In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight outstanding athletes or moments from games that deserve extra attention. 

Wesley Abraham ’25 is a cornerback on the Wesleyan football team whose breakout season cemented his status as one of the premier talents in this program’s history. He was awarded NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week twice for his outstanding performances in the Cardinals’ games versus Hamilton and Williams. He also earned First Team All-NESCAC honors for the first time in his career. Most impressively of all, he was named Fourth Team All-American by D3football.com, becoming only the 15th Cardinal and the first ever defensive back (DB) to earn All-American in school history. The Argus recently sat down with Abraham to discuss his numerous accolades, his unusual path into football, and what’s next for the team.

The Argus: Can you introduce yourself?

Wesley Abraham: I’m a junior econ[omics] major, dance minor from White Plains, New York and I’m a cornerback. 

A: How did you start playing football?

WA: Where do I start? My best friend who lives up the street from me, he was always a football player. I was actually never allowed to play sports growing up.

A: You weren’t allowed to play sports?

WA: Yeah, my mom was terrified of sports. I always wanted to play basketball. So I started off playing basketball in eighth grade. But my best friend who lived up the street was always playing football and basketball, and I would play football at recess. I would always get picks and score. And they’re like, “Yo, you should play for the team.” And I was like, “Um, I don’t think my mom would let me,” which at first she didn’t, but his dad came down and had like a two-hour conversation with my mom in our living room and sold my mom to sign me up for tackle football. I played in eighth grade, started, and then lost my spot. That was my first year, and then I went to a private high school afterward expecting to play basketball, but only basketball. And then one guy at the gym was like, “You should play football. It’s a great way to meet people.” I started off freshman year and then it went ever since.

A: Have you always been a DB?

WA: I think most DBs want to play wide receiver. So my freshman year, I had cleats that were all the way up to my shins. It was bad. I had no idea. I was just out there. I tried out for wide receiver because I wanted to be the guy to score the touchdowns, and I was dropping everything. So I got moved to cornerback because I couldn’t catch, but I had raw athletic ability. Ever since then I’ve been a corner. Actually, I played safety my junior and senior year of high school. But I’ve always been a DB.

A: What’s your favorite part of playing your position, and what’s the hardest part? 

WA: My favorite part about playing the position–which is also the hardest part–it’s the fact that the game is made for a wide receiver to beat me. So my favorite part is embracing that villain aspect. Like, I’m here, you’re not gonna score, you know? When I go to away games, it’s even better ’cause everybody wants to see me fail out there. And I think that really tests you. In the Williams game, I got beat one time and everybody was screaming at me in the Williams stands, like they were dying to see me lose. And I wanted to put my head down, but this is what I play for. I love feeling that it’s on me; there’s nobody else behind me. If I mess up: touchdown. I love that pressure. It gives me a rush that I’m obsessed with. 

A: What made you decide that you wanted to join Wesleyan’s football program? 

WA: When I was getting recruited, Wesleyan was the only college in the area hosting football camps. That’s when I initially heard of it. So I came out here, met [head] coach [Dan DiCenzo], met a few other coaches who aren’t here anymore, and I liked it. Coach [DiCenzo] really sold the part of life after college and how Wesleyan can set you up for life after football. And given the situation with COVID, it opened up my eyes. There’s more to life than just football, and I really do need to worry about what happens when I retire. And I told him I was interested in finance, but I didn’t really know. And he’s like, “Yeah, we have a ton of guys on the team in finance who all have jobs when they graduate.” So I was like, “Okay, that’s attractive that they care about students after college,” whereas some of my other friends’ schools, they don’t really care about after college—just what you can do for them while you’re at the college. So that attracted me, the diversity here, and just an opportunity to play. You could tell they did their research on the type of player that I am, and they use me to the best of my ability. 

A: What’s your favorite part about this team and the dynamic?

WA: I like how close everyone is. My high school was very competitive. We weren’t really close because everybody was worried about trying to get an offer to get to college. I’m not shading the high school, it was a great school. But here, everyone is super close. The dude next to you is really like your brother, and it’s more intimate. You’re really playing for your brother as opposed to just, “I need to make sure I don’t mess up.” I know my guys will lift me up if things don’t go well. So I think the family aspect here is definitely one of the most valuable things. 

A: Is there any significance behind why you chose number one as your jersey number?

WA: Yeah, that was my basketball number growing up and it’s one for August 1, which is my birthday. I used to wear 25 for my mom’s birthday, April 25. But I like number one, and I took that when I was playing basketball. I was like, “Let me get this back.”

A: Do you have any interesting pregame superstitions?

