The Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast features NFL Draft Prospect safety Lance Wise from Mercer Football.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas
00:06 Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:08 It is great to be with you today.
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00:55 Hour and a half of Raiders talk, we'll see you in San Antonio in two days.
00:59 Super excited about this next young man.
01:02 If you put on the film, he is a combination of the Energizer Bunny with just a Ronnie
01:14 Lott intensity.
01:17 He loves to hit people.
01:19 Now, many of you know defensive backs, especially corners, but some safeties too, are always
01:26 looked at as guys that avoid contact.
01:28 Not this guy.
01:29 He is a magnet.
01:31 He is a football player.
01:33 This guy would play with a leather helmet like the old school guys if he could.
01:39 He just loves the game.
01:40 I'm super excited.
01:41 He's from Mercer, which is a smaller school, so a lot of you maybe don't know who he is,
01:47 but NFL teams do because good NFL teams don't have to scout everywhere.
01:53 We're excited to have him on, Lance Wise from Mercer.
01:55 Lance, how you doing, my friend?
01:56 I'm good.
01:57 I'm good.
01:58 Thank you for having me.
02:00 We're excited to have you.
02:01 I got to tell you, one of the things that a lot of people do who aren't NFL executives
02:10 is they look and say, "Oh, but it's a small school," and they throw that away.
02:14 The problem is if you do that, you do it at your own peril.
02:17 There are a lot of people not interested in Jerry Rice.
02:21 There are a lot of small school guys that didn't get the recognition.
02:26 The Raiders are known as a team that likes to scout there, and pretty much all NFL teams
02:31 do, so you're on the radar now.
02:33 People know who you are.
02:34 They watched how you play.
02:35 I want to address a couple things with you.
02:38 Eleven career interceptions, an FCS Division I All-American, five interceptions last year.
02:45 We're going to get to the hitting in a minute, but you're a ball hawk.
02:49 You are an instinctive guy.
02:52 You can see where the ball goes.
02:54 The film on you shows you with the feel, and you can kind of read the play and put yourself
03:02 in a position to get those INTs or those breakups.
03:05 Would you talk about that part of your game, please, Lance?
03:10 Coming out of high school, I played a little bit of running back, so I was always on the
03:13 offense side of the ball.
03:15 When I finally made that transition to defense, utilizing my knowledge of offense, knowing
03:21 what quarterbacks look for, what they like to see, because I'm an undersized guy, so
03:26 they're going to try to find ways to get at me because, yeah, he made me with the smallest
03:31 one on the field.
03:32 You use that to your advantage.
03:34 I was blessed with the abilities that I have today.
03:40 Sometimes I use my size to my advantage because some quarterbacks don't see me coming.
03:44 I'm a pretty fast guy.
03:45 I like to pride myself on my speed so I can be able to make those kind of plays.
03:50 I want to talk to you now about that physicality.
03:57 You love contact.
03:58 Now, I'm going to tell you this.
04:00 He's from your neck of the woods, Zemir White.
04:03 Do you know Zemir at all?
04:05 Yes.
04:06 How do you know Zemir?
04:08 Your body looks like him.
04:09 You look like you've been chiseled out of a piece of granite.
04:12 How do you know Zemir?
04:15 I actually had a teammate.
04:16 His name is Ty James, the receiver at Mercer.
04:19 He transferred from UGA.
04:22 When Ty came, we used to watch the games all the time and we used to just see Zemir White
04:26 running, swole, just running through everybody.
04:30 I kept up with him and all that.
04:34 You look like him physically.
04:35 Now, I've heard something.
04:38 At the end of the year, you were 190 pounds and I've heard in your workouts, you're now
04:41 at 197.
04:43 Is that accurate?
04:44 Yes, sir.
04:45 That is accurate.
04:46 Where do you want to get to or are you there, Lance?
04:50 Honestly, being undersized, I can't be undersized and light in weight.
04:55 I want to try to get up to the 200 range to be able to just combat, but still be able
05:00 to keep my same speed and same intensity.
