process play out.
“I always think it’s great if a kid can go into his senior year committed,” his coach said. “If that doesn’t happen, it’s certainly not the end of the world. Recruiting can be such a distraction and so overwhelming, when a kid is trying to get his academics done and enjoy his senior year and he’s dealing with phone calls and social media every single second, it doesn’t make for the best formula for a guy to enjoy his experience and to be a good teammate.
“In an ideal world, having the information to be able to commit prior to his senior year is a great thing. However, I don’t believe in anyone committing unless they’ve done the full vetting process of getting on campuses and really understanding what those opportunities would be for him. We’ll see how the spring and summer go for Joseph and from there, he could be a guy who takes it into the fall, maybe into the winter. We’ll see. He’s not the flashy guy who wants to have 10 hats on the table and all of that kind of garbage.”