It may not be easy being the cousin of a national champion QB who went onto become the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and the darling of thew Philadelphia Eagles, but despite all the questions about Carson Wentz, North Dakota State tight end Connor Wentz has done just fine in Fargo.
The redshirt senior has been a part of two championships and is looking for a third Saturday in Frisco, Texas versus James Madison. After all the questions about his Bison-legend cousin, we asked Connor Wentz about his path to Fargo, his go-to karaoke song, and more.
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Q: What does it mean to have been able to play for a great program like North Dakota State?
WENTZ: It's such an honor. Being a small town kid from Florida, you don't know how a program like this works and how the people in a town like this work. And it's not as much the winning tradition, it's the people that make the difference. The people that you come to know and love, the community, the fans … you don't get that anywhete else.
Q: Was there any culture shock coming from that small town of Dunellon, Florida to Fargo, North Dakota?
WENTZ: I think the biggest thing was getting used to a bigger town. The cold? Definitely a big one.
Q: What was the transition like playing in the cold every week?
WENTZ: I always say you don't get used to it, you just learn how to tolerate it. Every winter you have to figure out how am I going to get through this practice. But you have to pish through it.
Q: Any tricks for that you developed or learned since you got here?
WENTZ: A lot more warm-ups. Taping your ear holes shut, taping the bottoms of your sweatpants..
Q: Ever come up with something radical or see your teammates come up with something ridiculous the rest of you made fun of?
WENTZ: Sometimes the guys will tuck their sweatpants into their socks, and I'm like 'no, no, stop it, just tape, that's ridiculous.'
Q: Who's the prankster on the team?
WENTZ: I think the whole senior class, we all like to joke. I think the biggest one would have to be (Nate) Tanguay.
Q: Is there a good prank you can share with us?
WENTZ: (laughs)
Q: If we try to keep it clean?
WENTZ: (laughs)
Q: Who's the best social media follow on the team?
WENTZ: Probably Jarrod Tuszka, he's always got funny stuff on there.
YEP.
Well I just shaved my head…. @ABigwood5
— Jarrod Tuszka (@jtuszka) July 23, 2015
Q: If you could pick one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it?
WENTZ: Oh, man, that's a tough one. I always wanted to be abler to fly but I think invisibility … so I can sneak out of meetings.
Q: What's the strangest question you can remember addressing from the media?
WENTZ: I know exactly which one … it was after Missouri State, my redshirt freshman year when I had two touchdowns. They asked 'how did it feel to catch two touchdowns?' and I was like 'what do you mean, what do you think it felt like, it was amazing!' And then I gave the stupidest answer trying to sound smart, I should have just said it felt great.
Q: What's the relationship been like with your QB, Easton Stick?
WENTZ: He makes connections with everyone. That's the way he is, it's the way he operates.
Q: Can you and your teammates that kind of connection to the field? How does that work?
WENTZ: I think you can. Just from getting he reps, you know what he's doing. Is he scrambling, do I need to go this way? The two guys that are really good about that are Shep (WR Darrius Shepherd) and R.J. (WR R.J. Urzendowski). They know where he's going at all times. It's ridiculous. Shep will turn and run the other way and (Stick) hasn't even started scrambling yet. It's that type of deal, you can definitely get that feel.
Q: Do you sing?
WENTZ: I sing, but I will NOT sing (right now) [laughs]. I only sing in the shower.
Q: If you had to pick one song for karaoke…
WENTZ: Bohemian Rhapsody, because it doesn't matter what you sound like … it's still a great song.
Yeah, it is.
