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Carson Wentz: 'The Moment Is Not Gonna Shock Me'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Carson Wentz has had an eventful 2016 and that's before he makes his NFL regular season debut on Sunday.

The 23-year-old rookie quarterback says he's ready to go.

"Yeah. I feel ever since I got here, I felt very comfortable with things," Wentz told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show while promoting a child's passing clinic for the Eagles Charitable Foundation. "I feel like I developed at a very fast pace.

"I know one thing for sure, the moment is not gonna shock me. It's still just football. Once the game starts, it's still just a game of football. I'm excited for it and ready to show what I can do."

Listen: Carson Wentz on the 94WIP Morning Show

 

Saying his last nine months have been eventful is an understatement.

On January 9th, Wentz returned from a broken wrist that kept him out eight weeks, to lead the North Dakota State Bison to its fifth straight FCS National Championship earning NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game Most Outstanding Player honors for the second consecutive year. Then, Wentz went through the NFL draft process for a few months, landing with the Philadelphia Eagles -- who selected him No. 2 overall after trading up twice for the 6-5, 237-pound dual threat QB.

Related: Now, It's The Carson Show

On August 11th, Wentz made his NFL debut in a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but suffered a hairline fracture in his ribs. The injury kept him out for the remainder of the preseason, and on Monday -- just two days after the Eagles shockingly traded their starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings to recoup a 2017 first-round pick they gave up to get him in the first place --  Wentz was named the Week 1 starting quarterback for the Eagles.

The Cleveland Browns, who traded away the second-overall pick to the Eagles passing on Wentz, said they didn't think he could become a top-20 NFL QB. Wentz isn't worried about that, he says.

Related: Brandon Graham: Wentz 'Poses So Many Different Other Threats' Than Bradford

"I really don't know and to be honest that was the draft process," Wentz said on Wednesday. "Right now, I'm really just focused on this week. I'm focused on playing the Browns. I'm real excited that I'm an Eagle now and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Any extra motivation for Sunday?

"Again, I'm real focused on beating the Browns," Wentz maturely said. "I don't really need extra motivation. I'm pretty motivated myself. I'm real excited for this opportunity, I know that much."

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