It’s tough to label Sean Welde as a hidden gem. There just aren’t a lot of places for a 6-foot-6 athlete to hide.
Somehow, Welde escaped football recruitment when he first arrived at Camden Catholic High School two years ago for his sophomore season. But once Wayne Gilliam II took over the head coaching role last year, an obvious discovery just needed a little coaxing.
“Originally he wasn’t a football player,” Gilliam said. “I saw his size, and I told him he needs to play football. He said ‘all right.’ Then the kid went ghost.”
Gilliam’s recruiting project had temporarily disappeared. Welde admits he was more focused on chasing a basketball career and wasn’t quite ready to leap into football pads. But Gilliam was persistent.
“Coach Gilliam had just got hired, and after school he started nagging me to play,” Welde said with a laugh. “[Finally] I figured I’d give it a shot. I guess it worked out for the best.”
Now the two are inseparable. Welde’s size and natural athleticism was molded into a dominant tight end and defensive lineman. After just one year of high school football, Welde committed to play at Villanova University.
“We’ve been locked in ever since,” Gilliam said. “It’s crazy to see a kid that’s never played football before, running around looking like a baby deer, and then he blossoms into this fine player.”
Although Welde’s receiving stats don’t jump off the page, he’s been a difference-maker on both sides of the ball. On offense, he uses his big frame to protect quarterback Mike Moritz. On defense, he’s a constant disruption in the opposing backfield, leading the team in quarterback sacks and tackles for a loss. It’s very seldom that he comes off the field.
“I don’t mind it,” Welde said. “I’m a big competitor so I love being on the field. I’m still learning stuff, but as a senior and being a leader in a sense, I try to be positive and lead everyone in the right direction.”
That direction is north in the standings. After a 3-0 start to the season, the Irish have already matched last year’s win total and they are enjoying their best start since 2017, when Camden Catholic won its first six games en route to an 8-2 season. Welde believes the best is yet to come.
“All the coaches, including Coach Wayne, emphasize plus-one, to get better each day,” Welde said. “We have a lot of young guys, but everyone knows they have to work hard. Now we’re starting to go in the right direction.”
Welde is hoping to learn at the Villanova School of Business, where his cousin James Welde currently studies. James is currently a redshirt junior on the Wildcats’ football team at tight end. But the family ties don’t stop there for Sean Welde and Villanova.
“I have three or four cousins that go to Villanova right now,” he said. “My sister goes there. My uncle was there. There have been a lot of my family members that went there, so getting an offer was pretty ideal.”
In less than a year, he will join them. “I wouldn’t even say it’s sunken in yet, honestly,” Welde said. “It’s very surreal.”
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