After lifting NFL draft tips all fall, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson seemed to be helping himself a little more on Friday in his professional day. As the Jets weigh in they need to select the gunman with selection no. 2 and move on from the former selection no. 3 Sam Darnold, here are six things you might not know about Wilson:
1. If Wilson ends up in New York, his family should have no trouble getting from Utah to MetLife Stadium. His uncle, David Neeleman, is the founder of JetBlue, among other airlines.
2. Wilson was originally committed to Boise State, but eventually turned to BYU because he wanted to play closer to home. The 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 “just.”
4. Prior to his freshman year, Wilson drove 10 hours in 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 stretch and worked at 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 old college basketball feel has some admiration for Wilson. “I want to be great [Wilson]”, Fredette he tweeted in November, after Wilson led BYU’s No. 9 to a 51-17 victory over Boise State’s No. 21.
6. How is this for eye-hand coordination? Wilson recently began juggling “and mastered it,” Wilson’s brother, Josh, told Deseret News.