Gary Weaver is a physics major in his junior year at Buena Vista University. He comes to Storm Lake from Las Vegas, Nevada where he attended Arbor View High School. Weaver is a defensive end for the BVU football team.  

Weaver has been a leader in defense for the Beavers since he joined as a freshman in 2016. Last season he totaled 40 tackles appearing in all ten games for the Beavers. Currently, he has a career total of 79 tackles, and nine sacks.  

Weaver says he fell in love with football, not only for the sport but for the bonds that he has created with teammates.  

“I fell in love with football when I was in high school because the importance of being a teammate became a priority. Team dinners were my favorite, not only for the food but to just have a bond, talking and joking around. That’s what I love about football,” says Weaver.  

Weaver’s favorite football memory comes from last year’s 2017 BVU football season. 

“My favorite football related memory is beating Central and how the game ended. The way we won felt like a movie,” says Weaver.  

Last year during the game with Central, BVU defeated the Dutch in overtime, 39-38. Weaver had his season high of nine tackles during that game.  

BVU football hired four new football coaches before last year’s season, among them was Defensive Line and Special Teams Coach, Adrian Davis. Weaver says Coach Davis has been a positive influence for him on and off the field.  

“My biggest influence would have to be Coach Davis. All my other coaches at BVU have had an impact but Coach Davis has had the biggest impact in my life. He’s always pushing me and giving me more confidence in myself every day,” says Weaver, “I can say, I grew up a lot from last year because of him always being on me to work hard to get to where I want to be in life.”  

Head Coach for the Beavers, Grant Mollring, comments on how Weaver has been valuable to the BVU football team.  

“Gary is a very talented individual with a skill set that not many defensive ends in our league have,” says Mollring, “He has shown great growth as an individual in the past 12 months and we are excited about him working into a leadership role within our program. Gary has a great sense of human and is always looking for ways to lighten the mood.”  

With the BVU football season just underway, Coach Mollring is expecting Weaver to continue being a leader for the defensive line. Mollring is also expecting Weaver to be a leader for the younger players, particularly the thirty new freshman members.  

“We expect Gary to set the tone for our defense by being a disrupter. We need him to cause havoc in the backfield and make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable. Off the field we are looking for Gary to continue to help influence our younger players and show them the ways of our program,” says Mollring.  

BVU had their season opener Thursday, Aug. 30 where they defeated Hamlin University 39-27. Weaver racked up five tackles and two sacks this game.  

Weaver is just getting started and has high hopes for the rest of the season. 

“I can’t wait to make more memories this year,” says Weaver, “I feel like big things are coming for my team and I.”