Meet Westerville South and Northwestern tight end Tyler Kielmeyer

Given the hybrid responsibilities inherent to his position of blocking and receiving, Westerville South senior tight end Tyler Kielmeyer learned long ago that he needs to know as much as anyone else on the field on every play.

“You have to know a lot, sometimes as much as the quarterback,” Kielmeyer said. “But once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun.”

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Northwestern commit is one of central Ohio’s top players at the position, playing a key role on South’s offensive line and ranking second in receiving yards during a 3-1 start. Kielmeyer caught 18 passes for 383 yards and two touchdowns last season, and in four games this season, he has nine receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Initially, he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to pursue football or basketball at the next level — Kielmeyer is the son of Southern junior high basketball coach Trevor Kielmeyer and the nephew of former Wildcats and Penn State defensive lineman Marc Kielmeyer — but last fall, he made football his sport of choice.

Tyler Kielmeyer received 22 offers before committing to Northwestern on July 2.

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Kielmeyer spoke with The Dispatch after a recent practice about his future, the intricacies of his position and how each of his sports helps the other.

The questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity:

Question: First of all, how is your last season going? You just finished a very important junior year. How did you experience the first four games of this year?

Answer: It’s going well. Offensively, we have a new system (under first-year coach Eric Calland) and I really like it, where I’m at. There’s a little more blocking this year than last year, but it’s good to get comfortable with that for the next level. We had a slow start, but we also have a lot of new starters and the defense has really helped us. We can count on them. Hopefully it’s time to turn it around, help the defense as well and start scoring more points.

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Q: Tell me about life as a tight end in this program. How would you describe your role at this position that can switch between blocking and receiving?

A: As a tight end, you definitely earn your touches, making sure you’re reliable in the blocking game to get your opportunities. When we can get the run going, we can open up passing opportunities, which leads to more catches. So you have to be a blocker first, and then get a few catches along the way.

Q: Do you consider yourself more of a blocking tight end than a receiving tight end?

A: Last year we definitely had more receptions given the way our offense was built. This year the goal is to be more of a complete tight end and be able to do both.

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Q: Have you always been a tight end or have you played other positions?

A: That’s pretty much it. I’ve always been a tight end or a receiver. I played a little defense in college.

Q: What was the moment when you decided to dedicate yourself fully to football and take it seriously?

A: As a freshman, a lot of coaches wanted me to put on weight. I did and it didn’t block me from that position, but it definitely encouraged me to move to tight end. That and the year I had allowed me to see where recruiting was at after that success. It all worked out well.

Q: It seems like your recruiting picked up quickly after your junior season. Eastern Michigan extended you an offer just a week or two after your last game and from there it seemed to take off.

A: Once Eastern Michigan made an offer, I got a lot more interest because people didn’t really know me up until that point. A few other schools made offers and it blew up in January.

Q: When you look at the recruiting process, what did you know going in? Is there anything that can really prepare you to get attention as a three-star recruit?

A: It can be hard to get all that attention because you’re not used to it, but building relationships with so many coaches is key. I got to visit a lot of great places over the spring. It helped me sort through it all. Those relationships last.

Q: When did Northwestern come into the picture?

A: Actually, it was quite late. They had shown some interest and so I went to camp and then I was offered. It was a position I had seriously considered.

Q: What sets them apart from others?

A: Just the level of the school. It’s a great school academically, plus the relationships I’ve built with head coach (David) Braun and coach (Paul) Creighton, the tight ends coach. Learning their system was super intriguing because they kind of follow the tight ends system in their offense. I’ve seen a few teams like that, definitely the schools I was most interested in.

Q: You see someone going to Northwestern and you probably think of someone who is really smart. I saw the 4.6 GPA on your X stream. What are you looking for academically and what would you like to major in?

A: I’m not sure yet. They definitely have a great curriculum and a lot of interesting business opportunities. That’s probably what I’ll focus on. It’s nice to have a lot of great companies (in Chicago) and to be able to make a lot of connections throughout my studies.

Q: Has basketball been around as long as football?

A: Yes, until football recruiting took off. I was hoping to generate interest in both sports. Basketball helped me a lot with football, with as much emphasis as Coach (Ed) Calo puts on balance and footwork. It helps me with my blocking and receiving routes.

Q: What do you take away from football for basketball?

A: It’s definitely the physical. Being in the racket, it sometimes gets physical on the box-outs. So just the physical in general.

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