Jessie Bates III

Height:
6-2
Weight:
195
Class:
Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown:
Fort Wayne, IN
High School:
Snider

2017 (Redshirt Sophomore)
Publicly announced he was declaring for the NFL Draft on Jan. 5, 2018 . . . Invited to the NFL Combine . . . Honorable mention All-ACC . . . Third team preseason All-ACC by Lindy’s Sports . . . Was 16th in the ACC in tackles per game with 7.2 . . . Started 10 games and finished fourth on the team with 79 tackles . . . Third on the team with five pass break-ups . . . Led the team in tackles against Florida State, Boston College and Appalachian State . . . Had a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Belk Bowl . . . Added seven tackles and a half tackle for loss vs. Texas A&M . . . It was the first PR for a touchdown in Wake Forest bowl history . . . Had seven tackles vs. Duke (11/25) . . . Had eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in win over Louisville (10/28) . . . Suffered a sprained knee vs. UofL that would keep him out of Notre Dame and Syracuse games . . . Returned to limited action vs. NC State (11/18) . . . Had an assisted tackle and a nine-yard punt return vs. the Wolfpack . . . Second on the team with seven tackles at Georgia Tech (10/21) . . . Added two tackles for loss vs. the Yellow Jackets . . . Team leader with 14 tackles against Florida State (9/30) to go with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pair of pass break-ups . . . Tied for the team-high with nine tackles against Appalachian State (9/23) . . . Had a 75-yard punt return to the Utah State 3-yard line which led to a Deacon touchdown (9/16) . . . Led the team with nine tackles against Boston College (9/9) . . . Had a 37-yard interception return to set-up a 2-yard Cade Carney touchdown run vs. the Eagles . . . Five tackles and a forced fumble in season-opening win over Presbyterian (8/31) . . . Finished career with 179 tackles and six interceptions for 195 yards . . . Ranks third in school history career interception return yards.

2016 (Redshirt Freshman)
Had an outstanding redshirt freshman campaign in 2016 ... Was a consensus Freshman All-American ... Earned first team Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, USA Today, Campus Insiders, ESPN, Athlon and Sports on Earth ... Runner-up for ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year to Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence in voting by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association ... Was second in the ACC in interceptions with 5 ... Led the ACC in interception return yards with 158 ... Led all ACC freshmen in interceptions ... The only freshman in the country with two interception returns for touchdowns ... Fifth in the ACC in PR Average (5.3) in league games ... Finished 14th in the ACC in tackles per game with 7.7 ... Was the second-leading tackler in the conference among freshmen behind only Duke's Joe Giles-Harris ... Tied for the league lead in solo tackles with 70 along with Virginia's Quin Blanding ... Had the most solo tackles of any freshman in the ACC ... 20th in the ACC in passes defended with nine ... His 70 unassisted tackles were the second-most ever recorded by a redshirt freshman at Wake Forest behind Kelvin Moses who had 71 in 1995 ... Set the school record for interceptions by a redshirt freshman with 5 ... Had interception returns for touchdowns against Indiana (55 yards) and Virginia (39 yards) ... Led the team with eight tackles, seven solos, in his collegiate debut vs. Tulane (9/1) ... Named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week on 9/26 for his performance against Indiana ... Intercepted two passes and returned one 55 yards for a score ... Had 94 yards in return yardage ... Led the Deacons with eight tackles, fielded a pair of punts and recovered Indiana's last-gasp onside kick with 11 seconds remaining in the game ... Received honorable mention from the Jim Thorpe Player of the Week as ranking among the nation's top defensive backs following the IU game ... Led the team with a career-high 15 tackles vs. NC State (10/1) ... Second on the team with eight tackles vs. Florida State (10/15) ... Added his third interception of the year vs. the Seminoles ... Had an interception and 25-yard return vs. Army West Point (10/29) ... Intercepted a Virginia pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown and the game-winning score in a 27-20 win over Virginia (11/5) ... Led the team with 13 tackles vs. Louisville (11/12) ... Added a forced fumble vs. the Cardinals and a season-long 29-yard punt return ... Tied for the team tackle lead with 12 vs. Clemson (11/19) . . Tied for the team lead with seven tackles in the Military Bowl victory over Temple ... Had interceptions in three consecutive games (Florida State, Army and Virginia) ... On the field for 993 plays, the most among all returning players in 2017 ... Earned his first varsity letter.

2015 (True Freshman)
Redshirted.

High School
Team captain as a senior ... Rated as a 3-star recruit by 247 and ESPN ... A two-time first team all-state selection by the Associated Press in 2013 and 2014 ... Earned first team all-state honors from USA Today in 2014 ... As a senior, recorded nine interceptions tying the mark of NFL Hall of Famer Rod Woodson ... Recognized as All-Northeast Indiana first team by The Journal Gazette ... Helped lead Snider to a 10-3 record as a senior ... Also played point guard for the Snider basketball team ... Coached in football by Kurt Tippman.

Personal
Son of Theresa Ladd ... Born Feb. 26, 1997.