A Tiger In The Show

Former Tiger quarterback Jared Wells made his big-league debut last weekend for the San Diego Padres.

If that sounds strange -- a QB playing major league baseball -- you have to know the story. Wells was part of a class of over 100 true freshmen who came to ETBU as football players in 2000, when the Tiger football program was resurrected after a half-century hiatus.

At the beginning of the year he was just a face in the crowd. A tall, lanky young freshman just trying to live a dream of playing college football. If I remember correctly, Jared was recruited as a defensive back, maybe a safety, but coaches got wind of his arm and moved him over to quarterback early in the year.

Physically, if everything had worked out just right, Jared Wells would have been ETBU's first real starting quarterback. He had all the tools -- big, strong, and a rocket arm. He was largely learning the position on the fly but he quickly emerged as ETBU's starting quarterback in the first couple of games.

I heard rumors that he could hit 90 and above on the radar gun with a baseball, but never actually saw him pitch. After all, he was here to play football and I don't think had any intention of playing baseball -- if so he never got the chance to show it.

I remember homecoming of 2000, ETBU's first football homecoming in at least 50 years. It was just the second game in the new stadium and there was a huge crowd in attendance. I was walking down from the press box because I had to leave the game early to attend a family wedding. I got down to the area just in front of the Spirit Shop and noticed a hush come over the crowd.

All I could see was a mass of players huddling on the field, nothing else. Somebody's hurt, I said to myself, and kept on walking. It wasn't until Monday that I found out Jared was hurt -- a knee injury. We of course found out later it was season-ending and he would need surgery, the dreaded ACL.

That was it for Jared Wells as ETBU's quarterback -- five games. But he had shown such promise, I really believe he would have been a keeper and been able to put up bigger numbers had his career turn not taken place that day on the Ornelas Stadium turf.

As it turns out, of course, the injury was a blessing in disguise that has obviously turned into a big thing for Wells. He left ETBU in the spring to play baseball at Tyler Junior College, which grabbed him after seeing that gun for an arm that he had. From there Wells transferred to San Jacinto College, which is nationally-known for its baseball prowess.

With his mid-90s heater and body frame, the Padres drafted Wells in the 31st round a few years ago and he made the slow climb through the minor league system. That led to his debut in relief Saturday against Cincinnati, and by all accounts Wells will get every opportunity to stick with the big league club.

I personally haven't had any contact with the young man since he left ETBU. Never even knew he was playing baseball still, much less that he was drafted. His name is still on some of ETBU's career passing records, but those have dwindled with time and more quarterbacks putting up numbers in the eight years of Tiger football.

But there's still a little bit of pride there when we see someone who had a glimpse of ETBU as a student-athlete have so much success. We'll wish Jared Wells the best of luck in his career in the major leagues, and still view him as part of the Tiger family.