After moving up in NFL recruiting over the fall, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson seemed to help himself a little more on Friday on his professional day. While the Jets are evaluating whether to select the gunslinger with choice # 2 and move on with the choice of former No. 3 Sam Darnold, here are six things you may not know about Wilson:
1 If Wilson goes to New York, his family will have no problem getting from Utah to MetLife Stadium. His uncle, David Neeleman, is the founder of JetBlue, among other airlines.
two Wilson was originally committed to Boise State, but ended up switching to BYU because he wanted to play closer to home. Cougars play about 30 miles from where Wilson grew up in Draper, Utah, and Wilson is part of a large family – his grandparents have seven children, 36 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren, according to Deseret News.
3 Wilson is of Hawaiian descent and his middle name is Kapono – which means “fair”.
4 Prior to his first year, Wilson made 10-hour trips to Southern California to work with his quarterback tutor, John Beck, according to Peter King of NBC Sports. When COVID-19 canceled BYU’s spring training, Wilson stayed in California for a while and worked for DoorDash on Saturday nights to help pay for gas and expenses, King reported.
5 Wilson may be BYU’s biggest star since… Jimmer Fredette? And the former college basketball sensation has some admiration for Wilson. “When I grow up I want to be [Wilson], ”Fredette tweeted in November, after Wilson led No. 9 BYU to a 51-17 victory over No. 21 Boise State.
6 What do you think of this for hand-eye coordination? Wilson recently started juggling “and he dominated him,” Wilson’s brother Josh told Deseret News.