Carson Wentz: Soaring with the Eagles - Softcover

Davenport, Turron

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1629375934 ISBN 13: 9781629375939

Verlag: TRIUMPH BOOKS, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

In less than two NFL seasons, Carson Wentz's impressive leadership, strong arm, and winning personality have made him the most popular Eagle since a young Donovan McNabb. Carson Wentz: Soaring to the Top is the ultimate tribute to the quickly-ascending quarterback taking Philly by storm. Including dozens of full-color photographs, fans are provided a glimpse into Wentz's superb play early in his career, as he leads the franchise back to contention for an ever-elusive Super Bowl triumph. This keepsake also explores Wentz's charitable endeavors off of the field, and looks ahead to where he could one day stack up among legendary Eagles' names like Jurgensen, Jaworski, Cunningham, and McNabb.

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Turron Davenport covers the Philadelphia Eagles as lead editor and reporter for USA Today's The Eagles Wire. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, he also appears as an analyst for NBC Sports Philly.

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Carson Wentz: Soaring with the Eagles

By Turron Davenport

Triumph Books LLC

Copyright © 2017 Triumph Books LLC
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-62937-593-9

Contents

North Dakota's Native Son, 
Rapid Rise Before the Draft, 
Ready to Fly Like an Eagle, 
The QB Incubator, 
Thrown Into the Fire, 
Faith and Football, 
Carson Wentz, "The Hunter", 
A Leader of Men, 
Wentz vs. Prescott, 
A Band of Brothers, 
Dressed to Impress, 
The Dutch Destroyer, 
Suddenly an MVP, 
Spreading It Around, 
Wentzylvania, 

CHAPTER 1

North Dakota's Native Son

Carson Wentz's rise to NFL stardom is as rapid as the growth spurt that he experienced while he was at Century High School in Bismarck, North Dakota. He went from a 5-foot-8 freshman to a 6-foot-5 star senior quarterback.

He played baseball, basketball, and football in high school. As a junior, Wentz did not play basketball so he could concentrate on football. He played basketball once again during his senior year and helped Century win a state championship.

Shoulder and arm problems caused Wentz to play wide receiver as a junior. The shoulder injury came from playing baseball, where he was a three-year starter playing first base.

Wentz used to gather some of his receivers and sneak into the Community Bowl in Bismark and have them run routes for him. He would pick them up in his old 2004 gold Nissan Frontier and drive to an adjacent lot so they could sneak into the stadium and play catch for hours.

On the football field, Wentz was the 2010 North Dakota Class 3A Player of the Year. The all-conference quarterback and defensive back led Century to an 8–3 record and a state semifinals appearance in 2010.

Century High School isn't only known for producing one of the NFL's fastest rising stars. The high school was also attended by 2017 Miss America Cara Mund, along with Wentz.

She mentioned her classmate in her acceptance speech.

"I said, 'If Carson Wentz can do it, Miss North Dakota Cara Mund can become Miss America.'"

Becoming a Bison

Wentz didn't receive a single Division I scholarship offer despite a stellar career at Century High. The decision to stay in the state and become a member of the North Dakota State Bison football team was a no-brainer. Although he played a different sport, Wentz just followed his brother's footsteps.

Wentz's brother Zach was a four-year starting pitcher and infielder for North Dakota State's baseball team. Zach set career records for games played, hits, and doubles. He was a vital part of a 40-win team in 2012.

Playing sports at North Dakota State is a part of life for the Wentz family. His cousin, Connor, was a tight end on his 2013, 2014, and 2015 football teams at North Dakota State.

The Bison won their first FCS championship in Wentz's freshman year. Wentz didn't have a real hand in the team's championship, but the winning habits that he now shows on Sundays grew from seeds that were planted at North Dakota State.

Wentz backed up quarterback Brock Jensen as a redshirt freshman. He threw his first touchdown pass against Prairie View A&M when he was able to enter the game in relief of Jensen. Wentz was a perfect 8-for-8 in that game and finished the day with 93 passing yards in addition to his touchdown throw.

He would have to wait another season to be the starter, as Jensen held onto the job as a senior in 2013. Wentz's best game that season was against Delaware State. He completed 10-of-13 attempted passes for 105 passing yards and a touchdown.

Carrying on the Championship Tradition

Once 2014 rolled around, it was Wentz's turn to take over under center. The responsibility of carrying on the winning tradition for the Bison was placed squarely on Wentz's shoulders.

Their first task was playing against Iowa State, a heavily favored FBS opponent. Wentz was able to efficiently rise to the occasion and come out on top by completing 18-of-28 pass attempts for 204 yards in a 34–14 victory.

Wentz led NDSU to a 15–1 record in his first season as a starting quarterback. He started all 16 games in 2014, completing 228-of-358 passes for 3,111 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Oh, and, for good measure, Wentz was the Bison's second-leading rusher, with 642 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. North Dakota State's leading rusher John Crockett went on to the NFL the next season.

Wentz capped off his junior season with a spectacular performance in the national championship game against Illinois State. He finished the day with 287 yards passing and a touchdown. He also rushed for 87 yards in the win. One of his carries was a five-yard run to give North Dakota State the lead with 37 seconds left in the game. The defense held on to secure a 29–27 win and give the Bison their fourth consecutive national championship.

It was during his fifth year at North Dakota State when things got tough. Wentz had a career game against Northern Iowa when he passed for a career-high 335 yards. The very next week, Wentz suffered a broken wrist, but still managed to finish the game!

The Bison lost to South Dakota, and Wentz was out for the next eight weeks. But he didn't let the injury keep him from having an impact on his team's success.

Wentz worked extensively in the classroom with redshirt freshman quarterback Easton Stick. Wentz was a mentor to Stick just as Jensen had been to him a couple of years earlier.

North Dakota State went on to win the next seven games and earn another shot at the national championship. Wentz returned to practice in December and started the national championship game against Jacksonville State.

His two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown fueled the Bison to their fifth consecutive national title.

Leaving a Legacy

Wentz is only the 52nd NFL player from the state of North Dakota, and only the third from Bismarck. Even though other players have gone on to the NFL from North Dakota State, none took the state by storm the way Wentz did.

North Dakota is Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers territory, but now there are just as many people who watch Wentz's Philadelphia Eagles at Bismarck sports bars on Sundays.

The way the people of North Dakota adopted Wentz as their native son was evident when Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, GM Howie Roseman, and team owner Jeffrey Lurie went there to meet with him at dinner.

Roseman was astonished by the reactions from people when Wentz entered the restaurant.

"He walks into the restaurant, just the impressions people have. It was an interesting moment because we walked into the restaurant and I had to step out for a second," Roseman said during his press conference after selecting Wentz in the NFL Draft. "When I walked back in, I saw the manager and the hostess talking to each other and saying, 'Carson is just the greatest guy. He's always so humble, and he's always so appreciative of all of us here.' They didn't know what we were doing, and it was just — that's the kind of kid he is."

One family traveled more than 1,500 miles from Jamestown, North Dakota, to South Philadelphia to see their favorite player. Chuck and Karen Anderson have been rooting for Wentz since his days at North Dakota State. They wanted to see him in person at Eagles training camp during the summer.

"It's just awesome to be included in all this stuff. It's just great. I get the dream. Once in a lifetime, maybe," Chuck Anderson said to Channel...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: TRIUMPH BOOKS
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1629375934
• ISBN 13: 9781629375939
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar