NAME: L.J. Wesneski
SCHOOL: Wyoming Valley West
LAST SEASON: 2015
POSITIONS: TE/DL
L.J. Wesneski was a dominant player because of a combination of his athleticism and size. As a three-year starter and team captain his senior year, he helped lead the Spartans to two District 2 titles and three conference titles. Wesneski caught 78 passes for 1,346 yards and 24 touchdowns for his career. On defense, he played defensive end and had 109 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 15 sacks for his career.
Wesneski was an NPF 2015 Wyoming Valley Conference Big School first-team tight end and first-team defensive lineman. He was also a first-team tight end in 2014. Wesneski was named an All-District 2 tight end in both his junior and senior seasons. He was named an all-state tight end by the Pennsylvania Football Writers and an honorable mention all-state tight end by the Pennsylvania Football News in 2015. Wesneski was also named an honorable mention tight end by EasternPaFootball.com. He was selected for the WNEP Dream Team in both 2014 and 2015 and played in the Big 33 Classic in 2016. Wesneski continued his football career at Division I-FCS Albany University.
Former Valley West coach Pat Keating on Wesneski: “L.J. was a tremendously talented player with a skill set that you only see every once in a while in young players. His combination of size, speed and athleticism made him a unique talent. He played multiple positions for us. Defensively he played the majority of his snaps at defensive end, but was athletic enough to drop off the ball in coverage if need be. On offense, he lined up at tight end, slot, wide receiver, wing and fullback. His ability alone was able to shape many of the things we did offensively because of his versatility and ability to create matchup problems. He created a size mismatch on defensive backs and was faster and more athletic than linebackers. He’s a big reason why we were so successful at that time.”
