Brookover: Wentz ready to dig right in
Carson Wentz admitted to being antsy. It was his first day at his new job and he wanted the playbook.
Carson Wentz admitted to being antsy. It was his first day at his new job and he wanted the playbook.
While the Eagles' projected starter, Sam Bradford, holds out for seemingly more job security, you wonder if his projected replacement will be able to hold out until the team stages its minicamp for rookies in two weeks.
Asked what he'd be doing now that he had navigated his way through the long draft process that led to his second overall selection by the Eagles on Thursday night, Wentz did not hesitate with an answer.
"Yeah, keep getting myself ready," he said with an infectious amount of energy. "Kind of get back to what I've been doing the last couple weeks. Just got to get myself ready and dive into that playbook if they allow me to. I'm antsy. I'm antsy and I'm ready to go."
His desire to have that playbook was a recurring theme throughout the early stages of his introductory news conference at the NovaCare Complex and it made you want to find head coach Doug Pederson and say, "For God's sake, give the man the playbook already."
It also made you wonder a little about the patience Wentz is going to need while waiting his turn to be the starting quarterback, but it was easy to understand how Pederson and Howie Roseman instantly fell in love with the quarterback from North Dakota State.
"I'm not exactly sure when I'm getting [the playbook], but I know once I do I'll be diving in right away," Wentz said. "Through this process, I've made a couple of jokes with some people. I'm like, 'I'm kind of going crazy. I have no playbook.' I'm watching film and I don't even know exactly what to watch for. I'm not reading defenses quite the same because I don't have a playbook, so I'm fired up to get a playbook and to dive right in."
By the end of his 15-minute session, you felt like you knew more about Wentz than you did about Bradford after a full season in Philadelphia. There is nothing that says professional athletes have to be revealing or that it makes them good people or bad ones. But it was immediately clear that Wentz is comfortable in his own skin.
Based on the first impression, it is not a stretch to think that the locker room will one day belong to Wentz and that he will be universally admired by his teammates. These things take time, but they also take a certain kind of personality and Wentz has that.
"If I'm not the best at something, it kind of ticks me off and I want to work my tail off to be the best," the 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback said. "It's also kind of my upbringing. My parents and my older brother always pushed me. I always was competitive with him and I just hate losing. It's just kind of how I'm wired and hopefully I can bring that to Philadelphia."
When asked about who he modeled his game after, Wentz hit all the right chords. He loved Brett Favre's passion. He is fascinated with how Tom Brady dissects a defense. He admires Cam Newton's energy, enjoyment of the game and ability to make plays. He marvels at Aaron Rodgers' ability to extend plays and command the entire field.
"Those are all things I kind of want to implement into my game, but I really want to be my own player, too," Wentz said.
When his initial news conference was completed, Wentz went through a series of one-on-one interviews with all the local TV stations and then he made a long walk through the NovaCare Complex parking lot to the building that houses the print media. There, he conducted one final interview. It was 22 against one and, again, Wentz displayed his remarkable aplomb.
He talked about his growth spurt during which he sprouted nine inches from his freshman year to his senior year in high school.
"It was new clothes all the time," Wentz said. "It was kind of annoying."
On a Saturday off in North Dakota, you're most likely to find the Eagles' newest quarterback hunting or spending time with his friends, family and dog.
"You're not going to find me at the club," he said. "You're not going to find me doing those things."
Wentz said he used to watch the guys playing at the next level of college football and was convinced he could compete against them.
"Yeah, absolutely I knew I could," he said. "Obviously I didn't regret where I ended up. I walked out of there with five national championships. No regrets with that. But I'd see [the higher level], I was like, 'There's no reason I couldn't be doing that.' "
The Eagles obviously agreed with him and after listening to Wentz on his first day as an Eagle, it was easy to understand why. None of that means he is going to become a great NFL quarterback, but it's obvious he is entirely focused on that direction and destination.
Now if they'd just give him that playbook.
@brookob