Zach Wilson College Career: Everything you need to know

Posted on by Jim Smarts

The New York Jets selected Wilson No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 21-year old started 28 of BYU Cougars’ 30 games during his college career. Wilson finished his career as the Cougars’ youngest freshman quarterback, going 566-837 for 7,652 yards passing and 56 touchdowns with a 162.91 efficiency rating.

What Makes Zach Wilson College Career a Remarkable One?

To his career stat sheet, the versatile quarterback contributed 212 rushing attempts for 642 yards and 15 touchdowns. During the 2020 season, Wilson was one of the most valuable quarterbacks in the nation. In terms of points accounted for (264), passing performance (196.4), and completion rate, the promising signal-caller ended the 2020 season ranked No. 2 in the nation (73.5).

 

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In addition, he finished third in passing touchdowns (33), passing yards (3,692), yards per pass (10.99), and points accounted for each game (22.0); fourth in rushing touchdowns by a QB (10); fifth in passing yards per completion (14.95); eighth in overall offense (328.8); and tenth in passing yards per game (307.7).

Accolades and Recognitions Zach Earned

In 2020, he was named to the Pro Football Focus All-America Second Team. The versatile athlete also earned the Phil Steele All-America Honorable Mention, apart from being named Co-Polynesian College Player of the Year. Furthermore, the Jets quarterback finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting.

In 2020, Wilson achieved all of the following as a team captain:

  • Manning Award Finalist
  • Maxwell Award Semifinalist
  • Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalist
  • Davey O’Brien Semifinalist

PFF awarded him a 96.5 Clean Pocket Score, the best in the nation, and he set a new PFF record with an overall passing grade of 95.5, surpassing Joe Burrow’s 94.9 in 2019.

Wilson shattered the BYU completion rating record, which had been set by Steve Young. He did so by completing 73.5 percent of his passes in 2020 alongside running for 255 yards and completing 10 touchdowns.

Some Quick Stats Before Zach Went to College

Way before Zach Wilson College Career Started, he started preparing his game at the Corner Canyon High School, where, as a senior, he threw for 2,986 yards and completed 24 touchdowns. He did all this alongside running for 752 yards. He was also a 5A MVP and first-team all-state pick.

Corner Canyon advanced to the 5A state semifinals, won the area title, and finished with an 11-1 overall record, thanks to Wilson’s performance. Did you know that the 6 foot-3 inches quarterback ended up being the Utah Mr. Football runner-up?

That’s not all, since as a junior, he threw for 2,708 yards & 20 touchdowns while also running for 539 yards. Not only was Wilson a skillful footballer, but he also participated in varsity basketball. Now, you might ask, who coached Zach during his high school years. Well, it was Eric Kjar.

How did his Relation with the Jets start?

The obsession began in October 2020, when Joe Douglas, the general manager of the New York Jets, got a word from one of his scouts that he must keep an eye on a college junior out west. Since the NFL draft in 2021 was about to happen in six months, this was Douglas’ usual starting point for in-depth tape analysis of future draft picks.

As a result, he watched the BYU-Houston game on Oct. 16, And guess what, the GM didn’t take long to decide on whom he was going to pick. Zach Wilson was all set to be on the roster.