I THOUGHT THIS WAS A DEEPLY INSIGHTFUL PIECE

Parting Shots: Paul Wilson

Ali Peek
Special to GatorBait.net

Related Links:

Tate Casey Parting ShotsFootball Parents Q&AWorth Reading

Talk about it in Alligator Alley

Paul Wilson has always been an "actions speak louder than words" type of guy. That's why it has to kill him to see that his legacy at UF has been his long list of injuries instead of the long list of goals he set out to accomplish at the beginning of his career with the Gators.

As one of the seven recruits signed from Lakeland High School in the 2007 signing class, Wilson has strived to prove to doubters that he was worthy of his scholarship and wasn't just a part of some sort of package deal to land his more high profile teammates like Chris Rainey and the Pouncey twins. For the past two and a half years, Wilson has quietly been doing anything and everything that the football program has asked of him. Not only has he given his time and talent, but most literally, he has given his body to UF.

Casey Brooke Lawson
Paul Wilson going through receiver drills

Urban Meyer couldn't have been more on target when he said "Certain kids, you just like better than others. You don't want to say that, but it's true. The guys that really put in the hard work and go to class; live right and take care of themselves, all the things that Paul Wilson does. A guy like that deserves a chance to live his dream."

I knew that I felt the same way Coach Meyer does about my friend's situation, but it wasn't until I saw the outpouring of well wishes from GatorBait.net that I realized just how much all of Gator Nation felt the same. It was at this point I knew I wanted to sit down with Wilson and let him talk about his experiences.

When I first texted Wilson to see if he would be willing to sit down with me to talk about his injury plagued career, I got a response very typical of him.

"Sure, but I doubt anyone would want to hear about me."

Somehow, I found that hard to believe. After listening to Wilson talk about his time with the football team, I knew the readers at GatorBait.net would truly appreciate the dedication and sacrifices that Wilson has given for his team.

When I arrived to interview Wilson, his mom showed me his x-rays taken before and after his latest foot surgery. In the before x-ray, you can clearly see the very bent titanium screw in his right foot. The screw that replaced the bent one is more than twice as big, taking up the entire inside of his bone and is nearly the length of it as well.

After showing me the x-rays, Wilson and I sat down to discuss his time with the Florida Gators.

GatorBait.net: Talk about the recruiting process in high school and how you ended up choosing UF.

Paul Wilson: "Basically, as you know, I came from Lakeland. We had a bunch of good recruits; [Chris] Rainey, the Pouncey twins [Maurkice and Mike], John Brown and all those guys, Steven Wilks and Ahmad Black. We all just kind of came together. We all got recruited around the same time. They got some scholarships before I did and when they [Florida] offered me, it made sense for me to come here."

GatorBait.net: Did you seven ever sit down and say 'okay, we are all going to go here' or how did it work? Were certain players leaning to UF?

Paul Wilson: "Well, the Pouncey twins actually wanted to go to Florida State. Rainey was really the only one that said he wanted to go to Florida from the beginning. I was leaning towards Notre Dame and I don't know when everybody got a scholarship to Florida, we just decided we would go together."

GatorBait.net: Did you have many injuries in high school?

Paul Wilson: "No, I had one sprained ankle that kept me from playing in one game my whole career, football and baseball."

GatorBait.net: What was your first injury at UF?

Paul Wilson: "My first injury at UF, I pulled my hamstring going into my freshman year right before two-a-days so I was in the "pit" pretty much the whole time. Then, my second injury was a torn ligament in my wrist and it ended up that seven months later I had to have reconstructive surgery on that. ... Then, spring came around and I dislocated my knee cap in my left knee. Then I had a stress fracture in my lower back and then I broke my foot twice."

GatorBait.net: Do you think there is something specific you did in your training that could have provoked it or could have been prevented?

Paul Wilson: "Football is just a rough sport. Some people are made out for it; some people aren't. But, we do a lot of agility's [drills] and there is a lot of stress on the feet, I guess my foot just couldn't keep up with it."

GatorBait.net: So you were having a great first couple practices at two-a-days, tell me what went through your head the second you realized this was more than just tweaking it or spraining it?

