Unearthed college video proves Yankees' Luke Weaver has always been the same wild man

Once upon a time, New York Yankees firebreathing closer Luke Weaver wasn't even a closer! I believe that long-ago time is known colloquially as "August."

Weaver's journey from top prospect starter to struggling young MLB arm to converted reliever to short reliever to postseason weapon has been a bumpy ride, but the right-hander likely didn't let any of the slings and arrows faze him too much. After all, anyone who's ever watched a Weaver interview knows the man is a walking soundbite, whether he knows the word "inkling" or not.

As it turns out, Weaver's quirkiness isn't from a faucet he turned on once he reached the New York spotlight. A recently unearthed video proves that Weaver was the same quote machine during his time as a top draft prospect with the Florida State Seminoles.

Before he was a Cardinals rookie or a key piece of the Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt trade or a Yankees flyer, he was a certified goofball -- as well as someone who had trouble acknowledging that he was even a quote-unquote "pitcher." Take a moment, if you will, to walk through Weaver's World.

Yankees closer Luke Weaver's 2014 Florida State video is (predictably) hilarious

The long ago hype matches Weaver's current reality; though the Yankees have overused him a bit in recent weeks, they wouldn't have survived the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals without him. His ninth inning in Game 1 may someday get lost in the shuffle of a lengthy postseason, but he turned an up-and-down roller coaster ride with the most lead changes in postseason history into a 1-2-3 low-stress ninth, including a beautiful called strike three on Bobby Witt Jr.

Is he the game's greatest current reliever? MLB Network thinks so, and that's good enough for us. He's certainly the most closer-y closer, in terms of piling up the quirks, a reality that nobody foresaw back in August. Not even Weaver.

But, just know that while watching Weaver look calm, cool, and collected, a loud screech is always about one second away from escaping his throat. This throwback video just confirms what we knew all along: there's something wild below this wiry dude's surface, just waiting to bellow.