Meet Football’s Crew Wakley

Crew Wakley admits it. He had modest expectation when he took an official visit to Purdue this winter.

Really? Purdue? The Boilermakers? The team that went 1-11 last year?

“Coach (DB coach Charles) Clark called me,” said Wakley. “I didn’t have anything on the schedule. How about you guys come out here Jan. 6? I was kinda like, alright. Whatever.

“Then I get out here, Coach (DC Mike) Scherer, Coach Clark, Coach (Barry) Odom, it was just like … I just prayed about it.”

Wakley was sold.

Now, the BYU transfer safety finds himself poised to play a big role in Purdue’s defense at safety after also considering West Virginia, Iowa State, and Memphis coming out of the portal. West Lafayette is home for Wakley and his wife of nearly five years, Kimber, a former Utah cheerleader.

“Lot of game day experience,” said Clark when asked what Wakley brings to the field as one of six DBs added via the portal in the offseason.

What’s it like for Wakley as a married 25-year-old: “The background I come from is so different. It’s fun to learn from each other and kind of bounce stuff off. It’s been good. … I’ll be hanging out with people and they are like ‘Hey, you wanna do this. Let me ask my parents.’ Ask your parents? It’s just so different. It’s fun. It kind of keeps you young. You’ll grow up eventually, so we’ll try to stay young while we can.”

It has been a unique journey for Wakley, who traces his roots to Jordan High in Sandy, Utah, where he was a star quarterback who threw for 2,998 yards and 22 TDs and ran for 1,407 yards and 22 scores as a senior.

From there, Wakley embarked on a two-year Mormon mission to Fort Worth, Texas, before landing at Utah State as a 20-year-old freshman.

He endured three coaching changes in two years and lots of position tumult. Wakely played safety and linebacker his first year at USU, then moved to quarterback when a new staff took over. 

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“I didn’t take a defensive snap until I was 23, which is crazy to think about,” Wakley said.

His second year, Wakely was moved to safety, then cornerback, then safety, then linebacker.

He was out of there. Adios, Utah State.

This is where things get really interesting.

“I actually quit ball, moved to California with my wife and was selling solar (panels),” said Wakley. “My brother, then that season rolled around and it had been six or seven months since I quit right before spring, he’s like, ‘Do you miss it?’ And I’m like, ‘No, not at all.’ My job was good and what not and then football season started and I was like, alright, I miss it.”

His next stop: BYU, where Wakley’s grandfather, Ron Wakley, played running back from 1967-69. Crew Wakley would join the Cougars as a walk-on and find himself part of deep room of safeties. Could he find a niche? Yep.

Wakley played in 11 games with nine starts for the Cougars in 2024, finishing with 44 tackles, two interceptions and a sack. In 2023, Wakley made 59 tackles with six passes defended and a pick.

“The cool thing for me is everything they told me in recruiting has stayed true, which is the hard part, right?” Wakley said. “You go out and you’re told all these things from all these different people. It’s like, what’s true and what’s fluff and trying to ooh and aah you. It’s cool because I put my trust in them and ever since I’ve been here, they’ve been true to their word.”

Oh, and as for the name Crew: “I don’t even know (where it came from),” said Wakely. “My dad just picked it, and that’s what we went with. I’ve really enjoyed it. A lot of people think I have a cool name, so I enjoy that. It kind of makes me different and is part of who I am. I don’t know where it comes from. I wish I had a better answer.”