On Tony Epperson’s National Letter of Intent signing day, there was plenty of intent, but no letter.
The football player, who plans to play for the Weber State Wildcats in the fall, had forgetten his exact address after moving just a month ago.
That small mistake is a rare one for the 3.95 honor-roll student who scored a 31 on the ACT standardized exam. Epperson, known as a leader on and off the field, always seems to have somebody singing his praises, whether it’s his high school coaches, teammates or now the coaching staff at Weber State University.
The letter did finally arrive and Epperson signed it. It was the end of a long journey for Epperson, who first started believing he could play college football about two years ago.
It was after his sophomore year when Epperson’s size and speed really caught the eye of Park City head coach Brandon Matich. In fact, Epperson caught the eye of everyone that year. The previous season, the Miners had lost in the first round of the playoffs to a Snow Canyon team stocked with tall receivers that Park City didn’t have an answer for. That following fall, in walks Epperson then just six feet tall with speed and good hands and Matich knew he had an answer. The safety and receiver grew four inches and put on more than 40 pounds of muscle in the next two years, all the while maintaining a nearly perfect report card and taking on numerous leader roles.
“Matich gave me hope [ that I could play in college],” Epperson said. “I worked hard. I had to get faster, bigger and stronger.”
After his junior year, Ivy League schools came knocking, intrigued by Epperson’s grades and football skills. Epperson made a visit to Princeton University and applied to the school, but with no athletic scholarships available from Ivy League programs, he knew it would be a stretch.
Then came interest from Utah schools and Epperson decided last month to make an official visit to the Weber State campus. With Kyle Mutcher — Park City grad and professional-player-in-the making — as his guide, Epperson learned all about playing for the Big Sky champion Wildcats.
While he was there, Epperson also learned about the Weber State business program. He knew it wasn’t quite the Ivy League, but immediately felt that it was where he was meant to be. Weber State offered Epperson a full-ride athletic scholarship and the rest was history well, once the letter finally arrived.
Epperson is excited for the future at Weber State. The team has found much recent success after wrapping up the conference title and producing numerous all-conference and All American players.
“That’s motivation,” Epperson said. “That was a huge factor. I want to be a part of that.”
And he is thrilled to play for Ron McBride, longtime University of Utah coach and a football icon in these parts. McBride was recovering from a shoulder injury when Epperson visited the campus, but he still met all of the recruits.
“He loves players,” said Epperson. “He made an effort to talk to each of us individually. He’s a really nice guy.”
That said, Epperson admits he’s a little anxious about the big leap to the next level.
“The intensity goes up and every player is good,” he said.
He plans to spend the rest of his senior year in the weight room and on the track preparing for next season and may even attend Weber’s spring practices on Saturdays. He also regularly takes part in the Acceleration Program at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH), which has helped him improve all of his fundamental skills.
Epperson is slated to play safety for the Wildcats, which is a role he knows well. Playing in the option-dominated Park City scheme, Epperson didn’t get as many catches at receiver as he might have at another school, but it offered him plenty of time to hone his position at safety.
“It made me love defense that much more,” he said.
But that’s not say his receiver skills didn’t shine through. He finished his senior year with 30 catches for 400 yards, nearly as many as the top receivers at some of Park City’s pass-happy rivals like Logan. After Park City’s loss to Logan, Matich speculated that a few more passes to Epperson would have put Park City right back into the game.
Epperson’s parents are also excited to have their son playing close to home. With his mom, stepdad, and older brother and sister in Park City, he will have plenty of support. His father lives in Colorado and plans on attending Weber State’s games next season at Colorado State University and Northern Colorado as well as driving to other games.
Matich said that the best part of Epperson is not just his football talent, but all of the intangibles that he brings to the table socially and academically.
“College teams are not just looking at how you play,” Epperson said. “They look at your life overall.”
Matich just calls him a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player.
“He’s one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” he said. “It’s going to be fun to watch him have success.”