Vikings Sports Now has some recruiting news for a member of the Hopewell HS football team.
This morning, Hopewell sophomore running back Nasir Wade received an offer from Kent State University. This becomes the 3rd D-1 offer for Wade, with the first two coming from Buffalo and Akron.
HC Mark Carney took over at Kent State last season and made huge improvements to the program in his first season, winning 5 games. Keep in mind, the previous two seasons, Kent State won a total of 1 game. Carney definitely has that program going in the right direction.
Possibly adding a huge talent like Wade would be a huge addition for Carney and Kent State.
IMO, Wade (5’9″, 170-pounds) is one of the Top 10 returning running backs in all of the WPIAL, regardless of classification. Very few players have the breakaway speed, ability to cut on a dime and capability to run between the tackles or off tackle like Wade.
In his first season at Hopewell, Wade totaled over 1,900 all-purpose yards along with 19 touchdowns. On the ground, ‘Bruiser’ carried the ball 125 times for 1,352 yards, while also collecting 365 receiving yards and 200+ yards on kick and punt returns.
Defensively at safety, Wade made 3 interceptions and recorded 2 defensive touchdowns (fumble recovery and a pick six).
The most intriguing aspect to his game from college coaches has to be his ability to go the distance every time he touches the ball.
Consider the fact that Wade averaged 11.2 yards per carry and 15 of his 19 touchdowns were from 45+ yards and 10 of his 19 were from 65 yards or more.
Bottom line is that he’s a human highlight waiting to happen.
The visibility that he’ll receive this coming season from playing in this Hopewell offense and sharing the backfield with quarterback James Armstrong will no doubt increase his visibility with Power 4 coaches and eventually land him a Power 4 offer(s).
This spring, Wade will work to increase his speed while being a member of the Hopewell Vikings HS Track and Field team and work with HC Jeff Brunton.
Wade tells me that he’ll be making upcoming spring visits to Virginia and Western Michigan, while taking part in a Prep Red Zone Showcase in West Virginia.
VSN also wanted to give a shoutout to Hopewell offensive coordinator Zach Rosa, who dialed up all the right plays and was able to do a near impossible job of getting everyone touches.
*Riverside’s 3rd drive ended up being a 7-minute drive but in the end, Hopewell kept them out of the endzone. The Panthers converted a 3rd and 19 as they ran for 66 yards down inside the Hopewell 10-yard line. That was their only big play of the game. However, the defense stepped up as on 4th and Goal from the 3-yard line, Bokor sniffed out a WR screen and came up with a tackle for loss.
*Riverside’s 5th drive lasted one play as Tafkov made a diving interception at midfield.
*Hopewell got the ball to start the second half and took just 3 plays to score as Armstrong threw a strike to Cameron, who then ran for 31 yards. Next play, on a designed run, Armstrong ran for 23 yards up the left sidelines down to the Riverside 1-yard line. Tafkov then got rewarded for his tremendous game as he took the handoff and powered his way in from the 1-yard line, Hopewell led 42-0.
*Still in the 3rd quarter, because Riverside had their starters in, Hopewell kept some of their first team players in it resulted in the final touchdown of the game as Armstrong hit Cameron up the seam with a perfectly placed 31-yard TD.
