OXFORD — Miami RedHawks receiver Kam Perry playfully grabbed Cole Weaver from his shoulder pads during a media session following the football team’s annual Spring Showcase.
Another teammate passed by seconds later and yelled to Weaver, ‘He’s famous!”
The Miami wide receiver stole the show on Saturday at the Dauch Indoor Sports Center by catching three dazzling touchdown passes — adding celebratory dances after each one.
“It’s kind of great that I can come out here and have fun and show out for the community, the fans,” said Weaver, a redshirt sophomore who played in six games and made one start a season ago.
“Coming into the spring game, we’ve been working hard this whole spring,”
Weaver caught two passes last season, including a 24-yard touchdown against Eastern Michigan.
“I think I can make a lot of strides,” Weaver said. “I think I came in here a little raw. I’m a basketball guy.”
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder is from Roswell, Georgia and graduated from Blessed Trinity Catholic High School, where he recorded 38 catches for 721 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior.
He earned all-state honorable mention as a junior, and he also received first-team all-region and was named team MVP as a senior.
Weaver owns Blessed Trinity’s school record with a 6’4” high jump.
“All the training and preparation that I’ve put in, even last year, sitting behind guys like Reggie (Virgil) and Javon (Tracy) — just being able to see where they’re at now,” he said. “I definitely think I can be an impact this year.”
Weaver said he’s excited to work with transfer quarterback Dequan Finn, as well as returning signal callers Henry Hesson and Thomas Gotkowski.
“There’s a lot of talent — a lot of talent for sure,” Weaver said. “You all can see that we brought in DQ (Finn). He’s a great athlete. Definitely getting in the flow of our offense and learning how we do things. I think he’s going to be great.
“Hank (Hesson) and Thomas (Gotkowski), they’ve been here,” Weaver added. “They’ve been showing what they can do. I think we definitely have a talented quarterback room with some good experience for sure.
“It’s the extra work we put in after practice. I’ll throw with Hank, I’ll throw with DQ. We have meetings. We talk about things. We’ll be in the locker room just talking about, ‘Oh, I think you could have thrown the ball like this. I could have ran my route like this.’ I think it honestly comes from the chemistry and the extra work we put in.”
Weaver said it’s no secret that Miami’s roster will look a little different compared to its 9-5 team that beat Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl a season ago.
But the talent is there, he noted.
“Coach (Chuck) Martin already said it. I think we’re going to have 22 different starters on offense, which is pretty crazy,” Weaver said. “I think we’re going to have a lot of experience. We brought in a lot of older guys. Coach Martin has a great football mind. We have some great athletes, so we’re going to make it work out.”
