Coach makes case for Jets taking Zach Wilson in 2021 NFL Draft

Discussion in 'Draft' started by Footballgod214, Feb 20, 2021.

  1. Footballgod214

    Footballgod214 Well-Known Member

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    Hey @Brook! Leave this here for a day or so so fans can read it, then tack it on the other 118 page mega thread or move it to the draft forum....thanks!

    Coach makes case for Jets taking Zach Wilson in 2021 NFL Draft

    STEVE SERBY

    Here’s the recommendation from Zach Wilson’s head coach at BYU, to any and all NFL general managers desperate for a franchise quarterback:

    “Draft him, and find out,” Kalani Sitake told The Post. “I recruited him, and I recruited him late, and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. … I’m excited to see where the next stop’ll be for him, because I think he’ll do really, really well there.”

    I’m looking at you, Joe Douglas.

    Since Douglas and the Jets own the second-overall pick in the NFL draft, I asked whether Zach Wilson would have the right temperament for the New York market — in the event that the Texans refuse to trade Deshaun Watson, in the event that the Jets favor Wilson over Justin Fields, in the event that the Jets decide to trade Sam Darnold to reset the financial quarterback clock, in the event Jaguars coach Urban Meyer is not one of the unnamed decision-makers who supposedly prefers Wilson over Trevor Lawrence.

    “I think he’ll be fine,” Sitake said. “He’s not gonna worry about the naysayers. There’s always gonna be doubters, and he’s proven a lot of doubters wrong. But he’s not gonna worry about that stuff, he’s just gonna go out and work hard and do his best, and then he’s gonna have a smile on his face, he’ll handle any kind of pressure that’s thrown at him, and he’s gonna make the most of it.

    “He has this great presence of gratitude and appreciation to everyone that has sacrificed and have helped him get to where he’s at. And so when he gets out there, any fan base that gets him, he’s gonna appreciate that fan base, and he’ll do everything he can to make them happy. That’s just his demeanor. I don’t know any other way to explain it, but basically what you see is what you get, and he’s a good genuine person and he’s gonna be just fine regardless of the market, whether it’s a large city or a smaller place.”

    Zach Wilson may be on the Jets’ draft radar.
    Pete Carroll cautioned back in 2009 that Mark Sanchez might have been better served staying another year at USC, but virtually every college head coach trumpets the beautiful music his quarterback can play in the NFL. Or have you forgotten Clemson coach Dabo Swinney warning NFL teams they would be passing up Michael Jordan if they passed on Watson?

    The challenge of making the Jets’ fan base happy is a gargantuan one after all the cruel teases it has endured post-Joe Namath. That covers a mere five-plus decades.

    Jets fans begin hyperventilating when they read that Wilson has drawn comparisons to Aaron Rodgers as a thrower of the football.

    “I don’t know if you can compare it to Aaron Rodgers. I know he loves the way Aaron Rodgers plays, and idolizes the way he plays,” Sitake said. “He studies a lot of quarterbacks that play in the league right now. The guy’s a very, very advanced student of the game.”

    It’s not by accident.

    “On a football field, he’s a guy that could easily be a coach right now,” Sitake said. “You want a guy to be highly competitive, but not a lot of people are willing to sacrifice and put in the time to prepare like he is.

    “Imagine a player who loves the game of football and when I’m working late nights, he’s here as well,” Sitake added. “And then when I’m watching film, he’ll come in and watch film with the coaching staff and hang out. He lives for ball, that’s what he does, and he’s a great student of the game, and his work ethic’s unbelievable, and his teammates love him.

    “Beyond that, he finds time outside of his responsibilities in football as a student to serve others and to help uplift people’s lives, and reaches out to fans that are struggling and those that are having gone through some hardships, he’s gonna be that guy that’s gonna reach out and try to make the community better with his service. He knows that he has a platform, and he’s gonna utilize every way to make people smile.”

    Of course, Bobby Bonilla didn’t think Mets fans could knock the smile off his face, so there’s that. Wilson’s hometown, Draper, Utah, is a long way from the Big Apple.

    “I don’t think he’s a guy that gets overly excited. … I don’t think he’s gonna be a guy that’s gonna be … the moment’s too big for him, but I also think that he has control over his emotions,” Sitake said. “There’s times that he can be fired up, there’s times that he can get the guys to rally around him, and then there’s times he can put his arm around you and talk to you that way.”

    Sitake doesn’t have one favorite Zach Wilson pass.

    “You look at his incompletions that were thrown deep and some of the incompletions that we had, I thought he put the ball in a pretty good spot,” Sitake said. “He had three interceptions, one of ’em was on a Hail Mary at the end of the half. I think if you look at the deep ball that he throws, not a lot of guys can do that.”

    I asked the coach if his quarterback’s accuracy (33 touchdowns, three interceptions, 10 rushing TDs) was his best trait.

    “To ask me what his best trait is, that’s a difficult question to answer ’cause I think he’s got everything you need in a quarterback — he’s got the work ethic, the IQ, the study habits, the knowledge of the game, he has a presence, the demeanor and the arm strength, then he’s got the leg strength and ability to create space and use his athleticism,” Sitake said.

    Leadership?

    “He connects well with his teammates, connects well with the fans, connects well with his coaches,” Sitake said. “Great leader, guy that we can always count on … but he was doing that since he got here. When he came as a true freshman, he was already a born leader.”

    Toughness?

    “Yeah, he had 10 rushing touchdowns,” Sitake said, and laughed. “There were times I saw him play, and I thought he could play safety, he’s got enough speed and athleticism to do that. I think he’s the whole package.

    “I think the team that drafts him’s gonna be very lucky to him.”

    Are you listening, Joe Douglas?