05:02 197 right now, this is the best I've ever felt, especially at this heavy of a weight.
05:09 I want to get to the 200, 205 range just to make sure that team know that even though
05:14 I may be short, I still can bring that thunder in the league.
05:18 Great point by you.
05:20 Let's talk about speed.
05:22 At your pro day, what do you think you'll run the 40 in?
05:26 I think I'll run a 445, but I'm actually trying to get that down right now because speed kills
05:33 and the faster I can run, the more I can be utilized.
05:37 Right now, it'll be a 445, but by the time my pro day comes, I want it to be lower.
05:42 Do they have you set the date for your pro day yet?
05:44 March 26th.
05:45 March 26th.
05:46 Okay, good to know.
05:47 All right, so Lance, let's go in a little bit of a different direction if you don't
05:52 mind.
05:53 Listen, because there are a lot of safeties in this draft.
05:57 There are a lot of guys who come from bigger schools and a deeper pool of competition than
06:04 you, but there's something that sets you apart and that's character.
06:10 Doesn't mean there aren't guys of character at other schools.
06:12 I'm not saying that.
06:14 But everybody, every single person talks about you, character, great kid, zero issues off
06:25 the field.
06:26 This is a kid that's in the books.
06:28 He's in his playbook.
06:29 He's in his school books.
06:31 This is a guy that you're never going to have any trouble.
06:33 Now to me, that speaks to somebody from one of two backgrounds.
06:38 Either comes from a great family or I've seen guys that didn't come from a great family
06:43 and said, "Listen, I got to separate myself because I don't want to be stuck in that position."
06:49 When I ask people, they all tell me, "Great family."
06:52 Can you talk about your family, please, Lance?
06:54 So I love my family.
06:57 They're a really big part of the reason why I'm at today.
07:00 My parents actually divorced when I was in fifth grade and it kind of shook me up for
07:05 a little bit, but my mom, she remarried and my stepdad was like a second father to me.
07:11 He was my coach on the football field, on the basketball field, on the track field.
07:14 So I spent a lot of time doing the things I love with him, but also my biological father
07:21 who has never left my life, who was there for every event, made sure I was in my books.
07:26 So I'm actually finishing up my MBA right now and I'll be getting my master's this May.
07:32 And without them, they would always say, "My school comes first," because football will
07:37 end one day and the education that you get from a degree from Mercer is seconds to none.
07:46 So they always push me to be who I want to be, but at the same time, your talent gets
07:50 you there and your character helps you stay there.
07:53 And yeah, there may be guys that are bigger, faster, stronger that played more talent,
07:58 but I pride myself on being that joy to everybody I'm around and making sure that the room's
08:04 bright and that everybody's focused.
08:06 And so that's why I base my character off of us.
08:08 Okay.
08:09 Another thing about you is I was told tremendous leadership skills.
08:15 How did you develop that and how did that translate into the Mercer locker room?
08:20 So I went to Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, and I was a team captain
08:26 there.
08:27 I got to Mercer my freshman year and I was behind a fifth year senior who I ended up
08:32 going to high school with.
08:33 His name was Eric Jackson.
08:35 And so he took me through the ropes to how to become a leader, how to become that guy
08:39 that people can trust and believe in.
08:41 And when Coach Pranik got there my sophomore year, I was kind of thrust into that role
08:46 early because there wasn't many older guys that stayed with the new coaching staff.
08:52 And just building the connection with the guys off the field was able to help me build
08:57 the relations on the field and get into them and just make sure that everybody stays the
09:00 same and stays on that path.
09:02 Because if they're off the field issues, they might not be able to help us on the field
09:06 and focusing off the field was more important.
09:09 Lance, I want to read a text I got from an NFL scout about you and I'd like you to comment
09:15 on it.
09:16 Is that fair?
09:17 Absolutely.
09:18 This is what he said.
09:19 "A lot of guys at a smaller school spend a lot of time bitching that they're at a smaller
09:25 school.
09:26 Wise literally lived up to his name.
09:29 He was smart enough to realize, I'm going to take advantage.
