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He went out of his way to make this point.
The Jets signed an undrafted free agent guard Tristen Hoge out of BYU after the 2021 draft.
He was a teammate of Zach Wilson at BYU.
Hoge did an exclusive interview on the Jets’ website on May 17.
Over the last week, they also did exclusive interviews with undrafted free agents Kenny Yeboah and Hamilcar Rashed.
The reason they were exclusive interviews is they talked only to the team’s website, and not the beat-writers. It’s a gutsy strategy. Some teams might not do this to avoid agitating the beat-writers, but quite frankly, the Jets are a private company, and can do whatever they want.
Getting back to the point that Hoge went out of his way to make. He was asked by newyorkjets.com’s Ethan Greenberg what Wilson was like in the huddle in college.
“I have seen all the doubters out that he doesn’t have leadership capabilities that they are looking for,” said Hoge. “I can attest he does.”
This criticism was clearly irking Hoge, and he wanted to get it off his chest.
One reason some questioned Wilson’s leadership was he wasn’t voted a BYU captain before the 2020 season. He was selected for the team’s eight-man leadership council, but not a captain. The reason he wasn’t selected one of BYU’s four offensive captain, was four older BYU players returned from two-year Mormon missions, and they had been multiple year starters, so they had seniority. It wasn’t related to Wilson’s leadership ability.
The BYU offense was no-huddle, but on the occasions they did huddle, Hoge said Wilson showed strong leadership.
“You could feel [his leadership] in the huddle – [saying] ‘guys, let’s get this rolling’ when we were in a tight spot,” Hoge said. “He’s a great leader and a great man in that (leadership) aspect.”
Obviously time will tell what kind of leader Wilson is on the NFL level.
As for Hoge as a prospect, he definitely has a chance. He was the #1 center prospect in the nation coming out of Idaho, and signed with Notre Dame. He transferred to BYU after his freshman year.
He played right guard for the Cougars the last three years, but missed some games in 2019 with a leg injury, and then in 2020 with COVID-19 and pneumonia. That missed time probably led to him going undrafted.
He’s a good fit for the Jets’ new offense where they use their linemen in a similar fashion schematically to BYU.
You know sometimes, we lose sight about how cool it is for college players, whether they are drafted, or sign as an undrafted free agent, to take an NFL practice field for the first time, in an NFL uniform, at the rookie mini-camp.
Here is what Hoge said about it:
“It was surreal,” Hoge said. “I was talking to all the guys about it. Walking on the field, not being in a BYU jersey anymore, noticing I was in a Jets jersey and Jets helmet. This is something I’m been looking forward to since I was little kid, to be able to go out to a professional practice field and practice, it was incredible.”
May 18, 2021
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