Paul Wilson: "I had been playing on it all of spring ball through the same pain, so basically, what they were telling me was that I had been playing with a broken foot for several months. It was one of those things where I wanted to play, so I wasn't going to sit out when it was something that I could deal with. It hurt, but it wasn't going to keep me from playing. But then when the doctor told me it was broken and that I had to get surgery again and that I was just going to keep re-breaking it if I kept playing football, that was kind of a shock to me."

GatorBait.net: What made you get it checked out?

Paul Wilson: "Well it had been hurting for a while and I just finally told AP (team trainer Anthony Pass) maybe we should get another x-ray on it just to see what it looks like and we got one and it came back that the screw was bent, so I went and saw Dr. Pete and he said I was going to have to get surgery on it to repair it cause it wasn't going to heal on it's own, and eventually, that screw was going to break."

GatorBait.net: So when you met with Dr. Pete, in that first conversation did he tell you that you weren't going to play again or did he just tell you that you were going to have surgery?

Paul Wilson: "No, he told me he was going to see me again in a few days and take some more x-rays and then he was going to compare my old x-rays to the new ones to see how much had changed. Then, after that happened, he told me I was going to have to get surgery again."

GatorBait.net: Who was in the room when doctors told you they didn't think you would play ball again?

Paul Wilson: "It was myself, my mom, my dad and Anthony Pass, AP our trainer."

GatorBait.net: So it was AP that told you?

Paul Wilson: "No, it was Dr. Pete." … "Yeah he just said it would keep breaking, so I shouldn't ever play again."

GatorBait.net: After he told you that did you then have a discussion with your parents? What went on from there?

Paul Wilson: "It was a pretty big shock. Everyone was quiet in the room for a little while. I didn't really know what to say. I've been playing football for so long that you know, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I was expecting to go in there and maybe have him tell me I had to take a few weeks off and let it heal or whatever but for him to tell me that I wasn't going to be able to play any more was a big shock to everyone I think."

GatorBait.net: Did you get other medical opinions?

Paul Wilson: "We got another opinion from a foot specialist in North Carolina and he said the same thing. So we just went ahead and decided to do the surgery. The faster we did the surgery, the faster the rehab would be."

GatorBait.net: From there, did they call Coach Meyer and wide receiver coach Billy Gonzales or did you call them?

Paul Wilson: "I think they were calling back and forth, trying to explain what was going on and stuff like that and we went to see Coach Meyer and he was talking to me about it and he actually put it into the grand scheme of things because you know, I was real upset and whatnot and but he calmed me down and said you're healthy other than your foot, you aren't dying, this is football. I know it's important to you but you are going to go off and make a lot of money doing something else. You are going to get a degree from Florida because they were going to pay for my school and in the grand scheme of things; you are going to be okay. When he puts it like that, somebody's always got it worse than you do. It's hard, you'll be upset for awhile, but at least I will be able to walk again."

GatorBait.net: Meyer said to the media that you never want to say you have favorites, but that he was very upset to see this happen to someone that did the right things all of the time; went to class, went to practice, followed the rules. Does a part of you want to ask 'why me?'

Paul Wilson: "No. You can't think like that. Obviously I'm disappointed because I didn't exactly get to play as much as I wanted to, I didn't really get to go out there and prove myself because I have been hurt since I stepped on campus pretty much. It's hard to play hurt in that league (the SEC), it really is. It's the fastest conference in the country. So, it's hard to go out there and play when you are hurt. But, I'm not bitter. I think God's got a bigger plan for me, this just wasn't it. There is a reason I'm here, I just don't know what it is yet, but I think eventually some good is going to come out of this."

GatorBait.net: What are your plans for staying involved with the team?

Paul Wilson: "I am just planning on being around. Hanging out with the guys. Calling them, checking up on them. Every once in a while I'll go out to practice and see how they are doing and just be around the facilities. They are still my best friends. We'll still hang out on the weekends and I'll still call them and we'll still hang out. I mean, it's going to be weird. It's going to be different, seeing them out there on the field and me not being a part of it. But you know, I'll be okay.

