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Vikings Linked to Rising College QB Prospect

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Zach Wilson

Getty Zach Wilson of BYU is quickly ascending up draft boards and could be in range of the Vikings.

NFL  fans have hopped on their respective tanking bandwagon slogans midway through the season as one of the most highly anticipated quarterback draft classes have several promising future franchise quarterbacks.

Projected No. 1 overall pick, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, has the #TankforTrevor bandwagon. Ohio State’s Justin Fields, who has out-played Lawence so far this season, has the #FailforFields truthers behind him and even North Dakota State’s Trey Lance is projected to be a top-10 pick, ushering in the #LoseforLance camp.

Lawrence, Fields and Lance were touted as the top QB prospects all offseason, however, another name and hashtag has emerged, Zach Wilson of BYU.

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#WinforWilson?

Wilson, through his first eight games, has completed 75 percent of his passes for 2,512 yards, 22 touchdowns and two interceptions, adding eight TDs on the ground. He’s led BYU, an FCS powerhouse, to its first program win over Boise State, earning the Cougars the No. 8 spot in the Associated Press NCAAF rankings.

Wilson, who was relatively unknown before the beginning of the 2020 season, is enjoying a media circus surrounding his play as the 21-year-old is now garnering national attention and increasingly valuable draft stock.

The Vikings, who are projected to land a first-round draft pick in the mid- to late-teens, could be in reach of Wilson, who could slip later in the draft due to the lower level of competition he has faced in college.

KFAN’s Jack Day interviewed Wilson on Thursday about his season and his outlook on the upcoming draft.

Wilson Confident in his NFL Potential

Wilson admitted its been a surprise to held in the same regard as Fields and Lawrence, he asserted that he’s always had confidence he could be an NFL quarterback.

“I felt like being healthy, I was eventually going to make some noise and show people the player I am,” Wilson said. “I haven’t talked to Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields ever — not even sure if they know who I am or anything about me — but it’s cool to be mentioned in the same conversation as those guys they’re phenomenal players.”

Wilson, when asked who he models his game after the most, did not shy away from admitting his fandom for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“I’ve always been a big Aaron Rodgers fan. Love the way he plays love the way he throws the ball. Spent some time with Drew Brees last year just watching him and the way he approaches the game,” Wilson said. “I love Drew Brees as a player, but my respect for him went up tremendously after seeing him out on the practice field. The way that he trains and gets after it was super impressive to see.”

Day raised the point that Vikings fans likely aren’t thrilled to hear his study of Rodgers, however, Wilson added that he didn’t grow up with a favorite football team as he instead grew up obsessing over quarterback play.

“I don’t have a favorite team, but hopefully I will soon,” he said. “I always watch the Packers but it goes to quarterback play, I love Kirk Cousins too — it goes back to what you were saying about the Vikings.”

Wilson has two more games left of the scheduled college football season but could be in line for a bowl game given the Cougars’ success this season.

Click here to watch the full interview.

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Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at trevor.squire@heavy.com and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire

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