We’ve been following a pretty cool thing Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade has been doing. He’s been using the days leading up to the 2021 NFL draft to perform some outreach in his hometown community of Jacksonville, Florida. The campaign is called “Cleats on the Ground,” and we think it’s a beautiful thing.
For a little background, we asked Shaun’s dad Randy how the idea was born and it had everything to do with getting on the ground and in the community to make a difference.
“‘CLEATS ON GROUND’ comes from the saying ‘Boots on Ground’ in the military, meaning you’re truly in the fight,”’ said the elder Wade. “Shaun and I had discussions about his childhood — how athletes, stars, entertainers, and successful people never came in our community. We always had to go find them in a game or event. While Shaun had free time, he wanted to dedicate some time to visit people in his community to show he cares… Just better something that wasn’t done to him.”
Now that’s a young man and family that gets it. My interactions with the Wade family have always been excellent, and it’s a testament to what they believe in, and how Wade was raised.
But back to “Cleats on the Ground.”
Day one consisted of talking to a youth football team. Day two involved visiting some troops in the area, and day three was spent speaking to the Jean Ribault Trojans high school football team in JAX. And as always, his day was encapsulated with video shared to his and his father’s Twitter account.
We’ve been sharing the efforts with you up until now and we’ll continue by sharing part three of a five-day effort that says a lot about who Wade is as a person. Click on the below and watch Wade talk to the team about what to expect in college, what he’ll remember, and more.
Day 3: "CLEATS on Ground" (2of2) pic.twitter.com/PToZT7SREG
— Randy L Wade💯%🐐 f@❌ℹLy….. (@gslsff) April 27, 2021
Look. I know Wade’s NFL stock seems to have fallen from where it was at the end of 2019, but if character means anything in the draft process, someone’s going to be extremely happy by nabbing a guy that has a high ceiling to go with what he’ll mean as a great ambassador for said NFL team.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
