MORGANTOWN — From the Pacific Northwest, to Texas, to South Florida, to Colorado, and finally, to Morgantown, WVU tight end Brian Polendey has played football in about every environment possible.
He joined the Mountaineers this off-season, using his extra COVID year for one more go-round of college football at a place that desperately needed tight ends, especially one with experience.
With four previous stops, including two Division I universities before arriving at WVU, Polendey fit exactly what the Mountaineers needed.
Once he moved to Seattle in early high school, Polendey, more of a baseball player at the time, was nudged into playing football by his mother to help him make friends.
He quickly learned how much he loved football, and after a move to Denton, Texas, Polendey was starting to come into his own as a big-bodied tight end. It was his father who made the suggestion, and after playing at Guyer High, Poledney became a consensus 3-star prospect with offers from Houston, Michigan, Colorado, Arkansas and Miami.
He chose Miami, and after three seasons with the Hurricanes where he suffered through injuries and limited playing time, he transferred to Colorado State. In two seasons with the Rams, including a shortened four-game campaign in 2020 because of the pandemic, Polendey was used primarily as a blocker.
With one more chance to play at a Power Five program, Polendey chose WVU, loaded up a U-Haul and drove from Fort Collins, Colo., to Morgantown, with a pit stop in St. Louis in between.
“My childhood prepared me for all the moves I’ve had to make,” he said Tuesday. “My family’s been very supportive, honestly, so it hasn’t been that bad. Growing up, my dad would change jobs a lot (management), trying to better my family’s position. Moving is nothing new to me, and I kind of enjoy it because I go to new places and meet new people.
“It’s what brought me here and I’m just happy to be here.”
Head coach Neal Brown made it clear why Polendey was brought in, “We signed him because we felt like we wanted to add a blocking tight end, and through the portal, he was the guy on video who had done it against good people the best.”
But not only that, the Mountaineers desperately needed to add to the tight end depth after last season. Presumed starter Mike O’Laughlin suffered a season-ending injury, the second of his career, and is out until this summer.
O’Laughlin’s primary backups, T.J. Banks and Charles Finley, entered the transfer portal, so that left just Victor Wikstrom and Treylan Davis as the only scholarship TEs on the roster.
It was clear, though, that Polendey wasn’t brought in to be a primary pass-catcher. Brown said Polendey is improving through spring practice, but it’s still a work in progress.
“If you’d have asked me that in practice two, I’d have been like, ‘I don’t know,’ but he made a couple really contested competitive catches,” Brown said. “They were contested. He’s understanding space where he’s never had to play in space. His game is growing and I’m proud of him for that.”
Doing the unheralded dirty work is something Polendey prides himself in, even if the ball isn’t coming his way.
“My goal has always been the best tight end I can be and play football as long as I can,” he said. “I’m primed and ready to show what I’ve learned throughout my career and make it happen this year.”
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