Meet Zach Wilson, The Jets New Quarterback

CBS New York

April 30, 2021

The New York Jets selected Zach Wilson with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft Thursday night marking the second time in the last four years the organization has selected a quarterback in the Top 5. He’s the first BYU quarterback since John Beck in 2007 to be drafted into the league.

Wilson is one of six siblings but that’s just the start of it. His grandparents, Gary and Rose Neeleman, have seven children, 36 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. That family life was one of the big factors in Wilson’s decision to go to BYU. A Utah native, he first committed to play at Boise State before deciding to stay closer to home and play for Kelani Sitake and BYU. According to the Deseret News, he told his grandfather at a holiday party that the family was the reason. “Grandpa, you know why I went to BYU? This is why.”

One of Wilson’s uncles, David G. Neeleman founded JetBlue Airways in 1999 and served as CEO of the airline through 2007. JetBlue is one of five commercial airlines Neeleman founded during the course of his career, the others being Morris Air, WestJet, Azul Brazilian Arilines and Breeze Airways.

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