The story about how Zach Wilson spent extensive time traveling to Southern California to train with former BYU quarterback John Beck in 2020 has been well-chronicled.
It’s that kind of drive and preparation that apparently has the former Cougar getting himself ready for the NFL in his own unique way.
The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Wilson is one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2021 NFL draft, which runs Thursday through Saturday, and the consensus is he will be the No. 2 overall pick to the New York Jets.
It’s no surprise, then, to hear that Wilson is finding ways to prepare for what is increasingly sounding like his pro career will start in New York. NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala reported that Wilson has spoken with three former Jets quarterbacks about playing in New York.
“Zach Wilson’s story is that he’s a preparer,” Kinkhabwala said on NFL Network late last week. “I talked to John Beck, his quarterback coach who’s known him forever, just a few hours ago, and he was saying how when he was in high school, Zach was preparing to be a college quarterback.
“When he was in college, he was preparing to be an NFL quarterback, and now as it looks like he’s going to the Jets, he’s been preparing to be a Jets quarterback, and to that end, Beck told me today that he has gotten on the phone with Chad Pennington, Josh McCown, and Mark Sanchez to talk about what it means to play for that organization in that environment.”
Pennington played eight seasons for the Jets and was a first-round selection (18th overall), McCown played two seasons recently (2017-18) in New York and Sanchez was the team’s fifth overall selection in the 2009 draft and played five seasons for the Jets.
“That, to me, says that he is trying to eliminate any of the unknowns,” Kinkhabwala said.