Update Interview with 4-Star 2023 MaxPreps All-American DE Jeremiah Calvin

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

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Anytime a freshman can make a varsity high school football roster, that is an accomplishment. If said player can take that achievement to the next level earning a starting spot, yet another reason to be impressed. And if they become an impact player for their team earning freshman MaxPreps All-American honors, the football world best take notice. At the end of Jeremiah Calvin’s freshman campaign, he accomplished all the aforementioned goals and just started to scratch the surface of his gridiron talents.

If you saw Jeremiah Calvin in August of 2019 and then met up with him in-person right now, you might not recognize him. He took the field with John Muir High School in 2019 at 6-3, 170, but is now a 6-3, 235-pound, athletic tackling machine ready to be unleashed. As he added more size to his frame a year ago, he also added experience, knowledge, and a growing skillset to his determination. He helped the Mustangs to an 11-3 run against California squads ending with 27 stops, six tackles for a loss, five sacks, four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, four passes batted down, and a pick-six. Worth mentioning, he also handled punting duties, a role that he will resume as a sophomore along with playing receiver.

Bloodlines count for something in sports, and Calvin has one currently attached to Washington State. His older brother, Jamire Calvin, is a junior receiver for the Cougars, and is by no coincidence the first team to offer Jeremiah.

With interest growing and the 2020 season in California about two months away, Calvin took a break from all his workouts to update us in an RNG one-on-one interview.

Interview

Jeremiah, your freshman season with the Mustangs attracted a lot of attention earning MaxPreps first team All-American honors as a defensive end/outside linebacker. At what point during fall camp in 2019 did you learn that you had earned a starting spot?

I learned right before the game, five minutes before our game. My dad told me I was starting and told me to be ready.

Going up against offensive linemen three to four years older than you had to be tough at first. What were some of the adjustments you had to make early on to end up being so productive?

It wasn’t like eighth grade. Quickly realized I am not stronger than everyone now and that I had to use technique to make plays. After the first couple of games it started getting easier, I was able to do that transition.

At the end of the season, what were some of the key attributes to your game that stood out?

I am bigger than most people, stronger than most people, even at a young age, and faster than most of the offensive tackles I went up against. My hand and footspeed, and lateral speed are strengths. Grace Brethren’s offensive tackle gave me a good look. Maybe Peninsula’s offensive tackle too. They gave me the best looks last season, but no one else gave me any problem like that.

After all the experience gained, when you went into the offseason what did you focus on as a defender?

I was 170 at the start of the 2019 season. Since then I have put on a lot of weight and I got faster. This season I am playing receiver, I played some receiver last year but they did not want to put everything on me then. We play Mater Dei and some other hard teams this season; I want to be as big and strong as possible for those big games. This offseason I focused on getting bigger, stronger, and faster. I have been working on my hands, even though they’ve always been decent. A lot of working out with my teammates.

Are you staying at defensive end for the 2020 season?

You’ll see me there and at outside linebacker, strong and free safety. I will be at defensive end about 50 to 60 percent of the snaps. It all depends on who we are playing.

As an end/outside linebacker, what new moves have you been working on this summer and fall?

A crazy spin move. I have been working with my defensive line coach, we have a whole bunch of gems ready to unleash. I don’t want to give all of them away. Our defensive line will be good this season. Over the first seven weeks of the 2019 season, our defensive line led the nation in sacks. This season, 10 sacks a game is our goal. Everyone needs to have two a game.

How have you added more power to your abilities?

I have been doing bench, squats, deadlifts, curls, shoulder workouts, and my dad’s warmup. My dad’s workout warmup is 50 pushups total, 100 pullups, then our shoulder workouts, 50 dips, and that is just his warmup which is a workout in itself. I am also doing power cleans; whatever they tell me to do, I am doing.

Have you maxed out this offseason?

Yes. My bench is 325, my squats are 350 to 375 and I am pushing 400, and my deadlift is around 425.

Very impressive.

Thank you.

What workouts have you been doing to increase your speed and quickness?

I have been working out with my dad a lot. He has this thing he calls “Extreme Hill”, we do that on Sunday. It helps with stamina. We run routes on that hill.

We touched on this with defense, switching to the other two phases of the game, where all will we see you line up in 2020?

At receiver and I might do some power back on short-yardage, punting, and I will be returning kicks this year.

Beyond the Extreme Hill, how have you worked this offseason for the roles on offense?

I have been doing cone drills, ladders, and my dad punts the ball to me. Then he has my little cousins chase me, about 10 of them. That makes me make cuts trying to get from one end to the other without them touching me. And the kids are wild, and I am in there dodging them.

I bet that would be fun to see. Your play on the field brought an offer from Washington State on Oct. 19. Being a freshman and in the middle of the season, what was that moment like for you receiving that great news?

It was crazy. Sometimes I kind of wish I had gotten it later, for maturity reasons. I was very excited and I am still happy about it and feel blessed. I am happy to get a scholarship offer from Washington State. My brother goes there. I was talking to college coaches every day at school, but received no offers. When they threw me the offer, I was really happy.

Keeping on this topic, which schools are showing interest that you know of?

Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Washington, Cal, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State, Miami, Jackson State, and Alabama.

Back to football. You have two full months before the 2020 season begins, what do you want to accomplish during this time?

I want to go into season at 245 pounds, and as strong and healthy as possible.

Which players on the Muir roster should the fans and college coaches be on the lookout for this season?

Kevin Carroll, Jasun Ridley, Charles Bennett, Mahki Clark, Isaiah Blades, and Turran Williams.

Jeremiah, it was a lot of fun covering all this ground with you today. Wishing you and the rest of the team success over the next couple of months getting ready for the season.

Thank you.

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Photo credit: Calvin family; Jeremiah Calvin