Weis glad to have one of his former players at Notre Dame rejoin him with Gators
Friday, July 22, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
Gators offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was the guest speaker Thursday night at the Marion County Gator Club Gathering in Ocala.
Weis entertained the crowd with anecdotes from his coaching career and later took questions about the upcoming season, his first with the Gators.
One question was about newcomer Dan Wenger, an offensive lineman Weis coached at Notre Dame.
Wenger recently was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and transferred to rejoin Weis and former Notre Dame offensive line coach Frank Verducci for his final season.
“He started a whole bunch of games for us at center and guard,'' Weis said.
Wenger, listed at 6-4, 298 pounds in his final season at Notre Dame, suffered a wrist injury early in his career and missed the entire 2010 season after suffering a pair of concussions in fall camp.
Wenger is from Coral Springs and played on an offensive line at St. Thomas Aquinas that also featured former Gator Marcus Gilbert and Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Sam Young, the 2005 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. Young and Wenger both went to Notre Dame.
With a young offensive line that concluded spring practice with just six scholarship players healthy to play in the Orange and Blue Debut, Weis said the addition of Wenger has provided the unit with some much-needed depth and experience in his pro-style offense.
How much Wenger will play is uncertain, but his presence has helped the other linemen adjust to Weis' offense during offseason workouts.
“You want to talk about a bonus, a throw-in guy who has started about 30 games at center and guard,” Weis said. “You can't buy things like that. He's really helped with those guys when we haven't been able to be with them.''
Check out GatorZone.com on Friday for more from Weis' appearance in Ocala.
