We knew it would be an adjustment for second overall pick Zach Wilson, going from the relative low stakes of BYU to the bright lights of the Big Apple. So what’s been the biggest change for the rookie quarterback, now that he’s had a few weeks to get accustomed to his new surroundings? Wilson has come to find Jersey drivers are a much fiercer breed than what he’s used to back home in Utah.
Anyone who’s ever had the privilege of getting honked at or flipped the bird on the Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway knows precisely where the 21-year-old is coming from. “There are definitely some aggressive drivers here, that’s for sure,” said the Jets newcomer in what will surely go down as the understatement of 2021. “Getting used to that, getting cut off about everywhere you go.”
Wilson’s first impressions of the state, at least from a driving vantage point, are spot on, though his assertion Jersey is a “calm place” with mild traffic just tells you he’s never been caught on the dystopian hellscape known as I-95 in rush hour.
Slowly but surely, Wilson will learn the ins and outs of New Jersey, indulging in pork rolls (or Taylor Ham, depending on the town), Springsteen and the guilty pleasure of having someone else pump your gas. But unfortunately, he’ll also have to navigate the state’s proud collection of horn-blasting, brake-slamming, non-turn-signaling maniacs shouting obscenities no Mormon would dare utter, all while carrying the unenviable burden of turning around a tortured franchise seeking its first playoff appearance in over a decade.
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