When Chase Claypool caught his first NFL touchdown on Sunday for the Steelers, he was the second Canadian wide receiver to score at Heinz Field that weekend.
The first was Pitt's sophomore starting receiver, Jared Wayne. He scored in the same end zone on Saturday at Heinz Field in Pitt's 21-10 victory over Syracuse. His 17-yard touchdown reception from Kenny Pickett would be the final points of the game in Pitt's first ACC win of the season, and it was his first game after he missed playing against Austin Peay.
"It felt great," Wayne said via Zoom on Tuesday about his first game of the season. "Still getting back into the swing of things with the guys and thought I played pretty well. But we have a lot to clean up as a unit. We look forward to the task of facing Louisville. They've got a strong defense, even if they didn't play great against Miami, they'll be making adjustments."
Wayne is from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada where he grew up watching both CFL and NFL games. His father, Patrick Wayne, played for the Ottawa Roughriders from 1987-1994 as a linebacker. Jared has fond memories of being a Roughriders fan before the team folded in 1997, and gave insight into his favorite receivers to watch in today's NFL.
"A bit of both," Wayne said when asked if he watched the CFL or the NFL. "My dad played in the CFL so I grew up cheering for Ottawa. Didn't have an NFL team but I loved turning on the TV Sunday and watching football. Wouldn't say I modeled my game after any particular receiver, but today I really like Davante Adams and A.J. Brown a lot. Bigger body receivers that run great routes and are really good at the line."
That makes a lot of sense, since Wayne is listed on Pitt's roster as 6-foot-3, 195 lbs. That big frame would fit bigger players like Adams, Brown and even Claypool, with his skillset. Wayne says he's even bigger now after a full year of weight training and that's helped him with several key receiver skills.
"I'm at about 200-plus now, so I put on about ten pounds of muscle," Wayne said of how much weight he's gained. "My body feels really good. In the blocking game it's been huge. I've stayed on my blocks and been more physical. I feel like I've gotten a little more faster. We've got a lot of fast guys in the room so I'm not too high on myself on speed. My body feels great and I feel smooth running routes."
As a true freshman Wayne started Pitt's last four games of the season and totaled 261 yards and a touchdown on 18 catches. He led Pitt with five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown in his first game of the season. The team still hasn't seen Taysir Mack play, but has gotten touchdowns from Wayne, senior transfer D.J. Turner and true freshman Jordan Addison. It's a group Wayne sees as having a lot of potential.
"Guys like D.J., Jaylon [Barden] and Jordan, all of them bring speed and big play ability. D.J. being that senior brings a lot of knowledge to the room. Jordan and Jaylon are two speedy guys that want to get on the field and make plays as speedy guys who just want an opportunity. This group is something special."
Throw in junior Shocky Jacques-Louis and you have a very fast group of receivers. Wayne sees himself as possibly the fastest out of the group in a footrace, but conceded that the others would be faster in-game options.
"Good question," Wayne said, chuckling when asked who was the fastest on the team. "I feel like I could beat anybody in a race, but when you're talking off the line and getting down the field. Shocky, of course. He's always been a fast guy. Jordan and Jaylon both have blazing speed. There's a lot of guys with serious speed for sure."
Wayne's touchdown was the first red zone touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett on the season. It's something Wayne harped on a few times Tuesday, noting the importance of capitalizing in those situations.
"Anytime we're in the red zone we need seven points," Wayne said. "Simple as that. As an offense we look at it as if we miss a touchdown we miss an opportunity. We need to capitalize and clean up the little things. We had a lot of self-inflicting wounds last Saturday which we're cleaning up for this Saturday."
Those self-inflicted wounds were obvious when I wrote about them on Saturday, and were harped on again by Pat Narduzzi on Monday, and they'll continue to be the focus for the team heading into their Noon matchup with No. 24 ranked Louisville at Noon this Saturday at Heinz Field.
Especially considering Louisville will be hungry after losing their first ACC game to Miami 47-34 on Saturday night.
"We have to capitalize on all the opportunities they give us," Wayne said about what Pitt must do better offensively against Louisville. "Miami definitely got their fair share of big plays. When we get those opportunities we have to make plays, capitalize and put points on the board."
Let's look at that red zone touchdown pass for Wayne, where he lined up almost like a tight end for Pitt and ran a post pattern that sliced right through Syracuse's defense. You can see his route start to break outside, backing off the safety and linebacker, before he breaks inside to a wide open space in the end zone where Pickett has an easy throw:
Wayne has a lot of respect for Pickett and where he could lead the offense.
"It speaks to Kenny as a quarterback," Wayne said of Pickett's being able to connect with him despite missing the first game. "He's the leader of the offense and knows how to get guys the ball. Second year in this offense has everyone feeling more comfortable. For me, personally, it feels like the game is slowing down a little bit. It's great that we can get multiple guys touches to make plays and show what they can do."
And that feeling is reciprocated by Pickett on Saturday after the game. He even mentioned Wayne when talking about Addison, who caught his first touchdown against Syracuse as well.
"I would say early on I saw his talent level," Pickett said of what made Addison special so fast. "He's a special kid, even off the field with his personality. It's like he's a junior and not a freshman with the way he goes about his business. That's probably the most part of what I've seen out of him and I really love playing with him. Him and Jared work like pros in the way they get ready every week."
Part of what Wayne sees as this year being a great chance to improve in the red zone is the experience the team has in their current offense. Now with two years under offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, Wayne sees the game slowing down for him and the unit settling into their goals and their responsibilities.
"We're learning a lot more while we're doing certain things," Wayne said. "Everybody's buying into what coach Whipple has for us." "Anytime we get into the red zone we have to make it seven points. Anything less is underachieving. I think the red zone offense this year, we're getting more and more comfortable with each other."
Talking about Claypool made Wayne smile, and he said while the haven't yet met, the two are aware of each other and spoke via social media.
"Chase, that's my guy," Wayne said as he smiled when asked about Claypool. "He's doing a great job. He's making the most of every opportunity and not looking back. Pittsburgh is in good hands with him. I've just reached out to him over social media. Haven't gotten the chance to speak to him in person with all the COVID protocols but I'm looking forward to the opportunity. He's putting it on for the country. I'm sure he got a lot of people back home blowing up his phone. Any time we can put the country on the map with big plays, it's a great opportunity."
But one person Wayne has met with and has helped him a lot is wide receivers coach Chris Beatty. Wayne credits Beatty with helping him sharpen the routes that have him feeling smoother this year.
"Coach Beatty does a great job," Wayne said. "I love him as a coach. But it's not just Jordan and I, it's a lot of guys in the room that just try to be consistent every day. I've been getting opportunities a lot, and any opportunity we get we go 110 percent and try to capitalize on it. Coach has a way of getting to each player and knows how to do that effectively. He's got all the guys in check. Everybody's buying in. Coach Beatty has definitely boosted my football IQ from year one to year two."