Earlier this week, Orange Fizz had¬†the opportunity to talk to Coach Robert Weiner of Plant High School in Tampa, FL. Coach Weiner has won four state championships as the head football coach of the Plant Panthers, his¬†most recent title coming in 2011. Weiner’s quarterback, Rex Culpepper, committed to Syracuse on Tuesday. Coach Weiner was on campus with Culpepper on Tuesday and was still travelling with his quarterback when I spoke with him (Culpepper had already fallen asleep).
Weiner came out of the gates¬†praising Culpepper’s athleticism, saying, “[Rex] has done a lot to be a strong player in every sense of that word.” Coach explained, “He’s 6’3″, 225 and he’s all of that; he brings all of that to the way to he plays … It’s 225 of muscle, he is a well put together athlete.”
Culpepper is listed as a “Pro Style” quarterback on 247sports.com, but Weiner doesn’t necessarily agree. “He’s a guy who can go and really flourish in anybody’s system,” Weiner said in response. “There’s way more to the picture than just a guy who’s gonna sit back there and stand in the box. He’s got the strengh to be able to do that, … [but] the category kind of limits him.”
Coach went on to talk about Culpepper as a person. The quarterback has made straight As throughout school and is also an Eagle Scout. “Sometimes that doesn’t transfer to the field, but it does in his case,” said Weiner. “There are very few people I’ve been around who are as sharp as he is.”
Weiner told Orange¬†Fizz how he likes Scott Shafer’s focus on bringing in recruits who fit that mold of both good football players and good people. “There’s something different that’s going on there in terms of guys that care about character and moral fiber … I’ve always believed in that.”
Coach Weiner thinks Culpepper will have no problem fitting in at Syracuse as both a player and a person, and the Orange can’t wait to get him on campus.
You can listen to the full interview with Coach Weiner here. Culpepper still has another season with Weiner at Plant High School, he led the Panthers to a 10-1 regular season record before losing in the second round of the Florida 8A State Tournament.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
