Lamont Wade: New Season & New Faces

Early enrollee Lamont Wade says he’s ready to take on the pressure that comes with being a Pennsylvania State Football player.

After winning the Big Ten Championship and suffering a 52-49 loss in Pasadena, California, Penn State football is ready to begin the 2017-2018 season. Ranked No. 5 in the country according to the College Football Playoffs, the football program has been bringing in some of the best players in the country.

At the top of them all is Wade, a 5-star cornerback from Clairton, Pennsylvania.  As a freshman, Wade stands at 5 feet 9 inches and 190 pounds.

Carlton Wade, father of Lamont, said, “He was always one of the guys on the team that stuck out. He was always one of the guys who did all the extra stuff.”

Wayne Wade, the cousin and Clairton High School football coach of Lamont, said he has three things that set him apart: his speed at corner, his patience and his knack to get to the ball while it is in the air.  “It is some of the best I’ve ever coached.  He won’t get nervous, or he won’t get out of a back pedal too early,” Wayne Wade said.

Wade, two-time team captain, returned interceptions for touchdowns in three consecutive playoff games to lead his high school team to the 2016 WPIAL Championship.  In addition, he finished his senior year with four interceptions and had 14 career interceptions.  With these statistics, Wade became the No. 1 cornerback in the 2017 recruiting class.

Throughout his recruiting process Wade received 23 offers, many of which came from Power Five conferences.  The Power Five conferences consist of universities from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference.  Schools like Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, Auburn, Ohio State and Penn State were just a few of the schools that had interest in Wade.

“His commitment was one of the most anticipated, especially for us because he didn’t tell us which way he was leaning,” Carlton Wade said.

“My recruiting process started when I was a sophomore in high school and it was long and stressful,” Wade said.  “It required a lot of thinking involving what I wanted and how far I wanted to be from home.”

After much thought, Wade had finally narrowed down his options to Penn State, West Virginia and Tennessee.  He decided on his school through a video in which he posted to social media December 2016.  The video showed Wade looking at gear from his top schools and ended with him walking out of the store in Penn State clothes.  The video has over 53,000 views on YouTube and close to 400 retweets on Twitter.

Wade said he chose Penn State for many reasons.  For one, it is two hours from his home which made it much more comfortable for both him and his family.  He said that the distance would allow for his family to visit him and come watch him play in the fall without having to worry about a long drive or flight.

“I also chose Penn State because of its coaching stability and the fact that they would allow me to enroll early,” Wade said.

As an early enrollee, Wade has been able to get a head start on not only his playing time, but also his books.  Wade began taking classes in January and started morning workouts and spring practices with the team.

“Enrolling early was the best thing he could have done,” captain Nick Scott said.  “From a player’s standpoint and from a teammate’s standpoint, he is killing it.  He is confident as ever and he is only going up from here.”

Wade said that in order to stand out from experienced cornerbacks like Grant Haley and John Reid, he needs to show that he is a competitor and is a player who adds value to the team.

“The only thing that is difficult is knowing the ins and outs of the playbook,” Wade said.

Scott continued by saying that Wade has been taking reps with the first strings and he is making plays.  “I’m just excited to see his growth.  I think he is going to be one of those guys that really helps contribute his first year here, which we are excited for,” Scott said.

Senior teammates like cornerback Grant Haley and safety Marcus Allen have noticed Wade’s knack for getting to the ball.

Allen described Wade as explosive and said he has an itch to him that will make him a talented player.  Haley said that Wade had gotten his third interception at the April 12 practice, which tied him for the team lead.

At the Blue and White spring game on Saturday, Wade will be able to show the fans what he can really do.  “I can’t wait to play in the spring game.  The atmosphere is going to be different than I’ve ever experienced, but it will help me to be in it before the fall season,” Wade said.

Penn State head football coach, James Franklin, said that Wade still has the confidence they saw in him as a high school player and that he seems to learn well.  “It’s hard as a true freshman to show up in the summer and compete for a job, but the fact that he’s been here, he’ll be so much more ahead,” Franklin said.

“I’m really looking forward to the 2017 football season because I get to experience football at a new level and possibly compete for a National Championship as a first year player,” Wade said.