    Coach makes case for Jets taking Zach Wilson in 2021 NFL Draft (nypost.com)
     
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  2. HomeoftheJets

    HomeoftheJets Well-Known Member

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  3. Footballgod214

    Footballgod214 Well-Known Member

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    This is a pretty good off-season fluff piece, made better by Zack Wilson's HC Sitake. Our job is to get this article and more like them into Urban Meyer's in box. Every turn Urban makes I want him to see another article on how much better Zach Willson will be over Trevor Lawrence. Slowly we can break him down, until one early morning he picks the phone up.....

    "Hi, Joe? This is Urban. So I got a deal for you. Lets swap picks, you get Trevor and we're leaning to Zack. Our only issue is we don't want you trading Sam within our division. We got a deal? Great! I'll send the papers over".
     
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  4. NYJalltheway

    NYJalltheway Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the article. Gun to my head, I'd say he's the most likely week 1 starter next year. I would be ok with that. I really want Watson at any cost, but I'm happy keeping the draft capital, and rolling the dice on Wilson.
     
  5. Jedi mind tricks

    Jedi mind tricks Well-Known Member

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    I wanted the #1 solely bc we wouldn't have to make a choice.
    Feel like we're gonna make a mistake between Fields/Wilson (and I'm not saying I know what the right answer is)
     
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  6. Jonathan_Vilma

    Jonathan_Vilma Well-Known Member

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    Don't doubt your instincts. It's always fun and games when we get a new regime in and it just feels like it's time for a turnaround.

    We're the Jets. We'll take Trubisky while someone ends up with Watson or Mahomes.
     
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  7. K'OB

    K'OB 2021 TGG Fantasy Football Champ

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    This is my biggest fear/worry which then makes me want Watson as a no fail option.
     
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  8. ColoradoContrails

    ColoradoContrails Well-Known Member

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    If we exercise patience with either (or Lance) I don't think any of them will be busts and should become very good. But if we rush them like Darnold it'll be more SOJ and looking at another rebuild in 3 years.
     
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  9. K'OB

    K'OB 2021 TGG Fantasy Football Champ

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    I can see that and agree that if we go rookie I want him to sit and learn, maybe get some garbage time in when we are 3 scores up :)
     
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  10. BudJet

    BudJet Well-Known Member

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    sounds like you have jetitis, if it can go wrong it will go wrong.
     
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  11. NYJFOREVER

    NYJFOREVER Well-Known Member

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    Taking Wilson at 2 is the equivalent to the Bears taking Trubisky in my opinion. It just has the same feel.

    If we’re taking a QB at 2, Fields is the guy.
     
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  12. Rockinz

    Rockinz Well-Known Member

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    If we came out of this draft with TL because Urban prefers Wilson or Fields.. that’s incredible
     
  13. BroadwayAaron

    BroadwayAaron Well-Known Member

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    But a lot of people were well aware that Mitch Trubisky stunk. It's not like Wilson has a hazy outlook from the forecasters. The biggest knock on him is that he wasn't a captain (debunked) and that he isn't a leader (debunked). I'm not even saying the kid is going to be a homerun or that I prefer him to Fields... I'm saying the Trubisky situation comparison is off.

    For the record, I don't really like either of Wilson or Fields to be a franchise QB and I don't think Lance is going to be a good pro period. Jones and Trask, not even worth discussing because they don't fit the style.
     
  14. jilozzo

    jilozzo Well-Known Member

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    geez i though that was going to be about mushrooms.
     
  15. alleycat9

    alleycat9 Well-Known Member

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    of all the options the jets have this or drafting a qb not named lawrence or fields would be the worst option for me. i have serious concerns about each of them and really dont want to deal with yet another high draft pick that ends up being mediocre. mostly because i have no interest in giving him 3 years to figure it out or not.

    i watched him play a bit in college and he never really jumped off the screen for me. the coastal carolina game this past year. he got taken out of his game by a team that was not as talented as his own. he is a hard no for me.
     
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  16. ColoradoContrails

    ColoradoContrails Well-Known Member

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    Interesting that you're so convinced Wilson won't succeed, and basing it on the CC game. He actually was pretty damn good in that game, it was the rest of his team that got handled. He had the first TD pass taken away by a holding call, then the one interception he had was really the result of a no-PI call that should've been - the CC DB was literally tackling the receiver back into the endzone before the ball even got there and there was no call, and then at the end of the game he came up a yard short on a Hail Mary pass. Wilson showed a lot of guts under pressure and nearly carried his team to victory despite all that. I'm not saying he's a slam dunk to succeed - I don't even think Lawrence is - and I get you not wanting to roll the dice on yet another unproven rookie, but Wilson is about as good a gamble as you can get if you want to gamble.
     
    #16 ColoradoContrails, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
  17. boozer32

    boozer32 Well-Known Member

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    Why would Urban Meyer be concerned about Sam Darnold in any division let alone his division? His biggest worry would be getting major flak for not drafting Trevor Lawrence. So Urban you came out of retirement to draft Zach Wilson #1.
     
  18. Footballgod214

    Footballgod214 Well-Known Member

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    it was just a joke....not serious.
     
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  19. boozer32

    boozer32 Well-Known Member

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    Nice reply CC. I like Wilson and I'm, sure the new Jets staff wants him too because this offense is geared for him. Plus right now they have no QB as Darnold is in limbo and Lawrence is off the market (Thanks Adam Gase). Most of what I hear about Wilson is his accuracy that is what we need more than anything. But his coach says he's smart and athletic too. So let's make it happen.
     
    #19 boozer32, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
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  20. boozer32

    boozer32 Well-Known Member

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    Ok my bad I didn't see the sarcasm /s sign in your post.
     
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