Wymer A Force At Center (And Tight End)

Josiah Wymer of Springdale goes up strong Feb. 1 against Jake Killingsworth of Rogers High at King Arena in Rogers.
Josiah Wymer of Springdale goes up strong Feb. 1 against Jake Killingsworth of Rogers High at King Arena in Rogers.

— Most high school centers don’t get noticed by Southeastern Conference schools looking to sign a tight end with good hands and quick feet.

Profile

Josiah Wymer

SCHOOL: Springdale High

CLASS: Junior

HEIGHT: 6-5

WEIGHT: 263

NOTABLE: Headed into this week averaging 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. ... Has a scholarship offer to play football at Arkansas Tech, and he’s garnered attention from Arkansas and Auburn. ... Caught 10 passes for 110 yards and two touchdown this past football season.

There are better places to find a big-time tight end than on a basketball court.

However, two days after Springdale High wrapped up its football season on Nov. 2, Josiah Wymer was back in Bulldog Gymnasium, trying his best to keep up during his first practice with the basketball team.

That first practice was horrible, Wymer said. I remember thinking there’s no way in the world I’m going to be able to get back into shape because it was just so hard.

Wymer said he needed at least a week to get back into basketball shape and feel more comfortable on the court. After all, the 6-foot-5, 263-pound junior wasn’t asked to run full sprints during his time as Springdale’s highly touted tight end.

But Wymer showed in one day of running, sliding and backpedaling that he wouldn’t need long to make the transition from the gridiron to the hardwood.

When Springdale boys basketball coach Brad Stamps put his players through a grueling conditioning program known as Syracuse Running, Wymer managed to shuffle around the court with his teammates.

The kids were kind of giving him a hard time the day that he was coming in, saying, Hey, we’re going to do Syracuse this week. It’s not fun, Stamps said. So Josiah was kind of fearful of that, and he got through it the first time around, which kind of surprised everybody.

Wymer has proven that he could be a presence in the paint for the Bulldogs (16-8, 8-3 7A/6A-West Conference) and do the dirty work asked of him. His primary role is to grab rebounds and use his considerable size and strength to slow down opposing big men.

But Stamps said he has spoken recently to Wymer about looking to score and be more of an offensive threat. Wymer was averaging 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game heading into this week, and his main job tonight at Fayetteville will be to battle in the paint against 6-10 center Tyler McCullough.

I feel like I’m more of a rebound (guy), and I kind of clean up the trash down there if you want to put it in that perspective, Wymer said in his explaining his role for Springdale. But it’s more of just to be a body in the middle.

Wymer’s large frame has certainly caught the attention of college football coaches. Arkansas Tech has already offered him a scholarship, and he said coaches from Arkansas and Auburn have shown interest in him as a tight end.

Wymer caught 10 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns this past season while blocking for Springdale running back Deandre Murray, who rushed for 1,443 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Wymer said playing basketball has helped on the football field by getting him into better shape and improving his hands and footwork. He has shown that with his ability to establish himself in the paint and then pass to his teammates along the perimeter for open shots.

We’re happy that he’s a part of our basketball program because he gives us that big inside player that we need, Stamps said. But I think I’d be fooling myself and I think he’d tell you that football is his future.

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