Christian Wade, The New Buffalo Bills Running Back?
Christian Wade scores his 1st touchdown with his 1st touch and a sensational 65 yard run.
It’s always nice seeing Brit’s making the grade in the NFL and there is no shortage of British NFL players who have made it and even went on to win Super Bowls, most notably Osi Umenyiora and Jay Ajayi.
What’s amazing is London has its very own NFL academy, which acts as a gateway for players to join and have the ability to join the American college football system.
The NFL Academy, which begins operating in September 2019, will offer student athletes aged 16-18 the opportunity to combine education with life skills, alongside intensive training in the sport under full-time professional coaches.
Supported by Nike and based at Barnet and Southgate College, in North London, the NFL Academy will provide students with pathways into employment, further education and even the potential opportunity to play NCAA college football in the United States.
“The Academy is a first-of-its kind initiative that will deliver against three key elements: education, character development and football,” said NFL UK Managing Director Alistair Kirkwood. “The inspiration for the idea was our long-term partnership with Tottenham Hotspur. As well as playing games at the new stadium, we had a desire to create something meaningful for the community on a year-round basis”.
Brits In The NFL
Below is a list of players that have British heritage and have made the move to play American football:-
A
- Vince Abbott
- Jay Ajayi
- Emmanuel Akah
- Phil Alexander
- Clive Allen
- Jermaine Allen
- Marvin Allen (wide receiver)
B
- H. R. Bankart
- Laurence Bankart
- Dennis Burgess (American football)
C
- Lewis Capes
- Dwain Chambers
- Ken Clark (punter)
- Jack Crawford (American football)
D
- Charles Dagnall
- Mike Dawson (American football)
- Aden Durde
E
- Victor Ebubedike
- Jermaine Eluemunor
F
- Domonique Foxworth
G
- Owen Gill
- Alex Gray (rugby union)
H
- Rob Hart
- Bobby Howfield
- Stephen Hutchinson
J
- Alex Jenkins
K
- Abdul Kanneh
L
- Rhys Lloyd (American football)
- Mick Luckhurst
M
- Scott McCready
- Obi Melifonwu
- Sammy Morris
- Wallace Moyle
O
- Efe Obada
- Lawrence Okoye
- Michael Okwo
R
- Wayne Radloff
S
- Al Saunders
- Christian Scotland-Williamson
- Bill Sewell (American football)
- Tim Shaw (American football)
- Visanthe Shiancoe
- John Smith (American football)
- Martin Smith (swimmer)
- Shaun Smith (linebacker)
U
Osi Umenyiora
W
- Christian Wade
- Menelik Watson
Christian Wade’s Performance
I was watching the New York Jets v New York Giants game and was curious as to what was happening in the Bills v Colts game, predominantly to see what Wade was up to. There were just over nine minutes remaining when the running back received the ball from quarterback Tyree Jackson, before scoring through a big hole in the defence to help the Bills secured a 24-16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
It was an incredible play on what is an incredible story to be honest! Here’s a guy who has never played professional football at all and on his 1st play and carry, he runs the ball 65 yards for a touch down and now gives the Buffalo Bills a serious headache. They need to figure out what to do with Wade as he is currently on the practice squad, but with plays like that it will surely give him a good shot at making the 1st team.
What’s a dead certainty is that if he gets cut from the Bills there will be many other teams that need a running back and with a performance like that he has improved his CV. I predict that he should definitely get a start in the NFL if the Bills decide to move on from him (which I can’t see happening!).
The future is bright for Wade, the future is bright for the NFLUK academy in London and the future is bright for all these young kids looking to make the move into the NFL. What an exciting time to be watching and playing football on the UK.
