Athletic 3-star TE Jared Wiley signs with Texas

Months after committing to the Texas Longhorns, Temple tight end Jared Wiley made his decision, signing and faxing his National Letter of Intent to the coaching staff on Wednesday, just weeks before he will enroll early and arrive on the Forty Acres.

In late May, Wiley committed to Texas over his two other finalists, Houston and Missouri, after a recruitment that trended heavily towards the Longhorns in the final weeks before his decision.

The 6’6, 225-pounder spent his senior season playing quarterback for Temple, so it’s difficult to evaluate and project Wiley based on what he put on film this season. However, there are a few signs of quality athleticism in terms of elusiveness and top-end speed.

And it’s extremely positive that Wiley displayed some significant talent at the position — the fine motor skills and processing speed that helped Wiley at quarterback should also help him transition to playing tight end on a full-time basis. Playing quarterback also requires leadership from Wiley that translated to an 8-3 record at the 6A level.

When Wiley played tight end as a junior, he showed flashes of serious body control and ball skills that made him intriguing to the Texas staff despite an average offer list and athleticism that didn’t translate especially well in testing.

A quarterback before playing tight end in 2017, Wiley is quite raw at the position, but his big frame and natural ability made him an understandable take for the Longhorns. He’ll need some time to develop his strength, in-line blocking ability, and route-running ability.

The bottom line is that previous staffs in Austin have struggled to even throw big bodies at the tight end position, often resorting to moving defensive players to the offensive side, just to fill out the depth. Head coach Tom Herman and his staff even did that with a 2017 signee, Rob Cummins.

So adding players like Wiley and giving them a chance to redshirt and develop is a positive thing for the program. At that point, it will be up to Wiley to put in the work to mold himself into a contributor and up to the staff to get him there.

A consensus three-star prospect, Wiley is ranked as the No. 976 player nationally, the No. 41 tight end, and the No. 126 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.