Just a few days before 2007 college football national signing day, Trevin Wade had zero scholarship offers.
Despite a solid high school career, the two-star recruit out of Stony Point High School in Texas garnered little interest and his college football future was in doubt.
With only a couple days left to find a team, a rebuilding Arizona program gave Wade a call. Arizona offered him an eventual scholarship but wanted him to grayshirt his freshman season.
Wade eventually worked to convince Arizona and then-head coach Mike Stoops to redshirt him instead, and the rest is history. The cover corner came out of nowhere his freshman season, picking off four balls. He did himself one better the next season with five interceptions and eventually turned in a solid and surprising Arizona career, which figured to result in him becoming a middle-round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft.
But as was the case in high school, Wade sat and waited. Two days, 244 picks and almost all seven rounds passed, and still no phone call outside of possible free agency destinations.
“It’s déjà vu,” Wade said on Saturday. “It’s college all over again. I didn’t get that big call until two or three days before signing day. I’m in the same position here.”
After a waiting process that Wade described as “horrible” at times, the Cleveland Browns finally called with only seven picks remaining in the draft.
They asked Wade if he was ready to be a Brown.
“Oh yeah, I’m ready,” he answered.
Wade, who has never been to Cleveland, said he was so excited to finally hear his name called that he didn’t catch the name of whoever it was in the Browns organization who called him.
No matter who it was, Wade is ready to work tirelessly, for the second time in his football career, to prove the 31 teams who passed on him wrong.
In fact, Wade said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
”I’m back at square one like when I was a freshman at Arizona … it’s a great feeling,” Wade said. “I’m going to get out there and prove myself and just go crazy.”
Although the Browns haven’t made the playoffs since 2002, head coach Pat Shurmur and president Mike Holmgren have a solid core of talent after drafting running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden with their first two picks.
Wade trained with Richardson and Weeden in Phoenix leading up to the NFL Combine and said he considers them good friends. He can see the potential of this Cleveland team and said he’s “happy to be a Brown.”
But even though his name was finally called, it still doesn’t make sense to Wade why he fell. Sure, he’ll take the positive from it and play with the same “chip on my shoulder” that he did at Arizona.
But the fact that he, Juron Criner, and even Nick Foles to some degree dropped so far baffles him.
“If you look at the production we had, I don’t understand it,” Wade said. “If you look at Nick Foles’ highlights they were all to Juron. Nick is competing with the top quarterbacks in the Pac-12. We had the No. 1 pick this year with Luck and probably the No. 1 pick next year with Matt Barkley. I’ve been going against those players every game and against Nick every practice.”
Yet, the NFL didn’t see enough value in that and Wade’s 5-foot-11, 192-pound frame. But that didn’t hold Wade back at Arizona, and he’s aiming to replicate that blueprint at the NFL level.
“I’m just going to try to get into the rotation,” Wade said. “Everything happens for a reason.”
Wade on Foles,Criner
On Foles to the Eagles: “I think it’s really good. Nick’s behind Michael Vick and sometimes Vick gets hurt so Nick will get a shot.”
On Criner to the Raiders: “Juron I think he’ll be able to play early. That’s a good fit for him.”
Other players’ landing spots
Robert Golden: Pittsburgh Steelers
David Douglas: New York Giants
Paul Vassallo: Arizona Cardinals
Gino Crump: Still waiting
Keola Antolin: Tryout with the Cardinals
Mohammed Usman: Leaning toward Houston Texans
