As an addendum to some of our recent focus on Russell Wilson…GoPack.com has a must read for everyone It goes without saying that Russell Wilson is a very impressive young man.
RALEIGH – It was small slice of “Bull Durham†from the backseat of the family sedan. Harrison Wilson III was throwing interview questions at his two sons, Harrison IV and Russell, as they made the 30-minute drive between grandparents’ homes in Virginia’s Tidewater area.
Perhaps it was more like a cross examination, since the elder Wilson is a lawyer. Whatever, it was one of the many times the father prepared his sons for their lives in the public eye. What Russell remembers, in particular, is that at the end of the backseat interrogation his father handed him a small slip of paper that read: “There’s a king in every crowd.â€
It was a father’s way of telling his youngest son to be careful, because there is always someone watching, always someone judging, always someone paying attention to his every move. Even when he was alone.
“That’s always stuck with me, because no matter what you are doing, you never know who is watching, even if it is just you and God,†Russell Wilson said. “You have to be true to yourself, work hard and do the right things.â€
Saturday afternoon, as Russell helped NC State’s offense score three touchdowns in a 21-17 victory over Wake Forest, there was, indeed, a king in the crowd: Harrison Wilson III.
Back in July we posted this entry linking a fantastic story from ESPN.com about Russell Wilson. In the spirit of GoPack’s article we didn’t want to forget it.
ChiefJoJo shared the following perspective on the ESPN story at the time:
What a fantastic story. I was going to link it here, but BJD beat me to it. He just sounds like a great kid. I like how he sought out Brian Jordan to seek his advice on playing two sports and being in broadcasting. Let’s see: he excels at two sports, is well-spoken, a good leader, hard worker, and carries a 3.6 GPA. We need more like him. Putting athletics aside, I hope everyone doesn’t miss just how impressive a person he seems to be.
I had never heard the combination of “Hagans and Flutie” but it makes sense. If he can be anywhere near as good as those two in FB, we are going to be alright. It will be interesting to see if we put him into the Lions den starting the first game at Columbia under the lights on ESPN. At least he’s been in a pressure situation on TV before (baseball vs UGA, super regionals).
Saturday, November 22, 2008 Update
From N&O on morning of State @ Carolina game – Wilson perfect fit with Pack
Russell Wilson traveled plenty of miles to get the attention of college coaches when he was a high school quarterback in Richmond, Va.
He attended camp at North Carolina’s four ACC schools, plus Virginia and Ohio State. He visited Alabama.
Coaches from schools from all over the nation watched him perform at Scout.com’s All-American combine in Louisville, Ky.
Now that Wilson has clearly emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC — as a redshirt freshman at N.C. State — it’s also clear that many coaches missed on him.
They watched him play, met him and worked with him, but were reluctant to offer a scholarship to him as a quarterback.
