New WR Jackson Wade talks life at BC
CHESTNUT HILL – While there’s a lot of new names and faces to learn in the wide receiver room, former Florida wide out Jackson Wade is making it easy to learn his name and number.
Wade has routinely made plays and looked crisp in various periods during the first four days of spring practice.
On Tuesday, Wade met some of the local media for the first time since moving to Chestnut Hill. Here’s everything he had to say:
On getting adjusted to BC so far
“I would say it’s been really good so far. Coming in, transferring in, it’s been really good. The football, workouts, school, it’s been really good being here at BC. I love the culture and the coaches here and the players I’m around every day.”
On what made BC the right spot for him
“I would say what made BC the right spot for me was definitely the coaches. That’s the first thing that I was very interested in, like, how they develop the players. Coach O-B, Coach Dailey coming back, just the guys they’ve developed, produced and been around, the guys they still have here…that really was a big emphasis on why I came here.”
On how he’d describe his game
“I would describe by game as I’m very fast, twitchy. I can take off the top of a defense. I can be your guy that sits. I can pick up zones. I can read when zones are out there and pick apart a defense. I can run choice routs. I think I’m the type of guy that’s very versatile, whether it’s deep balls, short balls, 1-on-1s, zone, just get open.”
On what the WR room as a whole & what their strengths are
“I would say it’s definitely…we’ve got a lot of fast guys. We’ve got veterans, we have a few transfers that came in. We’ve got Reed Swanson that came in, big guy that can definitely take off the top. You know, we have a lot of fast guys in the slot. We have a lot of guys that can make this offense really good this year.”
On what it’s been like building bonds with the team
“It’s been really good. We’ve had a lot of team bonding with everything that Coach O-B has implemented. Just being around the guys every day, going to classes with the guys every day, but especially in the locker room, the weight room and out on the field, I mean, it’s been really good. They’ve been a group that’s been like, really inviting since the day I got here and even on my visit when I came here, they were out here. I ran into some of them and they were just really good at like, bringing you in and just helping you evolve to the team, telling you where to go and how to do things.”
On what you get from Mason McKenzie on & off the field
“He’s a great dude. I’d definitely say on the field he’s the ultimate competitor. Like, he loves to compete. He’s not just going to come out here and waste your time, waste anybody’s time, he came here to win and he came here to compete. I love that about him. Off the field, he’s a great dude. I’ve hung out around him. He’s a great dude to be around, funny, cool guy. He just loves football.”
On how much the QB competition can fuel other competition amongst the team
“It definitely is a boost to the team when you know you don’t just have one guy that’s at that spot. There’s multiple guys competing for that spot right now in the spring. Spring’s about getting 1% better every day. We’re coming out here, not to win the ACC Championship today, we’re coming out here to get better each and every single day and those guys are getting better. We have a whole QB room that’s ready to go for the season.”
On if he’s ever been to Boston before this
“No I’ve never been here before, that was my first time on my visit. I love the city. I love the place. I love Boston, it’s a nice place.”
On the weather
“I’m from Georgia. I’m from Gainsville, so it’s definitely a lot different weather. It’s not humid and hot as crap every day. The snow and stuff…I haven’t seen much at all. I’ve seen a little bit in Georgia…three times it snowed.”
On the 1-on-1s vs. DBs & how fun it is
“1-on-1s are definitely fun. It’s competition. That’s what everybody loves. We’re in the meeting room, we’re watching the film watching the 1-on-1s from yesterday, we’re talking. It’s definitely very fun as a receiver and a DB. It’s definitely friendly competition. You get in between those lines, we’re battling it out to see who’s the best and whatnot, get better.”
On if there’s any DB that can get under his skin already
“No. I don’t really try to let anybody get up under my skin. But, there’s some guys out there that are chippy. But, I don’t really let that bother me, it’s all part of the game. Everybody plays that way…I’m not a big trash talker. i’m just going to go out there and do my thing and let it speak for itself.”
On if there’s a collective chip on everyone’s shoulder with a very new roster
“Yes sir. I would definitely say there’s a chip on everybody’s shoulder. I would say, where everybody has transferred in from, I would say we came to BC to win, definitely. But, we came here to change the program and everybody that stayed here, they want to change the program, they want to win here. I would say everybody is definitely playing with a chip on their shoulder.”
On what the message was from guest speaker Zach Allen today
“That’s definitely very cool that he came. That’s a guy that’s in the league. He can pour back into us on what it’s like to be a BC guy or whatever. Just, do the right thing on and off the field and people from BC, they get to the league. Look at the new contract he just got, that’s awesome and that’s amazing for him.”
On joining the program as receivers start to head to the NFL (Zay Flowers, soon Lewis Bond, etc.)
“It’s very good to see that. That’s what you want to see coming in as a receiver. You want to see people that have been produced here. You know, Coach Dailey the receiver’s coach, he came back and he coached Zay Flowers. He coached Bond. Just to have him come back as a guy that’s brought in a lot of talent too, that’s very good and he’s pouring into us every day.”
