Photo courtesy of: Jared Wayne
A local football player has found success south of the border. Jared Wayne, a Peterborough native and Adam Scott alum, just wrapped up an amazing season with the Pittsburgh Panthers, a Division I school in the NCAA, picking up three touchdowns in their final regular season game last weekend.
Wayne says it was a great way to end the season, especially with some family in the stands watching him.
The wide receiver had 11 receptions in that final game, for 199 yards, including a 66-yard reception. Wayne also averaged 91.5 receiving yards per game this year, which was the second most in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), while finishing the season with a total of 1012 yards.
The Panthers play out of Acrisure Stadium, which is also the home of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, where they average over 45,000 fans per game, something Wayne says he looks forward to with every home game.
Although there have a been a handful of Peterborough football players who have had success in their careers, like Brad Sinopoli and Greg Knox to name a couple, nobody has had the stateside success that Wayne is having right now.
In fact, he’s been so impressive as of late that he’s now on the NFL’s radar and will have to make the tough decision of whether to enter the draft or return to Pitt for his senior year. A decision he says if one of the hardest he’s ever had to make. With the 2023 NFL draft scheduled to begin on April 27th, Wayne has some time to consider his options before making that difficult decision.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Wayne family. Jared’s father Patrick played eight seasons in the CFL, mostly in Ottawa for the Roughriders, where he was one of their premier linebackers. His uncle Clint was also in the CFL, winning a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders in 2000.
To hear the full conversation with Jared Wayne, click the link below.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)
