Editor’s note: Throughout this fall without Pac-12 football, the Star will interview the participants in some of the Arizona Wildcats’ most memorable games.
“NFL player moonlights as substitute teacher” could be the premise of the hot new Netflix series you haven’t heard about yet.
Or it could be the life former Arizona Wildcat Trevin Wade was leading when he played in the league.
“In the offseason — people don’t know — I would come home, and I would be a substitute teacher,” said Wade, who played in the NFL for four-plus seasons after starring at Arizona from 2008-11. “I wanted to help younger kids. I wanted to teach.”
Wade majored in economics and personal finance at the UA before getting his master’s in secondary education at Grand Canyon University. He subbed at different high schools in Gilbert before taking a job teaching math and coaching football and girls basketball at Gilbert High School.
(Wade’s wife, former UA track standout Courtney Hayes, is from Chandler. The couple have three children: Savannah, 4; Maverick, 3; and Zoey, 10 months.)
Then Wade’s football past invaded the present. He received a call from UTEP head coach Dana Dimel, who had helped recruit Wade to the UA out of Round Rock, Texas, in 2007. The former Arizona assistant recruited Wade again. He became the Miners’ cornerbacks coach in February. UTEP opens its season Saturday against Stephen F. Austin.
Wade made his UA debut on a strange, record-setting night at Arizona Stadium in 2008. After redshirting in ’07, Wade came off the bench to snag two interceptions in Arizona’s season-opening, 70-0 demolition of Idaho — the latest piece of UA football history we explored while the Pac-12 season is on hold.
Wade, 31, discussed that game, playing for the Stoops brothers, the unsatisfying ending to his NFL career and other topics with the Star. The conversation has been lightly edited for context and clarity.
You had two interceptions in your Wildcats debut. Did you think college football would be easy?
A: “I did not. But a funny story is, that year in training camp I told everybody that I was gonna get garbage time and get interceptions. Everybody just laughed at me, and it happened.”
What was it like to play for Mike and Mark Stoops?
A: “They’re two different people. I loved Mark Stoops, just because he was big on the details and teaching you how to do things right. And just showing you that when you do things right, good things happen. I still talk to him today.
“Our strength coach was Corey Edmond. He was kind of like that father figure for all the guys. He’s with Mark Stoops at Kentucky. I used to go there in the offseason to work out with him and then talk with Mark. I loved him as a coach. I was really sad when he left (Arizona), because I felt like I could have been even better than what I was.”
What about Mike?
A: “I loved playing for him because it was just strictly business. He would tell you things that you would think (were) crazy. For instance, if we were in an all-out pressure, and there’s no safety help over the top, he would tell you to blitz — as a corner. You’re just thinking in your head like, ‘No way, I’m not doing that.’ And the play that he called out happens. He’s just so smart.
“He tells you to do something, you don’t do it and then he blows a gasket. I think that was the misconception with him for the fans. You’d always see Mike jumping and yelling and hollering. People are just like, ‘Oh man, he’s just all into his players, he’s always yelling at them.’ From his point of view, he’s telling you exactly what to do to put you in the best position. And when you don’t do it, he gets frustrated.
“I definitely understood how he felt. He was super competitive. He was never just like, ‘Oh, it’s OK.’ He was always trying to get the best out of you. I really appreciated that.”
You played for four-plus seasons in the NFL, including the 16 games with the Giants in 2015 and ’16. Then you got cut by the Ravens before the ’17 season. Did you realize your playing career was over at that point?
A: “I actually (wanted to keep) playing. When I was with Baltimore, at the end of preseason, I was rated No. 3 out of all cornerbacks (per Pro Football Focus), so I didn’t really understand when I got cut.
“I actually played that whole preseason with torn ligaments in my foot. After being cut, it was hard to get back healthy enough to go do the tryouts and workouts for teams. So then you sit out a year trying to get back healthy. And it’s just hard to come back when you’re 29 or 30.
“So at that point, I just kept working out, because some of my old coaches ended up getting picked up, one at Jacksonville, one with the Chiefs. I was just staying ready in case they had an injury. Unfortunately they didn’t have any, so that was that.”
It doesn’t sound like you were ready for it to end.
A: “I definitely wasn’t ready for it. I did my best to get ready for the transition by substituting and then getting my master’s. But because that preseason I played so well, I just thought I had a few more years. (That) really took a toll on me.
“Now I’m content with it. But the last two years it was really hard for me to accept the fact that I was done, because I know I could still play.”
When you were substitute-teaching, did the students know you were an NFL player?
A: “They usually didn’t, because I’d never tell them. Somebody just figures it out, whether they were a Giants fan or a Wildcat fan. One person figures it out, and it just spreads like fire in the school.”
What has it been like to be a college coach?
A: “It’s been really cool. It’s been different being on the other side of it. I just see things that maybe other coaches won’t see, or players don’t see. It’s pretty cool to give that knowledge to the guys.
“And then outside of football, I just really want to teach the guys about real life. If you don’t make it to the league, what are you gonna do? Are you preparing yourself for after college when you’re in the real world and the bills start and they don’t stop?
“Some things might not go your way. (It’s about) being prepared. So I always tell them, ‘I’m not saying have a plan B, but have two plan As.’ ”
Coaches and players have had to make a lot of adjustments because of the pandemic. How would you describe that experience?
A: “It’s been kind of hard with the Zoom meetings. I’m still dealing with young men that are like 17 to 20. It’s like, ‘Hey, you can’t be walking or driving and doing a Zoom. You need to be home, paying attention.’ Some guys will mute their screen or turn their video off, and I’m like, ‘No, turn your video on, so I know you’re paying attention.’ So that part’s been a little hard.
“And then wearing the mask all day is just weird. People can’t hear you. You can’t hear them. But we’ve been making the best out of it, and I think we’ve been getting some pretty good production out of the guys.”
Doing Zoom calls from home with three little kids had to be chaotic.
A: “It was madness. But we figured it out.”
