Kentucky football commitment Destin Wade ready to prove he's a quarterback, not just an athlete

When Destin Wade enters a room, you notice. His 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame is hard to miss, and the Summit senior always means business. 

The four-star prospect and reigning state champion quarterback committed to Kentucky doesn't need a brash personality to prove he can compete.

He just gets it done.

"I'm still a little quiet," Wade said. "But once you get to know me, I'm kinda chill."

That "chill" personality showed in December when the dual-threat quarterback led Summit to its first state championship. Claiming the game's MVP against Oak Ridge, Wade threw for 135 yards and a touchdown, while adding 95 yards and two more scores on the ground. 

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Wade is No. 8 in The Tennessean's 2021 Dandy Dozen, a collection of top college football prospects from the Nashville area for the Class of 2022 as picked by the newspaper. 

Wade is a four-star athlete and No. 12 college prospect in the state according to the 247Sports Composite. He's the No. 20 athlete in the country.

Wade was a Class 5A Tennessee Titans Class 5A Mr. Football finalist. He accounted for 37 total touchdowns (19 passing, 18 rushing) last year, throwing for over 1,350 yards  and rushing for 1,509 yards. Since running a Wing-T style offense his freshman year, Wade's speed and ability with his legs have never been doubted. 

Summit switched to the spread his sophomore year, which has given Wade an opportunity to air it out, proving to be one of the top athletes in the state.

"Just continuously every year I've been throwing more," Wade said. "I feel like we could do a little bit more in the passing game, but I think we're working this offseason to do a lot with it."

Becoming a more versatile quarterback is important for Wade, who's labeled as an athlete on recruiting sites like 247Sports. Wade is adamant about playing quarterback at Kentucky.

"I'm most definitely going up there to play quarterback first," Wade said. "If that doesn't work, and they don't have that plan for me, I'll just talk to my family about it and talk to God about it and just see how everything would work out."

Destin won't be the only Wade on Kentucky's roster. His twin brother Keaten, ranked by 247Sports as the fourth-best prospect in Tennessee, committed to play for the Wildcats alongside Destin in April. 

Keaten missed most of the 2020 season due to a foot injury.

"It's gonna be fun just balling out with him again," Keaten said of this upcoming season. "Getting that feeling back, and it'll bring more versatility to our team."

A season that won't be easy with Summit's reclassification from 5A to 6A. The reigning state champs already have lofty expectationswith the return of its two star players, but entering a higher division puts the team in a brand new ballgame.

"The expectations are high, we're trying to get to that championship again and make a deep run in the playoffs," Destin said. "Every game is going to be a challenge but it's going to be fun, as well."

Victor Prieto is a sports reporting intern at the Tennessean. Contact him at vprieto@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @victorprieto_11.