KFBCA Top 11: Ty Weber

The Kansas Football Coaches Association picked their All-State teams on December 4th and 5th, including the All-Class Top 11. Kansas Pregame is providing capsules for each of the Top 11 selections. Check out Washburn Rural linebacker Ty Weber's capsule below, one of 13 capsules for 2022 due to ties in voting.

Ty Weber, LB, 6-3, 230, Washburn Rural

Washburn Rural finished last season 8-3 and 6A Regional Champions despite having one of the toughest schedules in the state, making it consecutive outstanding seasons for Steve Buhler and company after closing out last season 8-2.

The offense and defense were radically improved the past two seasons versus 2020. The Junior Blues doubled their scoring output from 2020 in each of their back-to-back eight win seasons and cut their points allowed by half.

Much of the offensive improvement was spurred by a talented junior class that will be back for more in 2023, while the defensive success was fueled in large part by the relentless play and improved leadership of Ty Weber, a four-year starter coming off a 106-tackle junior season, who managed to improve on that performance this year as a senior.

The 6-3, 230 pound inside linebacker recorded 134 tackles – 82 solo and 52 assisted – along with 19 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, a pick-six, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries as WaRural went toe-to-to with some of 6A’s best teams including a three-point loss to eventual 6A champion Manhattan and a quarterfinal playoff loss to perennial power Derby that was closer than the final score of 36-21.

“Most coaches will say that playing inside linebacker takes a lot of natural instinct to be really good at the position,” Buhler said. “Ty has always had those natural instincts but over the four years of starting four us he has really improved in two areas. First, he worked hard on improved eye-discipline and trusting his reads. As he felt more comfortable with trusting his reads his reaction time to what he saw improved a great deal. The second area he improved on was his dedication to watching film and picking up little keys to the other team's offense that would help him recognize a team's tendencies.”
 
Those improvements in Weber’s game didn’t appear from thin air.
 
“He would spend hours during the week going through the coaching staff’s game plan and focusing on his reads while watching film,” Buhler added. “In essence, when Friday came around, Ty had already played that week’s game several times over. He was the most prepared player I have coached.”
 
Weber was given a long list of honors along with his KFBCA Top 11 nod including Sports in Kansas 6A Defensive Player of the Year, Shawnee County Defensive Player of the Year, Centennial League Defensive player of the Year, along with numerous All-State, All-League, and All-County teams.
 
Along with his trophy room of accolades, Weber finished his high school career as Washburn’s Rural all-time career leader in tackles (437) and tackles-for-loss (35).
 
Weber’s productivity and student of the game mentality are further compounded by his development as a key voice in the Junior Blues’ locker room.
 
“Over his four years Ty has developed into a well-rounded leader for our program,” Buhler said. “There are leaders who lead by example, and there are leaders who are vocal, and then there are leaders who are not afraid to challenge their teammates. During his senior year Ty became a leader for us in all three ways. He has always had a great work ethic and pushed everyone by his effort, but his biggest growth this year was becoming a more vocal leader, encouraging others when it was needed and challenging teammates when he felt they needed a push.”
 
His abilities stood out to coaches besides Buhler as well, including Garden City’s Brian Hill, who Rural dispatched 34-7 in the Regional round of the 6A playoffs.
 
“He’s a terrific player,” Hill said. ”He is big, strong and physical. The best linebacker we saw all year.”
 
Weber has not yet made his college decision. He currently has an offer from Washburn and is also considering Pittsburg State, K-State and KU.
 
“What we will miss most about Ty is his passion for playing football and his vision about what it takes to be successful both as an individual and as a team,” Buhler said.