When DT Jaden Wuerth (6-3 270) transferred to Dutch Fork from Augusta prior to this season, his goals were to win state championships and earn major college scholarships. His mission has been accomplished.
Wuerth won a ring with the Silver Foxes on Saturday night, and along the way this season, he saw his recruiting profile climb, with offers from South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami, Vanderbilt, Penn State, NC State, Duke, and Appalachian State.
“Just blessed,” Wuerth said. “God has given me the opportunity to win a state championship and have a chance to play college ball in the future.”
Wuerth watched with great interest the recruiting dramas involving his teammate, defensive end Julian Walker. A long-time Michigan commitment, Walker eventually signed with South Carolina. That decision has had some impact on how Wuerth feels about his recruiting right now.
“I feel like right now, Carolina is standing out a little more now since Julian decided to go there,” Wuerth said. “I’d love to be able to play with him again. You know, they’re close to home. They are recruiting me pretty hard. I know they want me to go there. I love how they play there. I could also play with Julian again. That would be a great experience if I choose to go there. I’m just taking it slow still and see where it goes.”
What has the Gamecock staff said they like about him?
“My motor and how strong I am, and my quickness,” Wuerth said. “Just being able to get after the quarterback. Putting pressure on the quarterback changes games, so, make the impact there.”
Wuerth went to a pair of USC games this season. He also visited Clemson for the season opener against LSU, and Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen likes him a lot.
“Basically, their whole defensive staff hit me up before the championship game, wishing me good luck and talking to me,” Wuerth said. “They’ll probably come and see me in January when the dead period ends. I’ve been talking to Coach Allen a lot. It’s just a good conversation.”
Wuerth said there’s no secret as to why any high-level defensive tackle would want to play for Clemson.
“The D-linemen they’ve developed over the years,” Wuerth said. “They’ve put a lot of guys where I want to be in the future, so that’s obviously that sticks out to me.”
Wuerth also cited Georgia Tech and Duke as two others sticking out to him at this point. However, he still has a long road ahead in the recruiting process.
“Visit these campuses and then start narrowing things down from there,” Wuerth said. “Then, in the future, take my official visits and then try to make a decision.”
The most updated stats on Wuerth, via MaxPreps, showed that through 12 games, he had recorded 62 tackles with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.