High school football preview: Wadsworth's Jude Haller getting expanded role

Jude Haller is just 16 years old, but he's already one of the best and most experienced players on the Wadsworth football team. A starter as a freshman and All-Suburban League National Conference pick as a sophomore, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior will take on even more responsibility this season as the Grizzlies, who graduated a number of extremely talented and decorated players from an 11-1, 7-0 team, attempt to win another conference crown. "It's going to be hard to fill some of those roles, but we had the same thing when I was a freshman and we had a lot of guys step up," Haller said. "I've heard it's a rebuild year from some people, but I think we're going to show everybody what Wadsworth football is about." Along with fellow junior and All-Ohio quarterback Brysen Hall, who also started as a freshman, Haller will lead the way for coach Justin Todd's team. After finishing eighth in Medina County with 80 tackles in a sophomore season that also featured four tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and six pass breakups, Haller will move from weak-side safety to the vital hybrid strong safety/linebacker position previously manned by current Army freshman Gavin Madigan. Like Madigan, Haller also will be used a lot more at running back after carrying the ball five times for 25 yards and a touchdown a year ago. "The growth has looked identical (to Madigan)," Todd said. "Gavin started as a weak-side safety and moved over to strong safety, then we kind of created a (hybrid) position. That's the exact same path Jude has followed. He's a fantastic football player and we're going to use him in a variety of ways." When Haller started showing up for 5:45 a.m. weightlifting sessions with varsity players as an eighth-grader, it was Madigan who showed him the ropes. "He took me under his wing and helped me understand what to expect and what to work for," Haller said. "It was cool. I was always hanging out with the upperclassmen." An estimated 5-11, 185 as a freshman, Haller now bench presses 315 pounds, squats 535, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds, already has college offers from Miami (Ohio), Kent State and Akron and has had steady contact with a number of bigger schools, including Michigan State. In preparation for college and the much heavier load he will carry for the Grizzlies over the next seasons, Haller added 20 pounds while also getting faster, just like Madigan did before him. "It's been a blessing to follow a guy like that, who truly has the best character ever," Haller said. "A lot of people are saying I'm going to fill his shoes, but I'm just worried about being me. He's been a great blessing, and I just want to fulfill the standard." With fellow 1,000-yard back Cooper Gray also graduating with Madigan, the Wadsworth offense will now be built around Hall's tremendous passing skills, but Haller will still get plenty of opportunities at running back, which was the only position he played in middle school. "He has all the ability in the world to do it," Todd said. "Jude's carries will be determined by how the offense is flowing. The last few years our offense has been built around our run game. We could do that, but Brysen Hall is a three-year starter, so we'll build more things around his arm. Where the defense is built around Jude, the offense will be built around Brysen, but make no mistake, Jude Haller is going to get plenty of carries." Haller is more than ready to seize the opportunity. "I am pumped to play offense," he said. "Brysen Hall and I have been together all through youth, and we're familiar with one another in the backfield. I'm going to have a lot of fun running the ball, and you might see me in the slot a little bit, too, getting the ball in space." As big as his role will be on offense, it will be even bigger on the other side of the ball, where the Grizzlies will have a lot of new players in the last two layers of their 3-2-6 defense. "Our whole defense is pretty much gone," Haller said. "I've been around for what seems like a long time, and even though it's only been two years, the guys in front of me taught me the defense inside and out and I've been able to learn multiple positions. "I lead by example, but I'm also a big vocal guy. We're really young, but guys are filling shoes pretty well. We've had a lot of guys step in and go out there and compete." No one will compete harder than Haller. "Off the field, I'm a pretty laid-back guy," he said. "I hang out with my friends, we lift hard and then we chill. When I'm on the field, the switch definitely turns." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.