09:33 I'm at a small school football wise, but a big school education wise.
09:37 I'm going to get those degrees while I'm here.
09:41 I'm going to make the most of it.
09:43 If I had to describe wise in one word, it would be wise."
09:47 Well, you know, obviously I was at Mercer and you know, the dreams when you're a kid
09:54 growing up is you know, you want to go to the Alabamas, the Georgias, the Ohio States.
09:58 But at the end of the day, you know, I was blessed to play football at a division one
10:01 school regardless of what school it was.
10:04 My parents didn't have to pay for me to go to college.
10:06 And you know, I played the game that I love.
10:08 So anything that came to me outside, like I was going to school for free, you know,
10:12 it was a blessing.
10:14 And I didn't want to take advantage of the blessing that I was given because then, you
10:19 know, I could disappoint my family.
10:21 And most importantly, I could disappoint myself.
10:23 So you know, you realize everybody's not going to have that phase in life where they can
10:28 reach their absolute goal, you know, go play at the big division one SEC schools.
10:34 But I realized, you know, while I was there, I could still make the best of my time there,
10:39 you know, do things that have never been done before.
10:42 And most importantly, enjoy myself.
10:45 That's a great point on your part.
10:46 I want to go to another thing that shows up about you on film.
10:52 Some guys play the game because they have the size, because they're pushed into it by
10:58 other people.
11:00 Then there are guys that play because they love it.
11:05 You love the game of football.
11:07 It is very evident.
11:09 You're a cheerleader.
11:11 When your offense is out there, you're a leader.
11:15 Where did that love of the game front come?
11:17 Because a lot of guys get to the NFL, Lance, and they get the money.
11:22 And they've always played the game because they have all this physical talent, but they
11:26 don't have the heart.
11:28 You've got the heart.
11:29 You've got the love of the game.
11:31 So it's got to come from somewhere because every play you're risking bodily injury.
11:36 Where does that love of the game come from?
11:39 So you know, I started playing football when I was four years old.
11:42 My sister, my older sister, she was a cheerleader.
11:45 And they didn't want to leave me at the house, so they kind of let me just run around.
11:49 And my mother said ever since then, I was able to just, I fit in the game.
11:56 And so I built myself, I prided myself on the game of football.
11:59 It was just, it's so fun to be around because the camaraderie you have around the guys,
12:04 it's nothing like it.
12:05 I love the game.
12:07 The game, I could get paid no money and I'd still play it just because of how fun it is.
12:12 There's not many games where you can, I wouldn't say inflict harm, but get a little physical
12:17 now.
12:19 And the game just has brought so much to me as a person, as a man, and a growth in my
12:24 and myself.
12:25 Like I couldn't just walk away from the game because the game, as much as the game brings
12:29 to me, I want to bring back to it.
12:32 It's a really good point, Lance.
12:34 All right.
12:35 I want to stay on that vein, but I want to go in a little bit different direction.
12:40 A lot of teams, there are 32 teams, and I know you just want to get to one of them.
12:46 You just want somebody to give you a chance.
12:49 But let's specifically talk about what is your feelings about the Raiders?
12:55 You know, I love the Raiders, you know, Las Vegas, I've never been to Vegas before.
12:59 Actually you know, one of the people that helped me grow up, you know, he was kind of
13:02 like a babysitter older brother.
13:04 He's out there in Vegas now, because you know, he was in the military.
13:07 You know, I've really never been to the West Coast.
13:10 You know, I love what they do with Antonio Pierce.
13:11 You know, playing with Devontae Adams would be amazing.
13:13 You know, you watch him growing up and see what he's been able to do.
13:17 And you know, like the Raiders, you know, it's a really good team.
13:20 Black and Silver, you know, the fans are amazing.
13:23 You know, I've seen clips of them all the time.
13:27 They're a wonderful group of people.
13:28 All right, Lance, let's change it a little bit.
13:32 Tell me what you've got to get better at.
13:36 What I've got to get better at?
13:38 You know, obviously you say, you know, I like to hit and I really do.
13:41 I do enjoy the hit.
13:44 Sometimes I can take, you know, bad angles, which could cause me to miss a tackle here
13:49 or there.
13:51 You know, going into tackle sometimes, you know, I go in, I have to come in more controlled
13:55 at times.
13:57 But basically, you know, my whole game is, you know, or the game I need to fix is obviously,
14:03 you know, my angles, being able to, you know, make sure I can get the guy on the ground
14:07 instead of going in for the kill shot every time.
14:11 Did you grow up a Falcon fan because you're from Georgia, I assume?
14:15 Somewhat, yes.
14:16 Okay, do you remember, I don't know if you're too young to remember this, but do you remember
14:20 a running back that used to have TJ Duckett?
14:23 I do not remember him.
14:25 Oh man, you're making me feel old.
14:27 Okay, well, TJ is a great, great friend of mine.
14:30 In fact, a family member of mine.
14:33 And he talked about, he, you know, he ran the 4-3-40.
14:38 He was fast, very, very fast.
14:40 And he talked about when he got to Atlanta, the first thing that really hit him was he'd
14:46 never been caught from behind before ever, in high school, college, just never, when
14:51 he was on a full speed.
14:54 And he gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage by a defensive end.
14:58 And he says, and all of a sudden it hit me, everybody's fast at this level.
15:03 At the next level, angles and technique are so vital, because everybody's good.
15:10 And how does one learn it?
15:12 Is it only going to come in practice?
15:14 Is there things you're doing now to learn those angles?
15:17 How do you do that?
15:19 So you know, there's kind of a mix and a combination, because, you know, the things that I do right
15:24 now, you know, obviously I'm training for my Pro Day, but at the same time, I still,
15:28 you know, train as a DB, making sure my brakes are cleaner, making sure I can, you know,
15:33 get out of my brakes to help with my angles.
15:36 But in terms of, you know, being able to perform those, you know, tackles and fix those angles
15:42 in game, obviously you have to do it in practice, full speed, live, because, you know, I can
15:48 do everything without anybody, you know, trying to run away from me, but it'll be a different
15:53 breed.
15:54 I'm tired, I got the pads on, and there's a running back who runs a 4-3 running away
15:59 from me.
16:00 So then it's like, it's a combination of both.
16:03 Good point.
16:04 Lance, I want to ask you about special teams.
16:09 A lot of guys who are All-Americans and stars like you are, get to the NFL and don't understand,
16:17 I'm probably going to have to play special teams if I'm going to make this team.
16:22 And you're a guy that just loves the game.
16:25 And when I talk to scouts, they don't think that's going to be an issue with you because
16:30 you do love the game.
16:31 You're not going to come in with ego.
16:33 You're coming in with, I want to make the roster, not I'm going to be the superstar.
16:37 Would you talk about that side of you and would you embrace special teams?
16:43 So you know, I've always been told, you know, by my trainers, my parents, just get in the
16:48 door.
16:49 You know, no matter how I can do it, get in the door.
16:52 And special teams is a great way because, you know, you play special teams in college
16:56 and you know, you have fun, you have fun on special teams and everybody's not going to
17:00 be your star safety or your star quarterback or receiver.
17:04 But in order to get in the league and stay in the league, you have to bring value somewhere
17:08 else and that special teams is the best way to do it.
17:11 And so I pride myself, you know, if I'm going to make the team, you know, I'm coming in
17:14 from a small school, I may be undersized.
17:17 So I may be given a disadvantage at first, but if I can show what I can do on special
17:21 teams, then you know, that may open the door for more possibilities.
17:24 But special teams is an important role because, you know, as you saw in the Super Bowl, it
17:28 can make or break games and being on a special teams unit and taking pride in that to help
17:33 your team win games.
17:34 You know, that's all you want to do.
17:35 You want to help your team win games.
17:37 Lance, one of the things that separates young players is the ability to watch film.
17:46 Now you're very smart.
17:48 Your football IQ is absolutely through the freaking roof.
17:51 Every single person talks about your character.
17:53 They talk about your football IQ.
17:56 Normally and I say normally 99% of the time, those people are film rats.
18:02 There's just that there is that 1% that are just savants and get it.
18:07 You are super smart.
18:08 Having your MBA is going to prove that.
18:11 But are you a film rat?
18:12 How much is film watching film part of Lance Wise's game?
18:17 Oh, film is big.
18:18 You know, I even watch film on, you know, the stuff I do while I'm training to see what
18:23 I can adjust and, you know, how I can get better.
18:26 But during the season, you know, film was big.
18:27 I'm watching film every morning.
18:29 You know, the safety group and I, you know, corner Tavion McCarthy, one of our linebackers,
18:34 Isaac Dillon, Ken Stanley, like we're watching film every morning just to make sure we know
18:38 what's coming and how we can perform and be able to stop and be better than the offense
18:43 we're going against that week.
18:44 You know, because it is one thing to, you know, go over to plays in practice, but you
18:49 can't go over every play that they might run in practice.
18:52 And that's what the film is for.
18:56 That's a really, really good point.
18:57 All right.
18:58 So talk to us.
18:59 What does football mean to you?
19:02 What's it just like?
19:03 I love the game.
19:05 I enjoy it.
19:06 I love being around it.
19:08 Covered every day.
19:09 I like the players.
19:10 I like the coaches.
19:11 I like the scouts.
19:12 I like the potential players like you.
19:14 I enjoy the game.
19:16 What is it about football?
19:18 What's your why?
19:20 My why?
19:22 I would say family, you know, you know, my family has supported me throughout this whole
19:27 process.
19:29 Immediate family, aunties, uncles.
19:32 And you know, I say my biggest why is, you know, my grandmother passed away last April.
19:38 So she wasn't there to watch me.
19:40 It's okay.
19:41 But she wasn't there to watch me, you know, this past season.
19:43 But my dad made it a promise, like a point to get his mother to like just about every
19:49 game my senior year.
19:51 You know, she was there to watch it.
19:52 And I knew that with all of our family supporting me, you know, my church back home, they came
19:57 to my games, friends from high school.
20:00 And, you know, I consider everybody in my family, all those people that my family, because
20:04 no matter, you know, if you're blood related or not, you've been through something with
20:07 me and we've grown together.
20:09 And to see them support me throughout this time, you know, being an undersigned safety,
20:14 being a guy that has, you know, beat the odds time in and time in.
20:18 It's just something about them, you know, making them proud.
20:21 And obviously, you know, football is just the camaraderie you get the guys, the football,
20:26 the teammates that turn into brothers, you know, it's just something about that, that
20:30 you can't replace.
20:31 I got just a couple more questions, but this one I think you're going to enjoy.
20:37 You are proud to be from Mercer.
20:40 And if you're talking to a younger crew, maybe he's not going to go to an Alabama, Ohio State,
20:47 whatever.
20:48 Take a minute, sell everybody.
20:50 What is it about Mercer that they need to go join you and follow in your footsteps?
20:54 Oh, I mean, well, Mercer, you know, not only can you be successful at Mercer, Mercer is
20:59 a great academic school because, you know, you may not know right now, but your family's
21:04 always going to want the academics and Mercer is a great academic school.
21:07 You know, Mercer is breaking barriers.
21:09 You know, we had just made the playoff appearance for our first time in school history and we
21:13 won our first playoff game.
21:15 We have multiple draftable prospects this year.
21:19 So you know, Mercer, although it may be a small school, you know, we're still getting
21:23 people noticed and that's going to grow more and more.
21:26 You know, it's a nice friendly area and, you know, we have a good time at Mercer, you know,
21:31 between school and football, you know, we enjoy it up there.
21:35 I got to tell you, sometimes kids, because I get a chance to talk to a lot of recruits,
21:43 can I explain to them what's the value of going to a school and being the 10th safety?
21:50 If you can go to a school where you're going to get seen, you're going to get a great education,
21:53 you're going to get great coaching, but you may be the best one there.
21:57 You're going to get more reps to put on film.
