It’s hard to adapt here. I know when I first got here those first couple of months were hard. I almost didn’t stay, but I’m glad I did. – BYU offensive lineman De'Ondre Wesley
PROVO — Offensive lineman De’Ondre Wesley hasn’t quite acclimated himself to all of BYU’s peculiarities since arriving just prior to the 2013 season, but he feels he’s acclimated to the important ones — the ones that helped him grow as both a player and as a person.
As the Antioch, California, native sets to take on hometown favorite Cal this Saturday, he reflected on his short time at BYU through the unique challenges and ultimate reward after transferring from Diablo Junior College.
Coming from the Bay Area in California, Wesley certainly didn’t fit the profile of your typical BYU student, and quickly learned that conservative and homogenous Provo was a far cry from the liberal and diverse environs of his home area.
Make no mistake, it was an enormous challenge, and something the 6-foot-7 lineman almost didn't make it through.
“I’ve never been away from my family this long and just being in a place where it’s different for how I am, and my personality and how I live,” Wesley said. “It’s hard to adapt here. I know when I first got here those first couple of months were hard. I almost didn’t stay, but I’m glad I did.”
Like all first-year players, Wesley was assigned to live in the on-campus dorms, which worked to intensify his acclimation process. Fortunately he was able to room with someone experiecing the same thing — offensive lineman Tim Duran.
“We were both (junior college transfers) and we’re not LDS, so we just pushed each other through it,” Wesley said.
One of the things Wesley struggled with initially was a bit too much social attention than he was used to.
“People here are real friendly. Kind of too friendly, and they touch on you a little bit too much ,” Wesley said. “Where I’m from you kind of keep your space and distance and when people are in your area and your bubble it gets kind of uncomfortable. … But once you get adapted to it you’re fine.”
Wesley relates sleepless nights having to endure 18-year olds, excited to be away from home for the first time, running around the dorms until 1 or even 2 a.m. in the morning.
After those sleepless nights Wesley would have to take on another challenge of getting up to speed with what was an entirely new offensive system and coaching staff at the time.
Fortunately, though, Wesley was able to rely on another offensive lineman.
“I feel like Ryker Mathews — he was my big brother when I first got here. I’m older than him, which is kind of weird, but he pushed me through a lot of the adversity I had when I first got here and he told me, ‘Bro, you’re pretty good, but you just got to learn the system and battle as hard as you can,’ ” Wesley said. “I feel (Mathews) is someone I looked up to, to help me get a better player.”
Wesley saw immediate playing time and a lot of success as an incoming junior as a result of Mathews' help, along with other teammates and certainly position coach Garett Tujague.
Success on the field ultimately led to success in fitting in at BYU and even thriving within its unqiue social and academic conditions, but not entirely.
“I feel like you can never get fully acclimated to this place,” he said. “There’s something new every day … you have some real well-rounded people here, really smart people here, and I feel really wise people here. People that are 22 years old back home to 22-year-olds here — I feel like they’re way more mature (at BYU.) I feel that helped me and molded me to be a more mature person.”
Overall, Wesley will take away fond memories of BYU and would recommend the experience to those looking for something different.
“It’s a peaceful place and it’s beautiful with nice mountains and all that stuff,” he said. “And I feel like this is probably one of the places you could grow if you‘re looking for a different path, or something you need to inspire you, I feel this is a place that you can come and make it happen.”
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney