CTA's Day 15 Of Quarantine With Yough's C.J. Waldier

SOURCE: (TWITTER, @cjwaldier)

Check out C.J. Waldier: C.J. Waldier is a junior at Yough High School. He plays football and plays the positions of both wide receiver and defensive back. Waldier is a star football star at Yough. He has been named All-Conference Defensive Back for the past three seasons; he will look to be an All-Conference Defensive back in his senior year and hopes that he could receive that honor all four years of high school. Also, in his high school career, he has been named All-State Wide Receiver and All-Conference Kick Returner. This past football season, 2019 WPIAL & PIAA football season, Waldier was ranked 2nd in the WPIAL in receptions with 72. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in Waldier's high school football career, he has recorded 89 receptions for 1,160 yards while scoring eight touchdowns. You can basically say, that Waldier broke out in 2019 and expect him to thrive again in 2020. Easily, he is one of the most underrated players in the WPIAL.

Questions & Answers:

What have you been doing during this COVID-19 crisis?

C.J. Waldier: "I have been lifting, doing drills with my brother, and running to train for the upcoming season. I also just like to play video games at night with my friends and facetime my girlfriend."

Tell me C.J., how did you get into football.

CW: "I got into football because my dad played at Pitt and signed me up at a young age. I have loved it and played it ever since."

Your Yough football team want 1-9 last season. What do you think your team needs to do have better success in 2020, which will be your senior year?

CW: "We need to come together as one and be a family. We need to trust each other and believe in one another. Also, we need to work and do something to get better every single day during COVID-19."

You will have a new head football coach in 2020 as Yough hired Chris Chunko back in February. So far, tell me what your relationship is like with him?

CW: "Coach Chunko and I have built a good relationship relatively quickly. He trusts me and I trust him. We talk about how meetings go and all the X’s and O’s. For example, if other coaches ask us a question about a formation or a coverage we are going over, he has me answer it."

When it comes to sports, who would you say is Yough's biggest rival?

CW: "In my opinion, I think our biggest rival is between Mt. Pleasant or Elizabeth Forward (EF). Our rivalry between Mt. Pleasant is because the games constantly go back and forth and we play them in mostly every sport. Now, the EF rivalry goes back to Midget football days. We played them in championships and many playoff games during midget football. The games constantly went back and forth."

If you had to choose another WPIAL football player from another school to play at Yough next year, who would you choose?

CW: "Antonio Epps from South Allegheny. I grew up playing Tony in many sports since midgets. I moved to Yough from Clairton and that was right across the bridge from South Allegheny; so, we saw and talked to each other a lot. His family and my family are close. His father and mine always talk at any sporting event for us. Not to mention, he is an All-State Defensive Back and an outstanding utility for the Gladiator offense. He would make a huge impact here at Yough. I hope to one day play football with him at a higher level!"

During this NFL free agency, which transaction shocked you the most?

CW: "Jameis Winston to New Orleans. This shocked me because he said he does not want to be a backup, but the Saints have the future Hall of Famer Drew Brees as QB. There could possibly be a battle for the starting spot in New Orleans!"

Tell me a song that can get you hype before a football game.

CW: "This may sound odd, but "Country Roads" by John Denver. This is our team song and we constantly play it throughout the season and sing it during camp."

What is something that people would be surprised to know about you?

CW: "One thing I think people would be surprised to know about me is that I am in the National Honor Society."

Brentaro Yamane: bkyamane@gmail.com and Twitter/Instagram @BYHilton13