21:59 So now that you're looking back as the elder statesman, and I know you're still a kid,
22:06 but recruits sometimes don't think about that, do they?
22:09 Oh, they don't.
22:10 You know, they just want to be able to say, oh yeah, I go to Alabama.
22:14 But you know, Alabama, a lot of their guys, you know, except a few exceptions, really
22:19 don't play to like junior or senior year.
22:21 But you know, I was a backup my freshman, my true freshman year, and then I was a starter
22:26 for my sophomore year all the way to my graduate year.
22:29 So you know, I was able to rack up a lot of accomplishments.
22:31 You know, I was the second leading tackler in school history.
22:34 I had most interceptions in school history.
22:37 You know, there's a lot of things that I was able to do because, you know, even though
22:40 I went to a smaller school, I was able to be that safety, you know, and see myself grow
22:45 instead of, you know, trying to grow in the sideline until, you know, my junior, senior
22:50 year where I was, then I had the chance.
22:52 I was there from a pup all the way to, you know, an elder statesman, you know, and that's
22:57 where I was that, you know, that's, that's the blessing right there.
23:00 It didn't feel like, I mean, you're so young to be called an elder statesman on your first
23:05 national interview.
23:06 Come on, that's kind of funny, isn't it?
23:07 It's crazy.
23:08 You know, my teammates call me old now I'm getting called an elder statesman.
23:11 I don't know.
23:14 Last question for me is several people have mentioned to me that your faith is a humongous
23:22 part of your life.
23:24 You mentioned your church family coming and that speaks a lot about who you are as a man
23:32 for your parents to be divorced.
23:35 But still dad and stepdad are active in your life.
23:38 Talks about people who loved you a lot more than they love their ego.
23:41 That's a testament to your family.
23:44 I'm curious, what role does faith play in the life of Lance Wise?
23:49 Oh, faith is everything.
23:50 You know, I give glory to God every day because, you know, without him, there's no telling
23:55 where I would be right now.
23:56 You know, he was the one that gave me the abilities, the opportunities, the blessings
24:00 that I have.
24:02 And you know, my parents, they instilled it in me when I was a child.
24:06 But you know, you can only take that so far until you learn it yourself.
24:11 And just knowing that God will always be there and he's always taking me through tough times,
24:16 good times, bad times and everything in between.
24:18 You know, there's no reason to praise him every day for what he's done in my life and
24:22 also what he's done in my family's life as well.
24:24 I tell people all the time, faith is not inherited.
24:28 You can certainly get a head start if your parents are people of faith, but it's got
24:32 to become something personal, doesn't it?
24:34 Yes, sir.
24:36 Great point.
24:37 Lance, I want you to know wherever you go, I'm riding the Lance Wise train.
24:41 I believe in good people.
24:44 You're good people.
24:45 I love it.
24:46 I want to stay in touch with you and as we get closer to the draft, check in with you.
24:51 But we're believing in you.
24:53 Wishing nothing but the best.
24:55 And I appreciate you taking some time to talk to us today.
24:58 Thank you for having me.
25:00 All right.
25:01 Stay with us.
25:02 We're going to stay with me because I want to talk to you when we're done.
25:04 That's Lance Wise from Mercer.
25:06 The safety.
25:08 That's a young man that's got NFL teams attention.
25:11 I know he's got some attention from the Raiders.
25:14 This is a young man.
25:15 Don't look at Mercer and say, "Well, yeah, but what about this other kid?"
25:20 I mean, he is a baller.
25:23 Just a baller.
25:25 No off the field issues.
25:27 The guy is smart as a whip.
25:29 He's got his NBA.
25:32 Somebody's going to steal this young man.
25:34 And when they do, all he's going to do is what he did in Mercer.
25:37 He's going to ball out.
25:38 We'll check you all later.
25:39 Don't forget to come see me in San Antonio on Tuesday night.
25:42 Follow me on IG, @HondoSR.
25:45 Follow me on X, formerly known as Twitter @HondoCarpenter.
25:48 Go to SI.com/NFL/Raiders.