Harrison Wellmann is a sophomore wide receiver from College Station, Texas. Last Friday, Wellmann had a standout performance against the Gettysburg College Bullets that earned him Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Wellmann caught two touchdown passes for the third time this season to bring his total to nine on the year, putting him in a tie for most in the Centennial Conference. He also sits atop the Conference in receptions and receiving yards.
His two touchdown catches came from 38 and 52 yards. Wellmann also reeled in seven other receptions for another 134 yards, bringing his total to 224 yards.
Those 224 receiving yards Wellmann posted on Friday put him at third in school history and 15th in Centennial Conference history for most receiving yards in a single game, smashing his previous career-high of 146 yards.
Even more impressive is the fact that Wellmann posted these numbers in just a single half of football. The sophomore did not take a snap in the second half after the Blue Jays went into the locker room with a 42-0 lead over the Bullets. Hopkins went on to win in dominant fashion by a score of 63-7, bringing them to a 5-2 record overall and 4-2 in the Conference.
Last season, Wellmann was a strong contributor to the Jays’ success, playing in all 14 games. This season, he has worked to bring even more to the field. Just seven games into the schedule, Wellmann has already almost doubled his stats from last year in a variety of categories including receptions (22, 42), yards (350, 773) and receiving touchdowns (4, 10).
This week, The News-Letter had the opportunity to speak with Wellmann about his performance this season, his preparation for it and his favorite moment of the season so far.
The News-Letter: Against Gettysburg you had a career-high nine receptions for 224 yards, despite only playing the first half. How were you able to accomplish that?
Harrison Wellman: I think that we had a really good game plan for Gettysburg coming into Friday. Our offensive coordinator told me he was going to try and get me the ball a lot early on, and David (Tammaro) and I were just on the same page with the routes and coverages, so I think the rest handled itself.
N-L: You’ve posted some pretty incredible stats for this season overall too, leading the Centennial Conference in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, as well as leading your team in all-purpose yards. To what would you attribute this success?
HW: I would definitely attribute my success to our coaches and all 11 guys on the offense, because every person needs to be doing their job for us to succeed. But, in particular, David is the best quarterback I’ve played with. He’s able to make some crazy throws which makes my job really easy.
N-L: Last year you had an impressive season as well (finishing sixth on the team in receptions, fifth in receiving yards and tied for third in TD receptions). How have you grown as a player since then?
HW: Spring football last semester helped me grow a lot as a player in getting the opportunity to really understand our offense, how to run my routes and the timing of everything. Also I think all of my success now is coming from the lifting and running in the summer, along with working out with some of my old teammates that play college football too.
N-L: What do you still have to improve?
HW: I would say for both myself and the team, we can improve on communication, selflessness and being committed to playing for one another.
N-L: What has been your favorite of the season so far?
HW: The best moment for myself this year was definitely the first game where coach Greg Chimera got his first win as a college coach. It was the start of an amazing career for him, and I’m glad I was there to see it. I was really excited for him.
