The Versatile Lineman: Jaden Wedderburn '26

By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com

Jaden Wedderburn doesn't mind the pre-game butterflies. After all, he's dealt with bigger nerves than the ones that come with anchoring the middle of the offensive line during fall Saturdays. Taking on the Ivy League's fiercest defensive linemen is one thing; taking on the role of Prince Charming in your high school musical is something else entirely.

"The games, I've been doing these for a long time," said Wedderburn, a senior guard for the Princeton football team. "I'm excited for the games. You always get those butterflies in your stomach. A musical performance is a little bit out of the comfort zone, a little different. It's a solo performance."

There is nothing solo about being an offensive lineman, or trying to help your teammates bring Princeton back atop the Ivy League standings. There is also nothing more that he would want to be doing right now.

It's a place he couldn't have pictured himself just four years ago, when he was excelling down the road at the Peddie School. He knew he could be an impact player at the next level, and he had plenty of Division I offers to show that others knew it as well. He just couldn't picture this place because he had no idea where Princeton was.

Yes, the Princeton that stands all of 11 miles from Peddie.

"It's a little embarrassing, but I didn't even know Princeton was in New Jersey," he said. "I didn't figure it out until I started getting recruited, but I figured out how big this opportunity was for me. Princeton was the option that could change my life, my family's life, and then my community's life on top of that. I saw the opportunity, I saw the level of football, I saw it as a good opportunity for me to come and change my life."

All freshmen have to battle for playing time, but Wedderburn and his classmates had the unique situation of having fifth- and sixth-year seniors in the locker room following the COVID pandemic. He joked that he felt like the backup to the backup in JV games at times, but he took advantage of two strong mentors to help him find his way in current Indianapolis Colt Jalen Travis '24 and All-Ivy honoree Nick Hilliard '25.

"Those guys are great players and great individuals, so they were two people I looked up to," Wedderburn said. "I would ask for help in classes, with football, or anything that I was dealing with socially."

That duo helped him set his foundation as an offensive guard, which is paying dividends now. The coaching staff moved Wedderburn to tackle that first offseason, where he would play in 18 of 20 varsity games between his sophomore and junior seasons. He says his biggest jump came in spring ball during his freshman year, when he decided that nobody would outwork him, and he felt like he finally started to prove himself as a key piece to the offense.

That work would lead to plenty of snaps over the last two seasons, but it didn't turn into as many victories as he or his teammates expected. There were plenty of factors involved, but none of them matter today. He did credit a shift in mindset after 2024 leading to a highly productive offseason for the Tigers, who will look for their first win of the season Saturday at Lafayette.

"We're playing with a chip on our shoulder," he said. "You keep that in mind throughout the offseason, and you come back with something to prove."

Wedderburn has been a leader both in and out of the locker room. Besides encouraging his younger teammates, he is an active leader in the Black Student-Athlete Collective (BSAC), which serves as the liaison between students, coaches, and the athletic department staff to ensure that student-athletes of color are fully heard, supported, and successful. Wedderburn enjoys the fact that he can both represent his team and advocate for its needs as part of the BSAC.

He has shown leadership in action as well. Following two years at tackle, he moved back to the guard position in the offseason to fill a need for the offense, and he once again put in the work required to excel at the position.

"It's not as easy as it sounds to move around," he said. "One position has different aiming points, different kind of techniques and different ways to get out of your stance. I saw it as a challenge and I took it on."

Surace, a former All-Ivy offensive lineman himself, has been impressed with Wedderburn's skill and versatility at both spots.

"Jaden has been an outstanding offensive lineman who has shown the versatility to play both tackle and guard in his career," Surace said. "He not only has terrific size and strength, but he has very good footwork and balance."

A Law, Politics, and Economics major at Princeton, Wedderburn sees a future involving a masters degree and a potential career in law and public policy. His present is focused on protecting the senior quarterback duo of Kai Colón and Blaine Hipa to ensure they can lead a more productive offense this fall.

"It's extremely important that we protect them," he said. "It plays to their confidence and comfort in the pocket. It allows them to have their time and let the receivers get open. Everything starts with the offensive line. One of the best things about us is the way we've been rotating with the ones and twos, we know that whoever is in the game, we can perform to the best of our ability."

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