Exclusive: Jones 3-star TE Dylan Wade announces college decision
Editor’s note: Jones rising senior tight end Dylan Wade has written the following first-person story to announce where he’ll play college football.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Wade is a three-star recruit, the No. 57 tight end in the nation and the No. 169 overall player in Florida on the 247Sports composite rankings. His offers include Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Purdue and Rutgers.
Wade caught 25 passes for 331 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and three touchdowns in 2021. He also recorded 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack as an edge rusher.
The last three months have been crazy.
I thought I was always going to be a hidden kind of guy in recruiting. But then all these offers started coming in. I was like, “Finally.” They finally started to see me and what I can do.
As soon as the offers started coming in, then a lot of the big schools started hitting me up like Miami and Florida State and I took a visit to Alabama. But all those schools came later on.
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I never really thought about playing in college until I first transferred to Jones before my junior year. I knew that Jones would take me to the next level.
Last year, during the season, I made a late switch to my position. I only played five games at tight end, which might be why people didn’t really know a lot about me. Before that, I was playing defensive end and quarterback.
It only took me a day to be right at tight end. I knew the team needed me, so I had to lock in and really focus. Blocking is my favorite part — just being able to put my hands on somebody and drive them down the field.
The most important part for me in in my recruiting is building a relationship with the coaching staff. I don’t want to go somewhere where they don’t know me personally. I don’t want to go somewhere where I have a bad practice or something and they don’t know what’s going on with me.
I found a group of people who I feel like will best benefit me as a football player and a person.
For the next three to four years, I’ll be taking my talents to Maryland.
Maryland just felt like a family to me. The way I clicked with all the coaches and players; it was just welcoming.
The biggest thing was the staff. I got a chance to speak with Ryan Davis, the strength and conditioning coach and he told me there’s more to it than football. He said we would build a relationship and if I ever needed someone to talk to, he was there. It made me feel comfortable.
Coach Miller is a really cool dude. He kept it chill but he’s real, too. Playing for a head coach I can relate to, who grew up with the same stuff, meant a lot, too.
I can just see myself there. I see myself working in the weight room running around on the practice field.
It just a relief. A lot of stress is going away.
I know I’m locked in.
#GoTerps!
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Exclusive: Jones 3-star TE Dylan Wade announces college decision
