It’s in the cards for Wilson
KIRKLAND, Wash. – All the inspiration Josh Wilson needs is in his wallet – a frayed 1981 football card showing his father, Tim Wilson, then a Houston Oilers blocking back for Earl Campbell.
Josh Wilson’s grandfather, Tim’s father, gave Josh that card in 1996, just after Tim Wilson died of a heart attack at age 42.
“On one of those days when it’s getting hot and you’re getting tired, I do think about what he went through,” the Seattle Seahawks’ top draft pick said Thursday during a break in training camp practice.
“He went through the same thing in his day,” said Wilson, a 5-foot-9 cornerback from Maryland who was the 55th choice overall in the draft. “He told me how much fun he had, how great it was and the opportunities he had because of it. If he can do it, I can do it.
“His big thing was: You’re only going to get one shot, one opportunity. If the opportunity comes by and you’re not prepared, you won’t play,” added Wilson, who also had a tattoo likeness of his father on his chest with the words “Forever in my Heart.”
“You go hard every play because you never know what play is going to vault you to the next opportunity.”
Wilson, who has 4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash, is expected to be the third cornerback in the nickel defense and return kickoffs this season.
It’s a challenge for the relatively short Wilson, who weighs 190 pounds. But he has heard all that before. What Wilson might lack in size he makes up for in motivation.
He offers an anecdote from high school, when he and another student were sitting together in the training room just before track practice.
“So you think you’re going to the NFL?” the other student asked.
“Heck, yeah,” Wilson replied, adding his companion “looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘No, you’re not. You’re all right, but you’re not that good.’ “
“Every day at Maryland when I got a little tired and had some aches and pains and I didn’t want to go hard that day, I kept thinking of that guy. I still remember his face and what he said,” Wilson recalls.
Wilson took on every challenge in college. He defended against 6-5 receiver Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech, the No. 2 pick in the draft by Detroit – and Florida State’s 6-6 Greg Carr. The bigger they are, the higher his goal.
“They may be 6-5 and 6-6, but I can jump over them,” Wilson said. “Anybody can cover a guy if he puts his mind to it.”
Wilson started his last 24 games at Maryland. His junior year he had 73 tackles. Last season he averaged 27.3 yards per kickoff return and had a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Georgia Tech.
“That was an amazing run. No one touched me and I had to run through like four or five of my teammates. They said, ‘How’d you do that without tripping up?’ I said, ‘Someone carried me through there,’ ” Wilson said.