RADAR ‘24: 6-foot-8 Virginia OL Fletcher Westphal talks visit and offer
The 6-foot-8, 320-pound offensive lineman Fletcher Westphal burst onto the recruiting scene, picking up his first offer from Penn State. He has since received offers from Georgia, Miami (FL), Wisconsin, and more.
Westphal visited Rutgers, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia Tech, and Virginia in March. He then visited Georgia, North Carolina, Miami (FL), Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Arkansas in April.
Michigan State was the 2024 three-star's first trip in May.
“It was my first trip up there and I’m definitely glad I went,” Westphal said on Michigan State. “My visit started by meeting with Coach Tucker which was nice.”
Westphal got to East Lansing on Friday and was able to meet with Mel Tucker before getting some food at Bowdies Chophouse in Lansing. Tucker left campus and hit the road on Saturday so it was important for Westphal to meet with him on Friday.
“I definitely wanted to talk with the top man," Westphal said. "Coach Tucker was friendly and easy to talk to. His message was clear he wants to dominate B1G and make MSU a powerhouse in CFB. I definitely feel he thinks I can bring something unique to their program.”
Westphal spent the most of his time with Chris Kapilovic.
“On Saturday, I had the undivided attention of Coach Kapilovic. We met and discussed his expectations of his OL and his ‘bring the juice’ in everything you do. Coach Kapilovic made sure I saw as much as I could and that as many questions as possible where answered during my visit.”
On his first trip to East Lansing, Westphal got a feel for the campus and the facilities.
“I toured the facilities and the campus. The campus is really nice. Big things are happening with their renovations,” Westphal said. “They are going to be first class but it is created to make everything easy for the athlete like easy transitions from locker room to recovery and your locker room bench totally reclines. They’re getting all the extras and it’s also tied right into the indoor, stadium and close to living space.“
Westphal met with the entire support staff including Head Football Performance Dietitian Amber Rinestine.
“It was great meeting one on one with the academic, strength and nutrition coaches. They explained how they run their programs and I saw how systematic they are with their approach…
He also met with the on-campus academic advisors.
“Academics are a priority with a +90% graduation rate. Coach Kapilovic and the academic advisor emphasized we are students first and have the tools to manage both our course load and football.”
Westphal also spent some time with Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Jason Novak.
“The strength & conditioning coach is all about accountability to individual numbers and progression. Everything is tracked electronically so you know where you are and how you are progressing. It’s all tracked real-time during workouts so it’s a very competitive environment with the team and I like that.”
Westphal already has summer visits planned to SMU, TCU, Auburn and Alabama in June. He also plans to see Stanford in July before heading into his junior season.