Newcomer Profile: DJ Wesolak
The Missouri football roster in 2022 will look drastically different than a season ago. Eli Drinkwitz and his staff have added a whopping 34 scholarship newcomers to the team since last season ended, thus turning over more than one-third of the roster. Nineteen of those newcomers arrived on campus in June to begin summer conditioning.
As we continue to count down the days to fall camp, PowerMizzou is going to profile each of those 20 newcomers who have arrived since the end of spring practices in order to help fans get to know all the new faces on the roster. Today, we take a look at in-state defensive end DJ Wesolak.
Position: DE
Height: 6-3
Weight: 238
Year: Freshman
Last School: Boonville high school
Wesolak comes to Missouri from just down the road in Boonville. But his recruitment took several twists, turns and detours before he ultimately picked the Tigers.
The long, athletic Wesolak blew up as a prospect following his junior season. He landed more than 40 scholarship offers, including ones from just about all of the blue-blood college football programs. Initially, the home-state school didn’t seem to have much of a chance to compete with the perennial powers. Wesolak didn’t include Missouri among his top 15 schools when he released the list in April of 2021.
However, Wesolak kept visiting campus, and Missouri never stopped recruiting him. A legal issue that has since been resolved sidelined him for much of his senior season, and some of his options likely evaporated as a result. Ultimately, Wesolak’s decision came down to Missouri and LSU, which he officially visited shortly before the early signing period in December. He stuck with the in-state Tigers.
Wesolak brings tons of potential to the Missouri defense thanks to his size and athletic ability. At 6-foot-5, he has the frame of a prototypical edge rusher, but he has said he believes he can play in space, as well. Wesolak showed glimpses of his potential when he made a couple impressive plays in the All-American Bowl in January.
Ultimately, we believe Wesolak winds up as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end in Missouri’s scheme. As a result, he probably needs to continue to add some weight to his frame before he’s ready to make an immediate impact. Given his athletic ability, however, a special teams role isn’t out of the question this season.
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