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Barringer’s (Newark, N.J.) Zamar Wise solidified himself as one of New Jersey’s top quarterbacks in the 2019 class as he earned MVP honors Sunday at the National Underclassmen Combine’s 3 Kings Quarterback Camp and Competition – East Coast. Held at Parsippany high school, the camp featured some of the top quarterback talent throughout the region, putting them through various drills and competitions for upwards of five hours — as the camp spanned from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Following the camp, NJ.com caught up with NUC founder, president and CEO Dave Schuman for a breakdown of Wise, whom he considers the top quarterback at his event.
“He’s got a great arm. He’s unbelievably accurate,” Schuman said. “When that ball comes out it slides out of his hand and it’s on target. The last half of the day is a lot of competition. We do like five different drill sets that they compete in. And I think he was top three in four of the five drills. And he was No. 1 in both accuracy drills. So he was really good. He gets the ball there with great velocity. He’s athletic, he’s got nice size (measured 6-3, 182).”
Schuman also raved of Wise’s coach-ability and knack for making corrections on the go.
“He really takes to coaching well, too,” Schuman said. “As you’re going through it and you’re showing him things that he can work on to get better, he really kind of takes to that and continues to improve. So I thought he was just really really a guy completely under-served in the recruiting space. I don’t know his academic situation or anything like that, but as far as his ability he is no doubt a scholarship quarterback. If he’s not at the highest of highest levels, which he might be, he’s definitely a division 1 level guy.”
Schuman is as impressed with Wise as any sophomore quarterback he’s seen this year. And a lot of that has to do with his poise, despite not attending many camps in the past.
“I just think he’s got a great way about him. He’s calm, he’s cool, he’s collected and he just approaches things really well. But I wasn’t surprised. When he came in there, he looked the part of a Division 1 quarterback,” said Schuman. “And there were some really good quarterbacks there, too. But as he started to feel his way through, it was really cool to see somebody generate that confidence as he’s realizing, hey, I could end up being the top guy. And as he started going through it, he just got better and better because of that.”
Wise is a pro-style quarterback who can also run, coming off of an explosive sophomore campaign where he generated 1,489 passing yards and 15 TDs (to only five INTs) on 62 percent passing, and 540 rushing yards with five additional scores on 61 carries. He also converted six two-point conversion attempts.
Already a two-year starter, Wise had just as explosive a season as a freshman in 2015, throwing for 1,898 passing yards and 18 TDs (to only six INTs) to go along with 119 rushing yards and two additional scores. Wise trains throughout the off-season at the Lucien Pass Academy and plans to continue to prove his worth competing at camps this summer.
Although he has yet to field his first offer, he’s being recruited by Rutgers, Penn State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Temple and a number of other Power 5 schools throughout the region.
Notre Dame could potentially get in on the action as defensive coordinator Mike Elko is expected to visit Barringer this week to inquire more about Wise, who has also received camp invites from Florida State and Clemson.
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