A text message from Will Way’s father Andrew came across July 22 about his son suffering a torn hamstring two weeks prior, making it virtually impossible for him to play for Weber State in his hometown against Arizona at Arizona Stadium in the second week of the season.
“Might even be a medical redshirt,” his dad mentioned of Will, a third-year sophomore who was a standout at the Pusch Ridge Christian Academy.
Nearly a month later, on Aug. 21, the elder Way messaged, “Will had amazing rehab and cleared to play at AZ – he’s very excited.”
The cliché of “Where there is a will, there is a way,” came to life.
Will Way was actually cleared earlier this week by Weber State’s training staff to take snaps at center for Weber State against Arizona this Saturday, making his goal of playing in his homecoming a reality.
How did he turn around so fast from what the team doctor said was a grade-3 hamstring tear?
A grade-3 hamstring tear is a severe injury in which the hamstring muscles are completely ruptured.
“It is the worst you can get,” Will said.
The doctor told him that he could try to start running again in October.
“When we came back and we had our fall camp meeting, the day that we reported, it was probably a week and a half after I tore it, I just remember sitting in that meeting room … I was sitting in the front row, and just looking at everyone, and everyone was there, and the juice was high,” he said.
“I thought to myself that there’s no way I can miss this season.”
Way already redshirted as a freshman and played in only four games last season.
He battled back from a serious injury during his Pusch Ridge career. During his junior season in 2021, he suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him late in the season.
He did not want to be held back again.
He mentioned that he contacted Weber State’s strength coach and athletic trainer the night of the first fall camp meeting.
“I was like, ‘Look, whatever is that you guys need to do to get me back and healthy, I’ll push it; I’m 110 percent bought in,'” he said. “I had no problem pushing the envelope every day as safely as we could, if that meant that I could get out there and play.”
The expectation from the doctor and trainer was to have Way return for Weber State’s fourth game of the season against Butler in the home opener Sept. 20.
“I ended up coming back for (last week’s opener at) James Madison,” he said. “I have to credit my athletic trainer and my strength coach, and then my personal trainer that I have here. We were all pushing together. We were all working as a team.
“We were pushing it as safely as we could, but we all came to the conclusion, there’s no way that I’m going to miss this season and pretty much watch from the sidelines.”
Way did not suit up against James Madison but he made the travel squad.
He will be ready to play Saturday with at least 100 family and friends cheering for him at Arizona Stadium. He stated that he could have played against James Madison in the 45-10 loss last week, but offensive line coach Brent Myers wanted him to stay out one more week to allow the leg to heal more.
“We had a meeting (Monday), and he said, ‘You know, I’m taking the reins off. I wanted to keep you healthy, but it’s time to go,'” Way said.
“Getting the opportunity to run on to the field at Arizona Stadium and play is going to be awesome,” added Way, who will share the same field again with Arizona tight end Tyler Mustain, a teammate of his in youth football and at Pusch Ridge.
“I mean, I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time. I remember my official visit back in December of 2022 I was talking to Coach Myers, and he mentioned that we had Arizona on our schedule within the next few years. I just remember being really excited to be able to have the chance to come home and play. That definitely swayed my decision to come here. I’m really excited to get back home and see Tyler, all my friends, my family, and people I haven’t seen in a long time. I just want to have a good game.”
Way mentioned that his leg will be tightly wrapped and he will be monitored closely by the training staff but feels prepared to handle the challenge at center.
Playing at the interior of the line will help rather than at tackle, which he played at Pusch Ridge for Kent Middleton. Way was also a defensive end with agility and toughness coming off the edge. He tallied 27.5 tackles for loss in his career with the Lions, including 21.5 his last two seasons.
“I really can’t feel pain, but definitely playing inside, in the most interior position helps a lot, because I’m not on an island like I was when I played tackle,” he said. “I’m always having help, whether that’s the guard on either side or a tackle coming back, so I always have a little bit of backup. That does help a lot. Playing in that interior spot is great.”
Way was listed at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds as a senior at Pusch Ridge. He has gained 40 pounds since his Weber State career began.
Cole Casto, a senior center, is expected to start and handle most of the snaps against Arizona.
Given that Way was facing the possibility of not being in uniform for the game because of the hamstring tear, getting at least one snap will be a thrill.
He has the opportunity to be uniform along with Mustain on the Arizona Stadium turf. Their close friend and former Pusch Ridge teammate Bryce Jewell is a redshirt sophomore defensive back at the Colorado School of Mines.
Will’s parents will be on hand Saturday, and they will attend all of the home games in Ogden, Utah, because they bought a home there close to campus.
“When I first got here, they were renting a townhouse in downtown Ogden,” he said. “Originally, that started with them doing that for the season. It turned into them staying. My second year here, I got a call from my dad. He goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Oh, nothing.’ He goes, ‘You want to come by the house?’ And I said, ‘What house?’ He goes, ‘We just bought a house.’
“They’re 5 minutes away from me. It’s great. I know the O-line loves them because they feed us every Wednesday. Since my first year here, they’ve taken us to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. I don’t know how that started, but it has become a tradition with the O-line. Whenever we get new transfers or freshmen, we tell them that this is their right of passage right there.”
Way is a communications major with an emphasis on interpersonal, strategic communications.
He plans to attend law school. His mother is an attorney. He wants to be a sports agent, “representing athletes and giving them a voice,” he said.
“I look forward to what the future might bring with that.”
Working his way back relatively quickly from a serious hamstring tear, his will makes anything possible.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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