WEST PALM BEACH – Justin Wake is looking to wake some people up this fall after a productive spring circuit.
It can be argued that Justin Wake may be the third best quarterback in Palm Beach County, behind Oxbridge Academy’s Gio Richardson and Boca Raton’s Michael Pratt.
The Lions quarterback has been a staple in the Lions offense since his freshman year of high school. He took over the starting quarterback position in the spring of his eighth grade year at King’s Academy.
Wake is a winner, as evidenced by his 28-4 record as a starter. For his career to date, he has racked up 61 total touchdowns, with 3,281 passing yards and 1,105 rushing yards (4,386 total yards).
Wake attributed his success on and off the field to head coach Keith Allen and his fellow teammates.
“He helped me on the field,” Wake said. “I’m learning the mental side of football and I’m understanding how and why we run things in our offensive scheme.”
Wake expounded even further.
“Off the field Coach Allen offers kids on the team tutoring,” he said. “During my sophomore year Coach Allen would tutor me in Algebra 2, and it helped me out significantly off the field. I don’t know if there are too many coaches out there who tutor their own players.”
Wake spoke on his fellow teammates and the motivation they provide him.
“In the classroom what influences me to do my best is my fellow teammates,” Wake said. “This past year especially we all held each other accountable for doing homework and studying for tests and quizzes. We all have each other’s back on and off the field.”
The signal caller stands at 5-10 and weighs 170 pounds. The elusive pocket passer is slightly undersized, but his productivity on the field can’t be denied.
In Wake’s most recent contest against Everglades Prep he threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-12 victory. He played only the first half and the first play of the third quarter before being pulled out of the game.
Although Wake has the numbers speaking to how good of an athlete he is, the college offers haven’t come for the signal caller. Wake would speak on how the recruiting process is going and his feelings about his play.
“It’s going slow and I have no interest from anywhere,” Wake said. “I feel under-recruited, and it has been frustrating because I feel I can play quarterback just as good as, if not better than, anyone.”
When asked what his ideal college would look like, Wake was brief.
“I’m not to picky because of the slow recruitment,” Wake said. “At the end of the day I just want to play football and pursue a college degree.”
Wake’s summer plans will be centered around getting exposure to college coaches and working on his craft as a signal caller.
“No official visits,” Wake said. “Just local camps around South Florida, including FAU, FIU, and some satellite camps. I’m also going to try and make a trip up to West Florida University for one of their camps.”
For the upcoming season the signal caller said he doesn’t have any individual goals.
“For next year, I’m just looking to get on the radar of college coaches,” Wake said.
As far as team goals are concerned, Wake has high expectations for his team due to how last season ended for them.
“Our team had a 25-game win streak going on until it broke the last two games of last season,” Wake said. “This left a bad taste in our mouths, and we’re motivated to not let that happen again. Our goal for next season is to win every game we play.”
