LAMONT WADE THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF
After two difficult seasons, the former Clairton High superstar hopes to put his skills and maturity to use this fall, most likely as a starter at safety
TUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. hough he doesn’t pay much mind to it, there’s a metaphorical clock of which Lamont Wade is well aware, with each passing second ticking loudly in the background. College can be a blissful blur for anyone, even for football players whose lives are planned on a minute- by- minute basis. The wide- eyed freshman who once entered school with dreams and apprehensions quickly becomes the wily veteran on whom others lean and from whom much is expected.
As he prepares for his junior season at Penn State, it’s a transformation Wade is experiencing and processing in real time. While he still possesses the talent of one, no longer is the Clairton graduate the five- star newcomer with boundless, but unproven potential. By his own admission, Wade’s career hasn’t gone as he envisioned, with two relatively quiet seasons.
In the days leading up to a new season, there’s not only hope for Wade, but valid reasons for it. Benefitting from two years of experience, the safety enters the Nittany Lions’ 2019 campaign feeling as good and prepared as he has in his career, sensing an opportunity to secure a starting role.
After biding his time, it’s a chance for Wade to boldly and irrefutably remind the college football world what he’s capable of achieving.
[ Lamont Wade is] closer than he’s ever been to reaching his potential.” — Brent Pry, Penn State defensive coordinator
“It is the best version of myself, mentally, physically and every aspect,” Wade said earlier this month at Penn State’s media day. “It’s going to show.”
With the graduation of Nick Scott, the only player listed ahead of Wade at one of the safety positions on the final depth chart of last season, there’s an opening for Wade. It would represent the logical next step in a career that still holds so much promise, even if it required a good deal of patience and adaptability to get to this point.
Wade arrived at Penn State in 2017 as about as coveted a prospect as there could be. After a decorated career at Clairton, he was the 11th- best player nationally in the 2017 recruiting class according to Rivals. com, the highest such ranking a WPIAL or City League player had achieved since Terrelle Pryor in 2008, and received scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan. He selected Penn State, where, as a freshman, he provided glimpses of what he could become, appearing in 12 games at cornerback and on special teams, and earning honorable mention Big Ten all- freshman honors.
Last season, however, that rise plateaued, if not dipped. Though he appeared in each of the Nittany Lions’ 13 games, he was moved to safety from cornerback, where he excelled in high school, forcing him to both wait behind older starters and acclimate to different requirements.
“He wasn’t getting all the reps, he wasn’t on the field all the time,” said Wayne Wade, Lamont’s cousin and his coach at Clairton. “That can be a hard adjustment for any kid. I think he really handled last year fairly well. But going into this year, I think he has matured now to where he kind of understands the position now and you’re starting to see the old Lamont — comfortable on the field playing, flying around and making plays.”
Even if his wait made sense — Penn State coach James Franklin brought in top- 25 recruiting classes each of his first three years, meaning even someone as ballyhooed as Wade would have to compete against similarly talented, and sometimes older, players for time — it didn’t necessarily make it easy to endure. In January, Wade entered his name in the NCAA’s newly created transfer portal before eventually withdrawing from it later that month after conversations with family and coaches as well as some personal deliberations.
It was a move reflective of a player who, while patient, was occasionally frustrated.
“It can be extremely difficult,” Wade said. “That’s why a lot of people don’t make it. That’s why a lot of people don’t make it to where they want to get. That’s why a lot of people don’t achieve their goals because it’s hard for them to be patient. It’s hard for them to wait their turn. It’s hard for people to do stuff like that. I feel like I’ve done a good job at that. You reap what you sow.”
From hardship, however, came growth. Whether it’s Wade himself saying it or someone close to him doing so, the word “maturity” invariably arises. It wasn’t that he was previously mentally or physically immature, but enduring the adversity he did in his first two years at college has helped morph him into a different kind of player, one armed with a reshaped perspective and approach to the game. The father of a 2- year- old son, Wade has also embraced a heightened sense of responsibility in his life, realizing he now plays for much more than himself.
“Wade is playing his
best football right now,” Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry said. “He had a great winter, a really good spring, had a good summer. I mean, he’s closer than he’s ever been to reaching his potential.”
“The kid has talent,” Wayne Wade said. “He has ability. That’s going to show on the field. I think it’s more or less him getting comfortable. I don’t think he feels like he has anything to truly prove. He’s getting the opportunity to play. Now, he just has to make the plays.”
There’s still work to be done, as no starting role is guaranteed on a preseason top- 20 team. Wade will have to compete with seniors like Garrett Taylor and new arrivals like Jaquan Brisker — a juniorcollege transfer and Gateway graduate with whom Wade played 7- on- 7 ball back when the two were in high school — but he’s well- positioned to get to the place he wants.
Personally and scholastically, Wade has come a long way from where he was 24 months ago, something that will be even more evident this spring when he receives his undergraduate degree. On the field, he’s just as eager to show how much he has progressed and evolved.
“I probably would have told him a million things, but that’s what life is about,” Wade said when asked about what advice he would have given to the freshman version of himself. “That’s what life is for. Things change for the good and for the bad, but it’s all for a reason at the end of the day. I really wouldn’t even want to tell myself anything. I had to figure some stuff out on my own. That’s the best way to figure it out.”