Ferris State's Xavier Wade on injury return 'I might start crying when I run out there'
GRAND RAPIDS - Xavier Wade looked a little uncomfortable wearing a suit on stage at the GLIAC football media day on Monday afternoon.
He would rather be wearing his Ferris State University uniform in full pads. But the West Ottawa High School grad looked happy, and was easy to smile when asked about the upcoming season.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I might start crying when I run out there for the first time.”
That’s because Wade, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound wide receiver, missed almost the entire 2022 season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
“In the second game of the season, we were getting ready to punt the football,” he said of a win over Lenoir-Rhyne. “The ball is rolling near the 1-yard line and I dive to save it (from going out of bounds). I belly flopped and slid with my hands out. I felt something wrong. After I got the x-rays a few days later, it turns out I tore my labrum.”
It was a tough blow. In just two games, he had six catches for 168 yards. In 2021, he had 43 catches for 793 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He's been as good of a receiver as I’ve ever seen,” Ferris State coach Tony Annese said. “Last year in Week 2, covering a punt, he tore the labrum in his shoulder. So he got a medical (red shirt). So we’re happy to have him (back).”
Ferris State is coming off a 14-1 season and back-to-back Division II National Championships.
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“You can continue to grow or you get complacent and you die,” Annese said. “We’re a team that really focuses on growth. People always say ‘three peat.’ I want to punch them in the mouth when they say that. I want to just focus on the process and continue to grow. Winning one National Championship is obviously a dream. Winning the second is an extraordinary accomplishment. But it's all in the past.”
Watching the Bulldogs march to the championship was tough for Wade, but he was happy for his teammates.
“I was just happy to be a part of that,” Wade said. “Yeah, I didn’t get a chance to be out there making plays. But I was excited to be something that’s bigger than me. But I got to be (at the games) as if I was playing.”
Wade is excited to catch passes from another Holland-area athlete. Carson Gulker, a redshirt sophomore quarterback, is coming off a season where he set the Division II record for rushing touchdowns with a stunning 31 and and a team-best 882 yards rushing. He was the team’s go-to running back/QB on third-down plays inside the Red Zone. But the Zeeland West grad can pass, too. He was third on the team with 701 yards passing and four touchdowns.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Wade said. “Carson can be one of the best quarterbacks to come out of Ferris State in a long time. The plays will open up for him eventually. But he does a good job running the rock. He’s a young leader. He’s a playmaker.”
As good as Gulker is, he likely won’t start again. That nod goes to Mylik Mitchell, who led the team with 1,512 yards passing and six touchdowns.
“We got Mylik, we got Carson, Trinidad (Chambliss) and Zak Ahern from Rockford … so we have a lot of talent,” Wade said of the team's four quarterbacks.
Ferris State opens the season on Aug. 31 when it hosts Mercyhurst.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ferris State's Xavier Wade, West Ottawa grad, battled back from injury
