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WVU's Cajuste Learning, Developing
August 16, 2016 01:17 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Yodny Cajuste’s dream of becoming the next great power forward took a detour one day before his senior year at Miramar (Florida) High a few years ago.
Damon Cogdell, a former West Virginia University linebacker and Miramar’s football coach then, pulled Cajuste aside and asked him if he was interested in trying out for the football team.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pound Cajuste - a sometimes small forward, sometimes power forward, sometimes center on the Miramar hoop team was spinning his wheels on the hardwood - so he figured why not?
What’s the harm? If the head coach was asking him to come out for the football team the chances were pretty good that he was going to get to play a lot, Cajuste likely reasoned.
Perhaps something will come it.
Perhaps.
Cajuste, a one-year Florida prep curiosity, is already developing into one of the better young offensive tackle prospects in the Big 12 Conference this fall. It’s been a pretty interesting journey for a pretty interesting young man.
“We needed a tackle and with a lot of those high school tackles, when you get them when they are 260 pounds, you have to try and get them bigger,” West Virginia Director of Player Personnel Ryan Dorchester recalled. “That’s what everybody tries to do, in theory, but the practical application of that is obviously more difficult.
“People will say, ‘Why don’t you just go out and sign all of the guys like that?’ Well, they all don’t develop this way,” Dorchester continued. “Just because you’re 6-6, 250, in high school, there is no guarantee you’re going to be a 300-pounder and become a productive offensive tackle in college.”
Cajuste’s body of work consisted of one year of high school football - albeit against outstanding competition in South Florida - but not very much of a sample size for college recruiters.
What they all saw was a very raw, very athletic and very intelligent player with good work habits who possessed the potential to blossom in the right environment.
Florida saw that, as did Syracuse.
But Cogdell, being a WVU guy, was able to steer Yodny toward Morgantown - a place that is getting a great reputation for being one of the top player developmental destinations in college football.
Go out and get a talented 145-pound high school running back and find a place for him at slot receiver, get him in a structured weight program, and then watch him turn into one of the most exciting all-purpose players in the NFL.
That’s what West Virginia did with Tavon Austin.
Unearth a very raw and explosive edge pass rusher, teach him the proper techniques, put him in a specific role that highlights his talents and then turn him loose and watch him blossom into one of the more coveted pass rushers in the NFL.
That’s what West Virginia did with Bruce Irvin.
Discover a hard-hitting, 5-foot-11-inch, 195-pound high school linebacker and transform him into the next Troy Polamalu.
That’s what West Virginia might have done with Karl Joseph.
Nick Kwiatkoski came to WVU as a potential-packed fullback-strong safety prospect and he left five years later as an NFL-caliber inside linebacker.
Finding those exceptional athletes who are willing to be coached and who are willing to work - and then finding the right places for them to grow and develop - that’s not five-star recruiting, that’s five-star planning.
“Our initial thought with Yodny was defensive line, but he had an offensive tackle body (frame) and we moved him over after a couple of summer workouts and he did what they should do when they get in a real weight program - they eat, they workout and they get bigger and there you go,” Dorchester explained.
Cajuste’s inexperience had one great benefit, according to Dorchester.
“When you come in and you don’t really know anything, it’s hard to have bad habits,” he noted. “Yodny had no habits, so you can kind of mold them a little bit because they really don’t know what they’re doing.”
And that’s exactly what veteran offensive line coach Ron Crook is doing with Cajuste - developing, developing and developing some more.
After one full season of play in 2015 for Cajuste as the team’s starting left tackle, Crook says it’s still very much a work in progress for his redshirt sophomore tackle.
“He leaned on and depended upon his athleticism, his basketball background, his footwork and things like that,” Crook said. “He’s learning how to become a football player. He’s not there yet, and I’m not ready to say all this and all that, but he’s getting better.”
Of equal importance, Cajuste is eager and willing to get better.
“I feel like no matter how long you’ve been playing the game there is always room for improvement,” he said. “I just stay in the film room and try and listen to what my coaches have to tell me to keep getting better.”
Like all young offensive linemen, there were good days and bad days for Cajuste last season. He appeared in seven games, starting six, but he also missed six games with a sprained knee sustained in the Baylor loss.
He says dealing with that was a valuable learning experience.
“That was my first time getting hurt like that,” Cajuste admitted. “Not being out there playing, you see what coach is talking about. You realize things differently as opposed to being out there.”
Cajuste is now beginning the next stage of his development as an offensive tackle, specifically, adding awareness and understanding to the great instincts and athleticism he currently possesses.
How observant and how polished he can become over the next couple of seasons is ultimately going to determine how far he goes as a football player.
That’s what happened with basketball players-turned-offensive-tackles Michael Roos, Jamar Gaither, T.J. Clemmings and George Fant during their football careers.
The Estonia-born Roos played one year of high school football before going to Eastern Washington, and then on to the NFL as a 10-year left tackle with the Tennessee Titans where he enjoyed a successful pro career that recently concluded in 2014.
Gaither was a basketball player at Eleanor Roosevelt (Maryland) High who actually committed to play hoops at South Carolina before switching gears and playing college football at Maryland, which ultimately led to a decent pro career with the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers.
It was the same deal with Clemmings, a high school basketball player-turned-offensive tackle for Pitt who parlayed his great athleticism in college into starting role with the Minnesota Vikings last year at right tackle.
Fant is looking to do something similar with the Seattle Seahawks this year.
But athleticism and potential will only get you so far. Eventually, that diamond needs polishing. A lot of polishing.
“The one thing that (Yodny is) taking to heart and improving upon is seeing things before they happen,” Crook said. “That’s got to continue. At least he’s starting to understand some of the things he sees and he can process it a little bit quicker, so he can make a little bit better reactions and quicker decisions.”
What sometimes happens with younger players is their brains begin working a whole lot faster than their feet. Crook explains.
“You start thinking too much,” he said. “Then you slow down your reactions and slow down your movements and they say, ‘Well, I thought this was going to happen.’ Again, he’s got to get to the point where he’s seeing things and trusting what he’s seeing and not trying to overthink it.
“But every guy goes through this,” Crook added. “I’m happy with his progress right now and I love the direction he’s going. He’s just got to keep working.”
Cajuste vows to do just that.
“I’m obviously stronger than I was last year and I’m more patient,” he said. “The game has slowed down on me. I’ve worked a lot on my pass sets during the offseason. All-around, I’m a better player than I was last year. I have a lot to prove because I didn’t play a whole season last year. I think about that every day and that just fuels my fire.”
It’s a flame that could one day burn very brightly for the Mountaineers.
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