After passing the towering crimson block “W” in the parking lots, Wayne High School students receive another daily dose of school spirit upon reaching the main entrance. The imposing visage of Wayne’s mascot, the Warrior, adorns each of the three sets of brass double doors, their handles now tarnished from nearly 70 years of use. The Warrior’s crimson and charcoal facepaint perfectly complements his white headdress, welcoming all visitors to the home of one of the preeminent powerhouses in Division I Ohio high school football.
The halls of Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio are filled with daily reminders of the school’s legacy of sports excellence. Polished red and white checkerboard tiled floors lead to the coveted Wayne Athletic Hall of Fame, just outside the entrance to the gymnasium. Past the ever-expanding trophy case lies a series of black and red plaques honoring the likes of legendary Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, Notre Dame defensive backs coach Mike Mickens and some guy named Marcus Freeman.
Now entering his junior year at Notre Dame, offensive lineman Aamil Wagner looks to continue the longstanding tradition of Warriors excelling at the collegiate level. While some players might view upholding the Wayne legacy as an anxiety-inducing burden, Wagner relishes the challenge and uses it as motivation during every rep of every drill at every practice.
“There’s a love for all the athletes that came before us,” Wagner said. “We have our Wall of Fame. We have a lot of the memorabilia of people that came before us.”
“I’m hoping one day I can kind of put a stamp on there and be there, too. We recognize a lot of the great athletes that came from my high school, and it’s a blessing to continue that legacy.”
Upon hearing that Wagner aspired to join his coaches in the Wayne Hall of Fame during a late July press conference, Freeman smiled and let out his usual stifled laughter.
“He’s got a long way to go to do that,” he said.
Though there will undoubtedly be growing pains during his first season as starting right tackle, Wagner’s unrivaled athleticism and erudite understanding of the game give him a strong chance to one day be immortalized at Wayne alongside his head coach.
Wagner’s immense length allows him to serve as an edge barrier against pass rushers while his foot speed helps him get out in space when pulling to create big holes for running backs. He plays with a coiled pad level and keeps his legs churning while punching defensive linemen with the hand speed of Bruce Lee. Once engaged with a defender, Wagner exerts complete control despite his lithe (for a lineman) frame.
As a pass protector, Wagner sets up quickly with a wide base and active footwork on the balls of his feet while kick sliding. When on the attack, he keeps his feet well when drive blocking and his athleticism allows him to mirror when pass blocking, leading to violent finishes on his blocks.
He played 52 offensive snaps last season, posting a strong 79.8 Pro Football Focus grade in this limited sample. He scored especially well as a run-blocker (83.6) while receiving poor reviews (37.0) as a pass-blocker, albeit in a small sample of 13 pass-block opportunities.
While those strengths make Wagner sound like a guaranteed All-American, his light weight remains his greatest weakness, which could lead to immense struggle against larger, stronger and more physical opponents.
Arriving in South Bend weighing a modest 265 pounds, Wagner has spent the past two years in a rigorous nutrition program to help him pack on the pounds. While most linemen work to lose weight, Wagner has added 26 pounds. This irony was not lost on roommate and fellow offensive lineman Charles Jagusah.
“I’ll come back to the room with my salad or whatever and he’s got four boxes of [Raising] Cane’s,” Jagusah said last August. “And he doesn’t touch any of them, so it’s just sitting there the next day.”
“I think at my peak, I was eating nearly 8,000 calories [a day],” Wagner said. “I think we tracked it one time and it was at like 4,500 for a breakfast one time, and it was like five eggs, [a] burrito, potatoes, 1,500 calories in muffins, 2,000 [in] a shake. Really, just being able to put those calories in and put the work in.”
Wagner’s bulking routine continues at home in Yellow Springs, Ohio during the offseason. He loves trying the best tacos across the Dayton metropolitan area, though nothing compares to his mom’s spaghetti.
“I think my mom is the best cook in the world,” Wagner said. “I might be a little biased, but the homemade spaghetti she makes is just fantastic. I’ll eat it any time of the day, any day of the week. Then the special meal that mom makes is fettuccini alfredo as well. So, those two meals — I’ll go back two days later, and if there’s any leftovers I’m taking it.”
He may not need to bulk up to 350 or even 320 pounds to star for the Irish, but Wagner intends to continue to prioritize weight gain throughout the season and hopefully attain his goal of reaching 300 pounds. But eating isn’t the only key to Wagner’s weight journey. The lean lineman has taken to the new director of football performance coach Loren Landow’s offseason regimen.
“I feel a lot stronger. Coach Landow has done a tremendous job when it comes to putting us in a position to be successful and putting us in a position to be strong and powerful and healthy at the same time,” Wagner said. “I’ve gained a lot of muscle, a lot of explosiveness. I feel at my best, at my strongest, at my fastest.”
Even if Wagner fails to reach his weight goal by the time the Irish roll into College Station, his scrappiness, tenacity and endless motor will help mitigate the Aggies’ formidable pass rush. Coach Freeman knows Wagner never gives up on a play, as evidenced by him running 70 yards to tackle a defender inside the 5-yard line after an interception during his sophomore year at Wayne.
While other players receive more generic motivational reminders during pre-practice stretch lines, Freeman uses their shared past experience as Wayne Warriors to motivate Wagner.
“It’s a special connection that we have being that we both went to the same high school,” Freeman said. “You’ve got a unique relationship where you can talk a little mess to him: ‘You better act like you’re from Wayne today.’”
For Wagner, those words carry just as much meaning as “Play Like a Champion Today.”
“He’s been great to have here, man,” Freeman said. “He’s just constantly working. It’s a unique connection, obviously, having a guy from your high school. But he’s just such a great kid.”
Though neither Freeman nor Mickens make it back to Wayne as often as they did while coaching at Cincinnati, they’ll surely never forget the slogan emblazoned on the school’s walls and website: “Once a Warrior, Always a Warrior!” No one in Huber Heights needs further explanation of what it means to “act like you’re from Wayne.”
