Editorβs note: The Star is counting down the 10-best high school football players in Tucson. Up next: Pusch Ridge Christian defensive end and tight end Will Way.
Name: Will Way
Rundown: Way is a 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound senior defensive lineman and tight end for the Pusch Ridge Christian Lions.
Who he is: Way is a Pusch Ridge Christian lifer.
In middle school, he served as the Lionsβ waterboy and ballboy.
At that time, the 5-10, basketball-playing Way mulled his sports future. He played basketball and football, and could see himself focusing on either sport.
Ultimately, he decided to use basketball as a way to stay in shape for football β not the other way around.
βIn basketball, youβre constantly running around and going through motions, so the cardio really helped me, especially club ball, because weβd play tournaments on the weekend, then Iβd return to football Monday through Friday,β Way said. βThat helped me with conditioning.β
Way sprouted to 6-1 the summer before his freshman year, and added a few more inches the following year. Despite the added height, he knew he had made the right decision to focus on football. He made the Lionsβ varsity team as a freshman.
βDoing that my freshman year made me want to focus more on football. I developed into more of a football body than a basketball body,β Way said. βAll of those together made me want to shift my focus to football.β
In his high school career, Way has totaled 99 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 16 stops for loss along with seven catches for 104 yards as a tight end. During the Lionsβ 37-7, season-opening win over Waddell American Leadership Academy-West Foothills on Saturday night, Way had four tackles.
Proof heβs good: Way attended a football camp at San Diego State in July, which had a plethora of college coaches from the βPac-12, Big Ten β wherever you could think ofβ in attendance, he said.
Washington State defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis couldnβt help but focus his attention on Way. It wasnβt long before Way earned his first Power 5 offer from the Cougs.
βHe introduced himself to me and said, βIβm going to be following you for the rest of the camp.β I thought, βWhoa, thatβs pretty cool, but I didnβt think anything of it at the time,ββ Way said. βOnce he followed me around camp, it was like I was already one of his players. He would give me tips for drills and talk to me about what I needed to improve on.
βAt the end of the camp, he asked me about my offers, and at the time it was (Northern Arizona), South Dakota and Idaho State, so once I told him that, he said, βWell, if I pull the trigger on you now, everyone is going to want to hop on the train as well.β β¦ He told me right then that I would have an offer from Washington State. Going into a camp and then leaving with an offer, thatβs something Iβve always wanted to have happen, selfishly. Leaving that camp was very gratifying. Itβs a cool experience to have.β
Way is the second Pusch Ridge Christian senior to hold a Division I offer; linebacker linebacker Tyler Mustain was also offered by NAU.
βI think thatβs huge. For him and I to be those two Division I kids to come out of Pusch Ridge is huge. There havenβt been too many football players to come out of here,β Way said. βWe pump out D-I athletes through baseball, beach volleyball. But for football, there hasnβt been too many true Division I players, and I think for Tyler and I to play at the next level is huge for us.
βBut to do it at the Pac-12, Power 5 level? Thatβs a huge opportunity that Iβve been presented with. Itβs really an honor to have an offer of that caliber.β
Way toured the WSUβs campus this summer after previously visiting Idaho, and plans to take an official visit to Pullman for the Cougarsβ final nonconference game against Colorado State on Sept. 17.
Wherever Way ultimately decides to play collegiately, coach Kent Middleton said he can see him playing either on the offensive or defensive line.
βWill is an exceptionally big athlete. He has really big feet, very athletic and can catch anything you throw at him,β Middleton said. βHe knows how to use his body and weβre going to see tremendous improvement from Will compared to last year. He has a lot of confidence now. I think heβs got the potential to dominate football games. I really do. He can put on easily 20 more pounds. Heβs got a great body and great frame and has a great work ethic.
βWhen college coaches look at him, they can just see the potential. When you look at his feet, his athleticism and size, heβs definitely somebody thatβs going to get noticed.β
He said it: βI shake my head sometimes, because heβs probably 260 pounds right now, but has a good frame. None of it is belly. He dominates the weight room, and if he puts on 20 more pounds, heβs definitely a Division I football player, thereβs no doubt about it. I donβt see many guys as big and athletic as he is. And heβs got a mean streak in him, too, and when he realizes it, heβll dominate games. Heβs going to be a nightmare this season.β β Middleton