NFL: Chinese-American Cornell quarterback Jameson Wang looks to build on impressive NCAA rookie season with Big Red
- The Cornell quarterback, who will be heading into his second-year season in 2022, could take the next step and start for the NCAA university
- Wang, whose father is Chinese and immigrated to the US after moving to Taiwan, says he works hard to prove to his teammates he can lead the squad
Like most Americans, Jameson Wang got his love of American football through his father, whose passion for the game and wisdom helped pave the way for his son’s success.
“I remember he would tell me stories about how he would have to find rides to get to practice because his parents were working,” he said. “His friends really helped him a lot and embraced him into the culture of getting to play football. His parents had no idea what American football was like in China, so him coming over and breaking that barrier to be part of the American culture was a big accomplishment for him.”
Wang will need some of that grit as he heads into his second season this year with Cornell University Big Red, an NCAA Division I team. Wang came on strong during the 2021 season as a first-year quarterback, and was able to become the team’s leading scorer, rusher and posted the highest quarterback rating.
He ended the season with a 63.4 completion rate for more than 300 yards and four TDs in a breakout performance after landing the starting job midway through the season. Wang, who stands 185 cms and weighs 87 kgs, will now look to solidify himself as the starter from the get go when the 2022 season begins this August.
Wang said it was his father who first offered him some sage advice on how to deal with racial slurs, which he started encountering while in high school.
“[He said] some people are going to talk to you in a manner that you are not going to want to hear, and you just have to rub it off. He said it’s always the second person to retaliate that’s going to get blamed,” said Wang.
He added his response is no response, which usually dissipates the comment’s weight.
“I haven’t worked hard to get offended by a little racial slur. I feel like it is part of the game, people are going to try and get under your skin, but when you show that you’re not going to react, they’re going to stop.”
Before Cornell, Wang was a four-year varsity starter at quarterback and two-year team captain at Harvard-Westlake School (where he set five single-season records). He was then transferred to Oaks Christian School to play his senior season.
Wang said his first coach in high school was great because he looked beyond his ethnicity and simply judged him by his play on the field. He added the biggest pressure he’s always felt was not winning over coaches, fans or the media, but those who line up beside him every play during a game.
“I think the biggest part was winning my teammates’ trust, because your teammates are the guys who have never seen an Asian quarterback. Really just winning over the trust from my teammates and showing them that … I could play at this level … was the biggest part of being able to prove myself,” he said.
Wang said there was added weight on his shoulders given his background, but he was more than willing to embrace that challenge as a trailblazing athlete.
“As I got deeper in high school and realised that I was good enough to play at the collegiate level, I was trying to use my platform to promote Asian Americans and American football because there just hasn’t been that many people to do it,” said Wang.
“So that’s when I was using my platform to help encourage other Asian Americans that they can do it too. I’m not the first one, and I’m not going to be the last one to do it.”
