Big Ten Time -- Patience Pays Off For Weston Kramer

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Weston Kramer kept wondering.

Can you blame him?

He believed in himself. He knew he could thrive against the best in college football.

He just wanted the chance to prove it.

Five years later, this high-motor defensive tackle finally gets his Power 5 Conference shot:

As an Indiana Hoosier.

"I'm here now," the former Northern Illinois standout says, "and it's exciting."

Excitement comes from resolve steeled by disappointment.

"Back in high school, I wanted to come to a bigger level," he says, "but Northern Illinois was the only team that watched a lot of my games. Northern Illinois was my only offer. I was happy to get that."

Happiness had limits.

As a teenager, Kramer had proven himself at summer camps (where he was often unblockable), proven himself at Marmion Academy in Illinois, proven himself against offensive lineman of all shapes, sizes, and skills.

In his final two high school seasons he totaled 134 tackles, 40 for loss. He forced six fumbles and recovered two. In a nod to his athleticism, he also broke up 13 passes.

He earned all-state honors, but no big-time offers.

So he went to Northern Illinois and in four impressive seasons he totaled 97 tackles, 12.5 for loss, with 3.5 sacks in 30 starts and 45 games. He twice earned All-Mid-American Conference honors.

The 6-2, 290-pound Kramer was ready for more, and thanks to the pandemic, he had an extra season of eligibility to find it.

He entered the transfer portal, and one thing was quickly apparent:

He wasn't alone.

Kramer was part of a wave of transfers to hit college football. More than 2,100 have entered the portal since last August. That meant a lot of competition to land a major college opportunity.

Kramer wasn't fazed.

"I had a decent amount of (transfer) options. I played a lot of football at Northern Illinois. I wasn't worried about that too much."

He committed to Temple, now led by former Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey, but there was a problem:

It wasn't the Big Ten.

"I wanted to play in the Big Ten," he says. "I had the extra year. Why not try it out? It would be fun."

Iowa and Indiana went after him, but the Hoosiers had an edge in Connor Schneider, an IU defensive assistant who was Kramer's freshman roommate at Northern Illinois.

"He told me how the program was," Kramer says.

Still, the biggest draws were head coach Tom Allen, defensive line coach Kevin Peoples, and the program-on-the-rise culture that has delivered a 14-7 record and two bowl appearances in the last two seasons.

"In talking to Coach Peoples and Coach Allen, I felt Indiana was the right place for me. When they described how the team was, the culture, I felt it was a good fit for me."

Fit came with Cream & Crimson need after IU lost defensive tackles Jovan Swann and Jerome Johnson to the NFL.

Kramer can play inside or outside. Limit him at your own risk.

Figure Hoosiers coaches won't.

"I've been pretty good in the run game. My pass rushing has been pretty good, as well.

"I like how (Indiana's) defense is run, how they use defensive tackles and move them around. I felt that would be good for me. I do pretty well in stuff like that."

As for the chance to play in Indiana's attacking defense, he says, "I've heard how the defense was, saw how they played last year. Playing defense here will be pretty exciting."

For Kramer, this kind of excitement took time, and now the Hoosiers might reap the final reward.

"When I was at Northern Illinois, I trained hard every day. I tried to make myself better at everything I did. It led to me playing well at Northern Illinois, and having an opportunity to come here."

The wondering, it seems, is over.

Indiana University Athletics

Big Ten Time -- Patience Pays Off For Weston Kramer

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