Friday, January 1, 1904
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga cornerback Kadeem Wise, the only player in school history to be named All-Southern Conference his first two seasons, sat down with the Times Free Press to answer 10 questions. Some were about football, some were silly and others were about the man behind the helmet. Here are the seven most illuminating responses:
"It was seventh grade, in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, it was overtime, and the other team had just taken possession. I asked the referee what would happen if I intercepted the ball and took it back all the way. He said the game would be over. So then the play started and I intercepted the ball and took it back. Game over. That was crazy."
"I'd have to say Deion Sanders. I watch a lot of his highlights, and he was a phenomenal player. Offensively, defensively, special teams -- all over -- he was a phenomenal player that was always making plays."
"In 10 years I would like to be running a successful athlete's gym. I want to be helping other athletes get where they need to be."
"When I first got here, the biggest surprise was the speed. That first practice, I got killed. I didn't know what was going on and it was so fast, but as time progressed I started getting the speed down. Then the surprise is how much film you watch and how much time you put into actually preparing to play. In high school we didn't do as much preparing, but once you get to college it's a lot more preparing, plus school. It was tough."
"I mostly listen to stuff that gets me going, like rap. The Rich Kidz or Travis Porter -- something that has a nice beat. If it has a nice beat I'll listen to it, no matter if it's rock, country or what."
"I'd like to be the commissioner of the NFL. No one really sees the best side of it. You see when he does things like hands penalties down, but you don't see the behind the scenes of it and what he does on a day-to-day basis. That's something I'd be interested in seeing."
"The two people would probably be Wes Dothard and D.J. Key. Since we first stepped on campus we've kind of jelled, and we've been best friends since then. Those two, they should be pretty resourceful when it comes down to it."
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.