Back in 2020, as a top high school prospect in North Carolina, Jared Wilson committed to the University of North Carolina to snap the ball for quarterback Drake Maye.
That never unfolded, as Wilson decommitted five months later before flipping to the University of Georgia.
Fast forward to 2026 in Foxboro, and Wilson is preparing to play center for Maye as member of the New England Patriots.
“Oh, man, it’s cool. It’s a full circle moment,” Wilson said. “I remember us talking about it, it was a couple
of weeks ago. I was just like, ‘Dang. We were committed to North Carolina together. This close to getting there and then veered off to Georgia, and now we’re both here.’ I’m the center, and he’s the quarterback. It all worked out great.”
In college, Wilson went on to earn the starting center position for the Bulldogs in 2024, earning Second-Team All-SEC honors before being drafted by the Patriots 95th overall to be their long-term center.
But with veteran Garrett Bradbury on the roster, Wilson started 17 games — including the playoffs — at left guard as a rookie. Being thrown right into the fire, the 22-year-old said it took him the entire season to fully grasp offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ dense playbook.
Combining the knowledge learned on-the-fly with his past experience at center should only help Wilson entering Year 2 as he moves back to his natural position.
“Honestly, I mean, from guard to center, people say you’ve got to know all three positions on the interior offensive line. That is a very true statement, but it was very different,” Wilson said. “I was there before. I played it in college. So I’m comfortable. But there’s always things to learn. Always new things to learn and things to tweak.”
This offseason, the team traded away Bradbury to move Wilson back to center, where he’ll finally get to snap for Maye.
“Very excited,” Wilson said. “Very excited. I’ll keep it at that.”
