2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Quardraiz Wadley, RB, UTEP

• Name: Quardraiz Wadley
• Height: 6’0
• Weight: 207 lbs.
• Position: Running Back
• College: UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso)
• Twitter: @quardraiz321

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

•  Tyler, Texas- I love the country vibe of it, and my family and friends are there. Tyler is known as being the Rose City and I think that shows the appreciation to the city’s natural beauty.

List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?

•  1. Practice, this is the most important because this is where you actually get to perfect your craft and apply the things you have learned from the other two. This is the place where you are allowed to make mistakes and fail, without punishing yourself for it. Keep falling, but falling forward until you’ve got it right.

2. Strength and conditioning, this is because you have to be physically fit in order to compete at the best and to the best of your abilities.

3. Film Study, because it is there to help you go over all of your mistakes visually from the practice you had. It all goes around into a cycle, where you see and gain knowledge from the coaches and others on how to better mold your abilities. Once this is done you can go back to the top and practice again.

What do you worry about, and why?

•  The things that I worry about are not being enough at anything that I do, and most importantly disappointing my family because I know they are counting on me.

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?

•  I got kicked off of my High school football team during my sophomore year. I shut down a lot and had an intervention with myself, and asked myself if this was what I wanted and then I turned it all around. The whole thing made me a better person all around and it’s the reason why I am where I am today. It was my motivation.

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

•  I think my teammates would say that I lead by example, and being tough. I don’t really do a lot of talking because there is a task that needs to be done, but I try to hold myself and my teammates all accountable for their actions. If something comes up that needs to address, you’ll know, but otherwise, my actions will speak for themselves.

Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?

•  Although I wasn’t there to play that game, Baker Mayfield was the best player I played against. It was their Home Opener in Oklahoma and I would have had a blast playing against him.

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football? 

•  I would definitely be a Lawyer for sure.

Room, desk, and car – which do you clean first?

•  Clean the room first, always.

If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?

•  I would choose one family, my mom specifically and because without her I wouldn’t be where I am today, So I would feel like I owe her that.

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

•  Superman, because of his leadership qualities.

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

•  My whole life to be honest. I’ve dealt with it by staying strong through the tough times but by making sure I work hard at everything I do. I want better for my family because we had to grow up and are living- with not that much. I just try to be grateful so that one day I can overcome it all.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

•  In Texas, we take the STAR test as a way to excel to the next grade and I farted during the exam, and it was really loud.

What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?

•  A one-handed catch I took out of the backfield, that I ran or a touchdown against NAU. It was really nicely done.

What song best describes your work ethic?

•  High School Musical- Bet on it (With Zac Efron playing Troy, singing it) or Big Sean- One Man Can Change the World

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level? 

•  The mentality you must have, whether it be now or at the next level, must be tough and almost savage-like. I have to know and prepare myself every day for a challenge.

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

•  My Uncle Charles, he passed the night before I dislocated and broke my shoulder. I took my anger out on the field and it didn’t do well for me in the end. But more importantly, he didn’t deserve it.

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it? 

•  G.Q.

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL? 

•  Aaron Jones.

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

•  Respected, because I don’t care who likes me. Respect goes way further than someone like you.

What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?

•  Johnny Manziel, because he was super talented and is also from Tyler. I think his character was nowhere near reflective of his playing capabilities. He’s nice.

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

•  Hate to lose.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

• My mom has the biggest influence because just watching her handle business as a kid, just let me know to keep going and working hard for any and everything you do. She taught me “no excuses”, how to be tough and how to be accountable even though she did not have much.

Also, my high school football coach, Coach Barrett because he actually showed me that life and people will move on without you by kicking me off his team. After that situation, he opened my eyes to the potentials that I had and believed in me enough to give me a second chance-even when other people didn’t. Still, to this day, I know he believes and supports me.