Chase Wester hasn’t played in a football game since November 2015 — over 1,300 days ago.
Much has happened for the former Panther since then: graduation from high school, a 2,000-mile move across the country to attend college and a trip across the world.
But Wester vowed to find his way back to the football field and has — at the highest collegiate level.
Now 21, he will play for Brigham Young University (BYU) this fall, having successfully walked onto the Division I-FBS team during spring football. Though his hiatus from the game exceeded three years, he knew he wasn’t done with it.
“More than anything when it came to football, I realized in those three years how much I had left to give in the sport and how much I wanted to play,” Wester said.
Wester, who spent two years on a mission trip to Africa prior to trying out for BYU, showcased just how much he had left over the course of several weeks this past spring. He emerged from a group of non-scholarship athletes to win one of only a handful of available spots on the Cougars’ roster. Having proved his mettle to BYU coaches, Wester will be a sophomore this fall on BYU’s squad, though he’ll likely redshirt. New NCAA rules, however, allow redshirts to appear in as many as four games. That means Wester may see his first game action since his senior season at Jackson County when he caught 26 passes for 448 yards in a run-heavy offense.
The 5-11, 200-pound Wester, who originally tried out as a receiver, will play running back for BYU.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I’m definitely excited for the season to come up and for my opportunity to try to contribute out there and leave my mark and help the team get better.”
He’s already demonstrated his resolve.
Wester was one of 65 guys who showed up prior to spring practice hoping to earn a spot on the team and one of only 16 who survived the cut to participate in spring practice. Even fewer remained at the conclusion of spring ball. But Wester earned playing time in BYU’s spring game and carried the ball three times.
He called the spring session “an incredible experience.” It was all more incredible when it was revealed he’d made the team, one of only four of those original 65 hopefuls kept for the fall roster.
“It was relieving, I could say,” Wester said. “It was nice to know the hard work had paid off. Obviously, it was just a dream come true for me personally. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time.”
By earning his roster spot, Wester was able to prove himself against scholarship Division I-FBS athletes. While he had a healthy respect for the level of play and athleticism (“They’re D-I athletes for a reason,” Wester said), he wasn’t necessarily fazed by it. In high school, he’d competed against the likes of Mecole Hardman, Charlie Woerner, Jaleel Laguins, Zeb Nolan and Colby Wood — all of which went on to sign Division-I scholarships.
“We were fortunate that our region was stock full of those kinds of guys,” Wester said. “So, when I went out there, the speed and the size that I saw wasn’t something that was just brand new. I’d seen a little bit of that before.”
A MISSION TRIP AND A LIFE CHANGED
Wester’s successful efforts in joining the Cougar football team are only part of his story at BYU. A life-changing experience preceded his gridiron breakthrough.
After his freshman year, during which he unsuccessfully tried out for the BYU football team, Wester decided to leave the comforts of the U.S. for a two-year mission trip to a pair of third-world nations in southeast Africa (students paid for the trip out of their own pockets). Wester’s journey took him to impoverished parts of Malawi and Zambia.
Wester said the primary focus was to reach out to the people of those nations and invite them to follow Jesus Christ. He and his group sought to speak to each person they saw in hopes of sharing their faith.
“We had a lot of success,” Wester said. “It was incredible. The people out there were very humble, very willing to learn and to listen and ask questions.”
Their work included humanitarian efforts — helping people move, helping them clean their places out — to improve the living experience of those with which they came into contact.
The two years spent in Africa moved Wester deeply. He saw people living in mud huts with some grass for a bed but were genuinely happy. There were some days Wester went without running water or power, but that didn’t matter to him anymore.
“It’s probably been the most impactful two years of my life thus far, being able to gain a greater perspective on what really matters in life,” Wester said.
Wester added that the experience, “changed me as a person completely.”
Remarkably, Wester was still able to carve out time to work himself into football shape while on the mission. When weights were accessible, he would find time either early in the morning or late in the evening to get in a lift. He bulked up from 175 pounds to 195 pounds while abroad.
At the same time, his time in Africa also changed his outlook on his quest to make the BYU football team. As passionate as he was, and still is, about the sport and playing for the Cougars, Wester realized it wasn’t everything.
“Ultimately, I found that service and helping other people out in any way possible, that brings more real joy and more fulfillment than any sport that I’ve participated in,” Wester said.
READYING FOR
HIS RETURN
With his two-year mission complete and a spot on BYU’s roster secured, Wester — who is a business major — is spending the summer back at home. Unless needed before then, he’ll join the BYU team for practice in late August, just before the Cougars open with archrival Utah (a series dubbed “The Holy War) Aug. 29 in a Thursday night showdown.
“People out there get pretty crazy for BYU-Utah … It’s going to be rocking,” Wester said.
To prepare for the season, he’s putting in three hours a day between lifting and speed and resistance work with local trainer, Jonathan Loudermilk.
The summer has also allowed him to spend time with his brother, Tyler, last year’s leading rusher at Jackson County. Wester called his younger brother “a decent little athlete.” Joking aside, Wester expects Tyler to have “a great year.” Tyler, who was recently named the MVP of BYU’s summer football camp, wishes to follow in Wester’s footsteps and play for BYU.
As for the Cougars, Wester will be part of a team coming off a 7-6 season in 2018.
Wester points to an up-and-coming quarterback in Zach Wilson, the team’s running backs, receivers and defense as reasons for optimism in Provo.
BYU, however, opens against four-consecutive Power 5 conference foes in what should be one of the nation’s toughest schedules. If the Cougars can weather that opening stretch, good things could be in store for Wester and his teammates.
“I think we have a good shot of being a team that’s breaking into the top 25, top 15 and shocking a few people this year,” Wester said.
The season may offer Wester a shot to get on the field, perhaps with some special teams work or even at running back.
However he manages to get onto the field, the journey back to football will be complete if he does.
“In the moment, I probably won’t be able to feel anything,” Wester said, when asked what that moment might be like. “Afterwards, it will be pretty cool.”
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