Gavin Wade proved to be a quick study.
The Naperville Central junior was sidelined for seven weeks after breaking a bone in his left foot early this summer, so he missed all of the team’s workouts.
“It happened at the North Central camp,” Wade said. “I stepped on a blocking pad. It was a weird break, on the outside of my foot. But I had really good physical therapy, which got me back.”
When Wade returned, Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich had a surprise in store. Wade would be switching from outside linebacker, where he started as a sophomore, to safety, a position he had never played before.
“When Gavin got hurt this summer, Aaron Nussbaum took all those reps at the (outside) linebacker,” Ulreich said. “So when Gavin came back, we thought moving him to safety would give us a chance to put our 11 best guys on the field.”
Wade was definitely one of the best players on the field in the season opener against Hinsdale Central on Friday. He had an interception on the opening drive of the game, a key knockdown early in the third quarter and tight defensive coverage on several plays in the fourth quarter as the Redhawks rallied for a 14-10 road victory in Hinsdale.
“It’s funny,” Ulreich said. “We were apprehensive about (the switch). He’s so good when he’s close to the football, and sure enough, in the first quarter we put him in the back half, and he finds a way to get around the ball.”
Wade’s interception gave the Redhawks the ball at Hinsdale Central’s 31-yard line. Six plays later, senior quarterback Jack Cook scored on a 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
But Hinsdale Central led 10-7 at halftime, which prompted Ulreich to go back to a ground-and-pound approach on offense. That meant inserting Wade at running back, and he responded by rushing 10 times for 47 hard-earned yards against the Red Devils’ stiff defense.
Wade, the fifth Naperville Central ball carrier of the game, carried three times on the opening drive of the second half, including back-to-back gains of 5 and 8 yards, which preceded senior running back Jude Sutherland’s go-ahead 4-yard touchdown run with 7:18 left in the third quarter.
“He was awesome,” Ulreich said. “He’s just a football player. The great thing is we’ve got a ton of them — guys that just love football — and Gavin Wade is one of them. We haven’t gotten him a ton of carries, but we’re going to give him the ball and trust him.”
Wade was ready to reward that trust.
“I had to really dial in the last couple weeks because I’m playing a new position and I needed to learn what I was doing,” he said. “On the offensive side, our running back went down, and somebody needed to step up. That really gave us some momentum.”
While Wade’s injury prevented him from getting any reps on the field over the summer, it didn’t stop him from working out.
“I think the weight room has really helped me a lot,” he said. “Like tonight, running the ball, it really affected me.
“I think my vision plays a big part on defense. Now that I’m in the back at safety, my mind just clicks, and I know where to go.”
Wade, who has played only linebacker and running back throughout his career, has made clear he’s willing to go anywhere in order to help the Redhawks reach their goals. As for his foot, the pain is already a thing of the past.
“I’ll do whatever the team needs me to,” Wade said. “(The foot) is great right now. I don’t feel anything.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.