Weddle exceeds expectations

Considering he led the Mountain West Conference with four forced fumbles and topped the Utes with four quarterback sacks and three interceptions, Utah cornerback Eric Weddle, obviously, isn't an easy guy to surprise.

He was, however, taken back by a recent conversation with Urban Meyer. The coach informed Weddle that he'd been named a second-team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News.

"That was pretty amazing," Weddle said. "When I heard, I was pretty surprised. It was pretty nice."

Not bad for a kid Meyer once heard described as a young, skinny kid from California, who as a true freshman, was out there playing. Weddle's rapid development at cornerback, where the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder from Alta Loma High School supplanted teammates Bo Nagahi and Shaun Harper on the right side, was a pleasant surprise for the coaching staff. After all, it was a position he had never played before.

"He practiced better than the other guys," Meyer said. "He's got good coverage skills and we play so much man coverage that we needed to find a cover corner. He was the next best guy."

Weddle, an honorable mention all-conference honoree, made his starting debut Sept. 27 in Utah's 28-21 win at Colorado State. It's a position he's held ever since and will carry into the Liberty Bowl, where the 25th-ranked Utes will face Southern Mississippi on New Year's Eve.

"He's one of the best competitors I've ever been around," Meyer said. "He's a playmaker."

Weddle's athleticism, Meyer added, allows him to do a lot of things coverage-wise that a lot of guys can't do. That, too, was something the Utes learned after getting the freshman into camp.

"I didn't know Eric Weddle very well. He was not a highly recruited guy," Meyer said. "It wasn't like we beat a bunch of Pac-10 schools on him. He was a guy that Colorado State came in and offered late after we already got him."

Though mentioned with 17 other recruits in the team's media guide, Weddle wasn't among eight profiled as "Some of the biggest catches in the 2003 Utah signing class." Meyer and the staff had him ticketed for contributions down the line.

"We kind of thought he's a good little player who'll maybe play a little safety for us when Dave Revill leaves or something like that," Meyer recalled before seeing him play and altering his plans. "He's got great hips and he's got very good speed. On top of everything, he's a great football player."

A knowledge of the game and consistency in his play are other attributes Meyer associates with Weddle. Toughness is another. It's a characteristic that impressed defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham during the recruiting process.