Weston Kramer didn’t have much of a prospect profile at Marmion Academy in Aurora, Ill. He was a two-star recruit according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. There were 117 higher-rated prospects in the state of Illinois alone. He was the no. 231 rated defensive tackle nationally, and rated 3,857 in the Class of 2017.
This was despite the fact that he was a wrecking ball at Marmion, recording 40 tackles for loss and 134 total tackles during his final two seasons. He broke up 13 passes and forced six fumbles in that period and was an all-state pick as a senior.
He got one scholarship offer. It was from nearby Northern Illinois. So of course he took it.
And after four years of creating havoc in the interior for the Huskies, Kramer is getting an opportunity he could only have dreamed of while in high school. He’s going to play in the Big Ten, deciding to transfer to Indiana in late April, taking advantage of the fact that the 2020 season didn’t count against anyone’s eligibility because of the effect of COVID-19.
“Coming into the Big Ten was something I wanted to do leaving NIU,” Kramer said. “I felt like I could, so why not. I’d been at NIU for four years, and I figured if I had this last year, why not go try it out? It would be fun.”
He joins the Hoosiers at a position where they need some depth after the loss of Jerome Johnson to the NFL draft. Johnson led all of Indiana’s linemen with four sacks last season, Kramer only has 3.5 in his career, but he has 12 career tackles for loss including three in just six games last season when he was named second-team All-MAC.
The Hoosiers have two defensive tackle positions, a three-technique who lines up on the outside shoulder of a guard and a nose tackle who lines up man-up with the center. Kramer, who stands 6-foot-1, 290 pounds can play either of those positions.
“I can play both of them probably, but I’m probably more of a three-tech,” Kramer said. “I’ve been pretty good in the run game over the past few years. My pass rushing has gotten better as well, but the run game is something I really see myself doing well at. … I like how their defense is run and how they move their defensive tackles around a decent amount. I think that’s a good thing for me because I think I adapt well.”
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