TicketsAfter missing all of last year with a torn ACL, safety James "The Freak" Wiggins is setting the bar high for his senior season.
"My personal goal is to get at least 10 picks and leave UC with the record for most picks in a season," said Wiggins. "That's my goal."
The school record for single season interceptions is eight set by DeAngelo Smith in 2007. Wiggins had four in 2018 including three that saved Cincinnati victories.
"There's a light switch for me when there's a big moment," said Wiggins. "When we need a play, that's when I'm really tuned in to what we're doing. I try to force myself to make a big play and it happened a few times in the 2018 season."
In a September win over Ohio that year, Wiggins' interception at the 1-yard line with 52 seconds left clinched a 34-30 victory.
The following month at SMU, his 86-yard "Pick Six" in overtime ended UC's 26-20 win over the Mustangs.
And in the season-ending Military Bowl, Wiggins iced a victory over Virginia Tech by picking off a deep pass on the Hokies' final possession.
"Now I'm trying to be more consistent and average two picks a game and not just get them when we need a pick," he said.
But first, Wiggins has to demonstrate that he has completely recovered from knee surgery.
"He probably could have been back in four or five months as freaky genetically as he is," said head coach Luke Fickell.
The injury occurred just two days before last year's season-opener vs. UCLA.
"It was a rainy practice," Wiggins recalled. "(Rashad) Medaris ran a corner route. I went to go jump for the ball and missed it and landed awkwardly on my knee. I didn't really feel anything pop, it just felt awkward. Then I got up and tried to walk it off and it felt like something just gave out on my knee. I got an MRI right then and there and that's when they told me that I tore my ACL. It was devastating because I'd had a decent year and was looking to prove myself again and it was taken away from me. That's made me think about how life is. You can't take anything for granted. And on the field, you've got to give it your all on every play because you never know if it's going to be your last."
Wiggins was apprehensive about testing his knee at the start of training camp, but says he knew it was back to 100 percent in one of
UC's first practices when he got a sprinting start after reading a swing pass to Bruno Labelle, and sent the 248-pound tight end flying four yards backward with a shot to the shoulder.
"It was a big hit and I said, 'I'm good. I'm back now,'" said Wiggins. "I told him, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it to you. You just got the short end of the stick.' He was cool about it. He said, 'Good hit,' and just walked off."
On Thursday, Wiggins was named to the Reese's Senior Bowl Top-250 list. He is also on the watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy and Thorpe Award and was named to Bruce Feldman's College Football Freaks List for the third straight year.
"The 5-11½, 205-pounder has run an electronic 4.44 and vertical jumped 35 inches, and he has retained all of that athleticism after his knee injury," Feldman wrote in The Athletic. "Wiggins, whose body fat has been measured at just 4.2 percent, squats 725 and has benched 225 for 18 reps.
But those numbers don't fully explain why Wiggins is called "The Freak."
"I think he kind of got that nickname when the lights came on," said Coach Fickell. "That's James. When the big games come, when the lights come on, and the game is on the line, that's when James is at his best. He continues to raise his level when the competition goes up and when the stakes go higher. Yes, 'The Freak' is back with us and it's a great thing. I think we haven't really seen how much he has grown. That's what I'm most excited about. To see him when the lights actually come on and the stage gets really big. That's when the actual freak really starts to come out and I think we'll see that this year."
It's one thing to hear it from his coach. I asked Wiggins, "Are you still 'The Freak'?"
"You already know that," he said with a grin.
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
UC returns 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, 55 letterwinners and 13 of the team's top 15 tacklers from the 2019 team which won 11 games, the AAC East Division title and the Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats ended the season ranked No. 21 in all three major polls, won 11 games for only the fourth time in the program's 132 seasons and had back-to-back 11-win seasons for only the second time in school history.
The Bearcats are slated to open 2020 on Saturday, Sept. 19 against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
"My personal goal is to get at least 10 picks and leave UC with the record for most picks in a season," said Wiggins. "That's my goal."
The school record for single season interceptions is eight set by DeAngelo Smith in 2007. Wiggins had four in 2018 including three that saved Cincinnati victories.
"There's a light switch for me when there's a big moment," said Wiggins. "When we need a play, that's when I'm really tuned in to what we're doing. I try to force myself to make a big play and it happened a few times in the 2018 season."
In a September win over Ohio that year, Wiggins' interception at the 1-yard line with 52 seconds left clinched a 34-30 victory.
The following month at SMU, his 86-yard "Pick Six" in overtime ended UC's 26-20 win over the Mustangs.
And in the season-ending Military Bowl, Wiggins iced a victory over Virginia Tech by picking off a deep pass on the Hokies' final possession.
"Now I'm trying to be more consistent and average two picks a game and not just get them when we need a pick," he said.
But first, Wiggins has to demonstrate that he has completely recovered from knee surgery.
"He probably could have been back in four or five months as freaky genetically as he is," said head coach Luke Fickell.
The injury occurred just two days before last year's season-opener vs. UCLA.
"It was a rainy practice," Wiggins recalled. "(Rashad) Medaris ran a corner route. I went to go jump for the ball and missed it and landed awkwardly on my knee. I didn't really feel anything pop, it just felt awkward. Then I got up and tried to walk it off and it felt like something just gave out on my knee. I got an MRI right then and there and that's when they told me that I tore my ACL. It was devastating because I'd had a decent year and was looking to prove myself again and it was taken away from me. That's made me think about how life is. You can't take anything for granted. And on the field, you've got to give it your all on every play because you never know if it's going to be your last."
Wiggins was apprehensive about testing his knee at the start of training camp, but says he knew it was back to 100 percent in one of
UC's first practices when he got a sprinting start after reading a swing pass to Bruno Labelle, and sent the 248-pound tight end flying four yards backward with a shot to the shoulder.
"It was a big hit and I said, 'I'm good. I'm back now,'" said Wiggins. "I told him, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it to you. You just got the short end of the stick.' He was cool about it. He said, 'Good hit,' and just walked off."
On Thursday, Wiggins was named to the Reese's Senior Bowl Top-250 list. He is also on the watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy and Thorpe Award and was named to Bruce Feldman's College Football Freaks List for the third straight year.
"The 5-11½, 205-pounder has run an electronic 4.44 and vertical jumped 35 inches, and he has retained all of that athleticism after his knee injury," Feldman wrote in The Athletic. "Wiggins, whose body fat has been measured at just 4.2 percent, squats 725 and has benched 225 for 18 reps.
But those numbers don't fully explain why Wiggins is called "The Freak."
"I think he kind of got that nickname when the lights came on," said Coach Fickell. "That's James. When the big games come, when the lights come on, and the game is on the line, that's when James is at his best. He continues to raise his level when the competition goes up and when the stakes go higher. Yes, 'The Freak' is back with us and it's a great thing. I think we haven't really seen how much he has grown. That's what I'm most excited about. To see him when the lights actually come on and the stage gets really big. That's when the actual freak really starts to come out and I think we'll see that this year."
It's one thing to hear it from his coach. I asked Wiggins, "Are you still 'The Freak'?"
"You already know that," he said with a grin.
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
UC returns 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, 55 letterwinners and 13 of the team's top 15 tacklers from the 2019 team which won 11 games, the AAC East Division title and the Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats ended the season ranked No. 21 in all three major polls, won 11 games for only the fourth time in the program's 132 seasons and had back-to-back 11-win seasons for only the second time in school history.
The Bearcats are slated to open 2020 on Saturday, Sept. 19 against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.