WA: Oh yeah, I have a ton. I’m extremely superstitious. I used to like to dress up and make sure my accessories were on point. But I find myself with very lucky cleats. I bought Jordan cleats. They were like $200 and they’re still sitting in my box because I wore them one game and didn’t really like how I played, and then I didn’t wear them again. Then I had these other lucky cleats that in a scrimmage, I got an interception. In one of the practices, I got an interception in preseason. When I wore them all summer to work out, I was playing well. So I’m like, maybe these are a little bit lucky. I told our trainer Rosie, these are my lucky cleats and she believed me. Then right after that, I wore them at the Middlebury game, the Hamilton game, and every game after that. I really feel like those cleats are lucky, which sounds crazy, but I’m extremely superstitious. So I wore them the rest of the season. That’s my biggest superstition right there. I don’t know if I’m gonna bring them back next year, so I’m trying to find my next lucky cleat. I’ve been playing around with all different types of cleats when I work out. So hopefully I get one before next season.

A: Coming into this season, what were your expectations for yourself and the team? 

WA: We did lose some key players, and pretty much every starter had graduated. It was definitely a big turnaround. So I felt like maybe I wanted to at least be one of the leaders out, there simply off the fact that I have some of the most experience. I didn’t want to be “the” leader. I just did my job and tried to be uplifting. I thought we really could go 9 and 0, off the pieces that we had. And I knew that even though it was a big turnaround for us, it was a big turnaround for everyone in the NESCAC as well. With COVID, everybody took that fifth year, so now there were not that many of those people left. It was definitely a new era of NESCAC football. I wanted to be one of the guys on the team would ignite a fire in everybody and try to lead by example. Didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I want my game to do most of the talking and to really take over games, and try to be that guy to at least jumpstart something when things weren’t going our way. I didn’t really think too much about it. I kind of just wanted to play ball. I was definitely more vocal this year than I have been in the past.

A: You were Defensive Player of the Week against Hamilton and Williams. Can you tell me about what those two games were like for you and how it felt to get those accolades after?

WA: That [Hamilton] game, we dominated them on all levels. I personally didn’t feel I played too well, tackling wise, I feel like I struggled there. So that game, I didn’t really expect to be Player of the Week. It kind of came out of nowhere. I thought I was gonna be Player of the Week after the Middlebury game when I got the pick six. But, I feel like showing that I stayed consistent and had another good game after the Middlebury game, I think that’s really what made me Player of the Week. But we dominated them on all levels, so it made my job so much easier. With the Williams game, I didn’t expect to be Player of the Week either. It just came to me. Whereas [wide receiver] Chase [Wilson ’25] had four touchdowns [versus Hamilton] or [quarterback] Niko [Candido ’25] threw 300 yards [versus Williams], I kind of knew that was coming. At the end of that Williams game, I saw [the ball] coming and jumped it and ended up getting the interception. I think it was more so the timing and the moment and the stakes that got me Player of the Week. I feel like that one was a little bit more deserved, but I still didn’t expect it. They both caught me off guard.

A: At the end of the season, you got First Team All-NESCAC for the first time in your career. Can you tell me how it felt to receive that honor?

WA: It felt good. My sophomore year, I felt I was at least second-team caliber. I just didn’t really have the stats to match it. But this year, I kept that in the back of my mind and played with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. So to get First Team and jump as much as I did from last year, it felt good. And I don’t really celebrate and sit back and embrace it, I’m trying to always get on to the next thing. But looking back on it, I did accomplish a good amount this year and it did feel good to get that recognition, especially after getting Player of the Week twice and then getting First Team. It was a lot to take in. 

A: Three weeks later, you were [named] Fourth Team All-American. How did it feel when you found that out?

WA: I was hyped. I honestly didn’t even know too much about All-Amercan. It’s crazy because my trainer at home all summer, he’s like, “you’re gonna be an All-American.” I’m like, “One step at a time. I’m not even All-Conference. Nobody in the league really knows my name.” It was crazy how it all came into fruition and he was the first one to call me. He and my defensive-back trainer called me immediately. All the work we put in, it was great to get that recognition across all the DBs in the country. But my goal is First Team All-American. That’s what I want to get next. So I’m happy, but I’m not really satisfied. 

A: What are your hopes for yourself and the team this coming season?

WA: Today I got announced as one of the leaders of the team. So I hope to use that leadership to bring everybody together and really enforce serious hard work because I think we do have the talent to win. But I want us all to really work our tails off like we’ve never worked before and really do something special this year because it is my last year here. I want to go out with a bang. I want to go out 9 and 0. So that’s gonna take everybody. We need a hundred and however many people on the team to be leaders. Everybody needs to carry their own weight or else we’re not gonna win. I told them when we had a little team meeting that it’s gonna be ugly, but I hope everybody really buys in because my only goal is to win. And if we play every game like we played that fourth quarter of Williams, I promise we’ll go 9 and 0.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.