College spring football practices emphasize learning offensive and defensive plays and techniques that form the playbook’s fall foundation and honing the skills necessary to execute them.
Who better to have part of that process for the University of Delaware than a recent Harvard University graduate.
Among those getting his first reps in the Blue Hens’ up-tempo spread offense is 6-foot, 200-pound wide receiver Kym Wimberly, a winter graduate transfer to Delaware from Harvard.
“This offense is super fun to play in and it was easy to grasp,” said Wimberly, who earned his bachelor’s degree in government at Harvard and is now pursing an international business master’s degree at Delaware.
He and his teammates get the first chance to show what they’ve learned and how Delaware might look in the 2023 season when they play their annual Blue-White intrasquad game Friday night. Kickoff is at 6 p.m., with free admission.
Landing at Delaware
When Wimberly was considering where to use his final season of football eligibility, he originally planned to go closer his Sidell, Louisiana, home.
Alabama’s Samford was strongly considered, and southern FCS schools Northwestern State, Alcorn and McNeese recruited Wimberly. So did FBS schools Marshall and UMass farther north.
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But Delaware also contacted him and when Wimberly visited Newark, he knew he’d found the right destination. The Blue Hens’ wide-open offensive style was the main attraction.
“It is a total 180 compared to what we ran at Harvard,” he said. “That was the number-one factor in me choosing this school, to play in an offense that was super pass heavy. The offense I played in at Harvard was super run heavy.”
Big production in 2022
Wimberly still was able to show his talents.
Last fall for the 6-4 Crimson, Wimberly was a second-team All-Ivy League selection after leading Harvard with 51 catches for 603 yards and 4 TDs in just eight games. His 6.4 catches per game ranked 15th nationally in FCS.
“What stood out was production,” Delaware coach Ryan Carty said of when he and his staff were sizing up Wimberly as a potential graduate transfer.
“He has a lot of experience. When he was healthy, he was their leading receiver at Harvard. He went up and got balls. He had very strong ball skills. When the ball was a one-on-one, he got it.”
Carty also complimented Wimberly’s explosiveness, comparing it to that of a running back, which also makes him more difficult to defend.
Wimberly has quickly learned and been able to execute Delaware’s schemes, Carty added.
No wonder, as Wimberly was also a National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society selection, an honor accorded players who were significant contributors on their teams while attaining a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average or better. Blue Hens Johnny Buchanan, Bryce De Maille, Chandler Harvin, Josh Moran and Thyrick Pitts were also part of that select crew.
Harvin, who was a big-play pass catcher last year for Delaware after transferring from Sam Houston State, is among those Wimberly joins in the UD wide receiver corps, which loses three of its top 2022 pass catchers in Pitts, Brett Buckman and Michael Jackson.
Proud of Harvard career
Wimberly was a football, basketball and track and field standout at Holy Cross High. His mother, Tiffany, had long urged him to focus on his academics and “using football to get a good education,” he said.
It worked, and Harvard was among several Ivy League schools who recruited him.
“I really just couldn’t pass up the Harvard name,” he said. “That Harvard degree is gonna open up a lot of doors for me.”
The first one is here in Newark.
Wimberly had 86 receptions for 1,065 yards and 8 TDs in his Harvard career. It was highlighted by his 12-yard game-winning touchdown reception with 22 seconds left against rival Yale in 2021, a 34-31 victory that left Harvard 8-2.
“You know that when you step on the field you’re playing for a bigger purpose and the thousands of guys who played there before,” Wimberly said. “You’re playing for that tradition. I don’t think Ivy League teams get as much credit for being as good as they are . . . It is really a shame that we can’t play in the [FCS] playoffs.”
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Ivy League schools, curiously, do not play postseason football, even though the league’s champions advance to NCAA championships in every other sport.
The fact Delaware emphasizes FCS playoff participation as not just the goal but the expectation of every football season and has won six national titles helped influence Wimberly’s decision to come here. The Blue Hens will be bidding for their third FCS playoff berth in four seasons this fall.
“That was a big factor for me,” he said. “Really what it boils down to is how much people care for football. When I came in, I could see that football was a priority here.”
Much to see Friday night
Friday’s game also gives Delaware fans their first extensive look at a completely rebuilt defense and quarterbacks Ryan O’Connor and Zach Marker vying to replace 4-year starter Nolan Henderson.“I think that Ryan and Zach have both really taken a step toward having a great competition,” Carty said.
“It’s gonna go for a while. They’re both doing a very good job of not making the same mistake twice. They’re young, they’re inexperienced, both of them. But they’re talented, they’re playmakers. Nothing fazes them mentally.”
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com
