We first saw Covington (KY) Catholic tight end/linebacker Willie Rodriguez last winter at the Best of the Midwest Combine. He impresses us then as a player to watch. Now, Rodriguez has become one of the best overall prospects we’ve seen in the Class of 2024.
With schools like Notre Dame, Louisville, and Tennessee showing early interest, Rodriguez has been taking a few visits over the past month. This weekend, he’ll visit another of his top schools, Tennessee.
We spoke with Rodriguez about his recent visits and more.
“Notre Dame was incredible,” said Rodriguez. “All their tradition and campus was beautiful. With Touchdown Jesus and how the team walks to the stadium, I found everything about the visit impressive.”
While Irish fans know all about the exploits of current tight end Michael Mayer, Rodriguez grew up watching Mayer become one of the top tight ends in the country.
“Notre Dame would be a dream school,” he stressed. “I grew up watching Michael Mayer as he’s from my high school. So we’ve always watched him, and our coach always talks about him. Plus, he plays my position, so I’ve paid close attention to what he’s doing at Notre Dame.
“I’ve been in contact with one of their recruiting directors, Caleb Davis. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to speak with any of the position coaches, but another of their recruiting people said they’d watched my film and were impressed enough to invite me for a visit.”
What would an offer from the Irish mean to Rodriguez?
“An offer would be a dream for my entire family, who loves Notre Dame,” he said. “My dad raised me on Notre Dame football because of the education and tradition. He and my mom, over the years, would go up for a game and always came back with great stories.”
A program that showed even earlier interest in Rodriguez was Louisville. A recent visit makes the Cardinals another program high on the list.
“I visited Louisville last weekend,” he continued. “Last summer, they were my best camp, and I’ve been building a great relationship with Coach (Josh) Stepp, their tight end coach.
“As soon as he saw me at the game, he came to talk. He said he likes my film and how my school is using me as they use their tight ends the same way. I also got to speak with Coach (Mark) Ivey, who recruits in my area.
“They took us around, and I got a chance to go into the tight end room since only three of us were there. They say they like me and look forward to getting to know me more in the coming months.
“They were the first school recruiting me, and stress I’m one of their top 2024 recruits. So an offer from them would be great.”
This weekend has Rodriguez super excited about visiting Tennessee.
“I love watching SEC football and can’t wait to visit,” he said. “This weekend should be crazy as they play Kentucky. They are ranked number three in the country and have a great offensive attack.
“I’ve been in contact with Coach (Jack) Taylor, and they seem highly interested. I’m excited to visit and learn more about the program. An offer from Tennessee or any SEC program would be huge.”
Rodriguez has also heard from Cincinnati and Kentucky, two programs he’s also highly interested in visiting soon. However, he has other goals he’s working toward as he continues rehabbing from a mid-season injury.
“Things are perfect right now,” he continued. “I had surgery almost five weeks ago and went back to the doctor this week. They said they’ve never seen anyone heal this quick, so there is a good chance I could be back for the second week of the playoffs if things continue to go the way they are.”
Rodriguez also works hard in the classroom with a 3.6 GPA and is a multi-sport athlete as one of the top wrestlers in Kentucky and playing baseball.
“I’ll be ready for wrestling, he explained. “When the season started, I was 205-pounds; now, I’m just over 215-pounds and looking forward to adding more good weight in the coming months as I know I need to keep getting bigger, stronger, and faster to reach my goals.”
You can watch Rodriguez in action in his Junior Season Highlights.
