FRISCO, Texas — Fort Smith Northside sophomore Derrick “Deuce” Wise II had a chance to see how he stacked up against other top athletes in the Dallas Nike Football The Opening Regional on Sunday.
The event was Wise’s first taste of competing against some of the nation’s best talent.
“I was kind of nervous at first, but it’s fun,” Wise said.
After the camp, Wise, who’s one of the top in-state prospects for the 2019 class, said he’s confident he’s on par with the others at the regional.
“I think I’m up there with them,” Wise said.
Wise, 5-9, 173 pounds, played running back, receiver and free safety for the Grizzles this past season and rushed 84 times for 580 yards, 5 touchdowns and 10 receptions for 62 yards.
He recorded 33 tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble on defense.
Northside Coach Mike Falleur compared Wise’s football speed to cornerback Tre Norwood, who signed with Oklahoma in February.
“He’s physically gifted and can do a lot of things,” Falleur said. “He’s almost like Tre in the sense..he’s faster on the football field than he is just out running. He’s very intelligent and a hard worker. He doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s a very humble kid. I’ve watched him since he was in the seventh grade. He’s a special player.”
Falleur said Wise is comparable to some of the best players he’s coached. The Grizzles recently tested and Wise made strong strides in the 40 yard dash since last year.
“We timed him the other day in the low 4.6’s,” Falleur said. “That’s come down from a year ago. He was a 4.8 and now he’s in the low 4.6s to mid 4.6s. So he’ll be 4.5 before the year is out. Then next year kind of like Tre all of sudden he’ll pop down into the 4.4s and be that guy that you’ll have a hard time catching.”
Wise and his father visited Fayetteville for Arkansas’ 31-10 victory over Florida this past season and enjoyed spending time with Coach Bret Bielema.
“I like Coach Bielema and his attitude and the way he is,” Wise said. “The way he talks to us and how he acts at practice and he gets involved. He’s just a really cool guy. He shows that he has interest in you.”
He’ll play quarterback in the fall.
“He’s very, very gifted with the football in his hands,” Falleur said. “He just makes people miss."
Wise believes he’ll play running back or safety in college.
“I like defense better because I like hitting,” Wise said.