Penn State recruit Caleb Brewer was a ‘such a damned bull’ on Wyomissing’s front lines
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Caleb Brewer ended his junior season with a torn MCL in his left knee and a broken bone in his right wrist.
The Wyomissing lineman didn’t learn about the wrist until months later, during wrestling season. He had surgery to repair it in February but it still bothered him throughout his senior season.
Caused him discomfort? Yes.
Affected him? Hardly.
He was named the Defensive Lineman of the Year, Offensive Lineman of the Year and Outstanding Lineman in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League; he was the only lineman in any of the five sections to pull off a clean sweep.
“It’s painful, yeah,” he said of his wrist late in the Spartans’ playoff run, “but, whatever. You’ve just gotta deal with it.”
The 6-5, 275-pound Brewer wasn’t going to let silly little things like pain or fatigue get in his way. He was driven to reach new heights on the football field.
Even after committing to Penn State in the spring he was determined to get both stronger and faster, and he did. He played at 10 pounds less this season than as a junior and was even better, especially from his spot at nose guard where he created havoc for the league’s top-rated defense.
“He’s become a real force,” Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum said after Brewer helped the Spartans nail down their fifth straight District 3 Class 3A championship with his dominant effort against West Perry.
Brewer was a clear choice for the third annual MikeDragoSports.com Lineman of the Year award. He is one of just three Berks players ever named both Offensive and Defensive Lineman of the Year in the same season. (The defensive award was initiated in 2001). He’ll go down as one of the best two-way linemen ever to play for the Spartans.
Finalists for the award were: Joey Polinsky, Berks Catholic; Logan Wegman, Exeter; Stewart Janowski, Gov. Mifflin; and Jack Dendall, Wilson.
Brewer was plenty good as a junior, when he earned all-league, first-team honors on both offense (where he played tight end) and defense and collected more than two dozen Division I scholarship offers.
He was driven to raise the level of his game even higher and did it with exhaustive summer workouts leading into the season. After Wyomissing’s morning practices ended he’d hit the gym to lift and condition for a few more hours. Later, he would head to the Spartans’ turf field where he would train some more, running sprints and hills and doing one-hop drills and other agility work.
He stopped only when it became too dark to see or he passed out, whichever came first.
“I’ve been obsessed this season,” admitted Brewer. “I’ve put everything into it.”
“That’s one thing he’s not afraid of — work,” said Wyomissing line coach Steve O’Neil. “He’s a workout junkie. That (weight room is) his second home. That’s where he likes to live.”
Brewer has been a wrestler his whole life. The footwork, toughness, and discipline he learned in that sport have aided his work in the trenches.
College coaches look at a lineman’s feet; if they can’t move they don’t get offered a chance to play at the highest level. Brewer is so mobile it remains to be seen where he’ll be used in college: Guard, center or even on the defensive line.
He was determined to increase his stamina for his senior season and make more plays; that’s why he dropped the weight.
“He just wanted to get himself in peak physical shape to play as many plays as he could,” O’Neil said. “You can’t run away from him.”
“On film, coaches aren’t gonna see how much you weigh, they’re gonna see how well you play. If I’m a lot faster and more athletic, I can make (more) plays. I want to make big sacks and be fast and chase people down.”
As a junior Brewer practiced daily against 6-5, 303-pound Penn State recruit Jven Williams and 6-4, 280-pound Sacred Heart recruit Pace Ziegler. O’Neil was hoping they’d push each other to be better.
“There’s no pushing him, to be honest,” O’Neil said of Brewer. “Jven had a hard time with him last year, and Pacen had a hard time with him. He’s such a damned bull.”
Brewer won 35 bouts and earned a district silver medal as a sophomore wrestler. He went 24-2 as a junior at 285 before the fractured scaphoid bone in his wrist was detected and ended his season.
He was hoping to chase a state wrestling championship this winter but Penn State coach James Franklin has other things in mind. Brewer will sign his NCAA letter of intent next week in a ceremony at the school and enroll at Penn State in January.
The high school chapter of his athletic career has come to a close.
“It’s sad,” he said, “but I’m on to bigger things.”
