2020 Linebacker Ty Wise Talks IU Commitment
Indiana was the first school to offer a scholarship to 2020 linebacker Ty Wise. On Thursday morning, the Carmel (Ind.) High product rewarded the Hoosiers' early faith in him with a commitment.
"I definitely think that had a really big impact, because it showed me that these coaches believed in me before any other coach did, even before I believed in myself, and they thought I was going to pan out to be a very good player," Wise told TheHoosier.com Thursday night. "That gave me motivation to work hard and want to be a great player. I think that really played a big role because it showed they believed in me before any other team did."
Initially, the extent of Wise's relationship with the IU coaching staff was a visit for a game. However, when he showed up for IU's first Junior Day last month, the work he put in during the time in between caught the staff's attention.
"Before when I went up, it was for gameday visits or before I had a full season of starting, so it was good, but it wasn't like I was one of the top priorities," Wise said. "This past time, a month ago, it was after I had proven myself this past season. When I went up, it was me and a couple other kids and I was one of the only linebackers there, so I had a lot of one-on-one time with Coach Allen, Coach Wommack and the rest of the coaching staff.
"I was mainly with Coach Wommack and we were talking about my future there and everything like that. It was really good to get that one-on-one attention, that one-on-one time. I already knew Coach Wommack well, but it was good to get to know him better and learn about my plans for the future."
Wise already has one Carmel teammate headed to IU in Beau Robbins, a four-star defensive end who signed with IU in December. Another Carmel alum, offensive lineman Britt Beery, has been with the program since 2017, while cornerback and fellow Carmel product Isaac James recently completed his career with the team. He said that familiarity also factored into his decision.
"Me and Beau are pretty close friends. We have been playing together for the past couple of years, and e's one of the best players I've ever seen or played with," Wise said. "I definitely think that played a big role. Just knowing him, he's a very, very genuine and nice guy. He's a gentle giant, almost, he and I like to say.
"When I went up there and met a lot of the players like I have a couple of times, it just seems like all the players are like him. It's just an environment I want to be in because all of the players are like me, they're just good people and that's who I want to surround myself with."
Indiana is also targeting another one of Wise's teammates in 4-star defensive tackle Cole Brevard, who was on hand for last Sunday's Junior Day. Wise said he's going to continue pitching Brevard on IU.
"Oh, yeah. Me and Cole are really, really close," Wise said. "We've been close since he came to Carmel. He's one of my really close friends, so of course I want to bring him with me. He's a monster, so I definitely think he can do some great things for our future team up at IU. There's just a lot of attractions, and I just think the comfort of having me and Beau up there because he's pretty close with both of us, will have a big impact for him.
Wise collected 56 solo tackles, 38 assisted tackles eight tackles for loss, two sacks and six pass breakups in 14 games as a junior, helping Carmel to an 11-3 overall record and its third Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 6A state championship appearance in the last five seasons.
In his conversations with IU head coach Tom Allen and defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Kane Wommack, he said he is currently projected to play the WILL or stinger linebacker spot in IU's 4-2-5 scheme.
"They like my aggressiveness, my athleticism and they think I have the frame to put on a lot of weight," Wise said. "I'm obviously 6-2, but I can carry around 235, 240, so beefing up, learning how to play WILL, they think I can pretty good at that."
For Wise, having the recruiting process over with well before the start of his senior season is a huge relief.
"I just think the recruiting process is very, very hectic," Wise said. "It's good, but I think once you know what you want, you don't really want anything else, and that's kind of where I was. I knew I wanted to be at IU, it's just the perfect fit for me. I know I committed early, but I just think that's part of it. I don't want to be anywhere else.
"A giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I can just keep on developing that relationship with the coaches and get to know the players and everyone I'll be around when I'm up there. I think that's really good, just to be able to focus all my attention on the upcoming season, because I have a lot of things I want to do this season."
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