GatorBait.net: Let's switch gears a little bit and talk about your teammates. I want to know your take on the six other players you came in with from Lakeland High School. Personal experiences with them, what you think of them, etc. Let's start with Wilks.

Paul Wilson: "Wilks and I are really close. We met my freshman year of high school and pretty much became best friends. So, I was really excited when he got the scholarship to come here. He struggled a little bit when he first got to UF; he didn't really know what position he wanted to play. Actually, a funny story about Wilks is that we were both on the scout team our freshman year and we both got redshirted. We wanted to sit in meetings together so he came into the offensive scout meeting and he was actually playing linebacker at the time, so that is where his full back career started. That's how that worked out for him."

GatorBait.net: So he is a fullback now because he wanted to sit with you in meetings?

Paul Wilson: "That's pretty much how it started. He went over there on scout team and started doing really well at fullback and the coaches saw that and that's how it all started."

GatorBait.net: Talk about the Pounceys.

Paul Wilson: "The Poucey twins...the first time I met them was also my freshman year. They played J.V. then they got moved up to Varsity at the end of the J.V. season. We met in the weight room. You could tell they were going to be really good eventually; they had a lot of size. Going into our junior year, they blossomed and just became monsters. They were out there killing people. They are always together. They are the jokesters of the team. Ask anybody on the team, they will tell you. But they are really good guys though."

GatorBait.net: How do you tell the Pounceys apart from each other?

Paul Wilson: "I don't know. I just can. I guess being around them so long. I can just tell the difference. To me, Mike looks different than Maurkice. They just look different to me. I know they look exactly the same, but they look completely different."

GatorBait.net: What do you think is going to happen when they play for two different NFL teams?"

Paul Wilson: "I really don't know. I think they'll be okay with it. It's going to be hard to get used to it obviously, but I think they'll be fine."

GatorBait.net: What about Black?

Paul Wilson: "Me and Ahmad Black go back a long time. We actually played little league baseball against each other. Ahmad is a really good baseball player, but he gave that up to play basketball and football. We went to the same middle school together. Playing against each other, it was always me and Ahmad, playing basketball against each other, he would always be on the other team and I would have to guard him, so we have known each other for a really long time. Back when they used to call him A.J. He is one of those guys who is not the biggest or the strongest or the fastest guy, but he has those football instincts and he just knows how to be at the right place at the right time. He has always been like that."

GatorBait.net: What about John Brown?

Paul Wilson: "John Brown...I didn't really get to know John Brown because he didn't play with us all four years. He is a really quiet guy. He's a good guy. He is freakishly strong, I will tell you that. I was really disappointed when he transferred."

GatorBait.net: Now talk about Rainey.

Paul Wilson: "I met Rainey in the 6th grade. We were playing flag football together. I was the quarterback and he was always the fastest kid wherever he went, so I always threw the ball to Rainey. All the other kids on my team would get mad because I wouldn't throw the ball to anyone but Rainey because we were winning, so I threw it to him every time. Rainey is an interesting guy. He's a good guy. He's got a really good personality and a good smile. He is a phenomenal ball player. He is going to be a great player in the NFL one day."

GatorBait.net: What do you think the receivers are going to do the rest of this year and who do you think will stand out, because there are really very few proven receivers right now.

Paul Wilson: "Very few proven guys, but it is a very, very talented group of guys. Riley Cooper has obviously done a lot here at Florida and I think he is going to be one of Tim's [Tebow] favorite targets this year. David Nelson is such a hard worker. He knows every position for every play. He is a great blocker.

	Casey Brooke Lawson
	Paul Wilson during spring practice 2009

"Brandon James...seeing Brandon return kicks you can see he is dynamic so he is going to be the same way in the slot. They are going to be able to do a lot of things with him like screens and bubbles and stuff.

"Carl Moore is struggling with a back injury and once he gets healthy he will help us push the ball down-field with deep balls. Deonte Thompson is a real fast guy, a track guy. Like Carl, he will be able to push the defense and get them to play their zones. T.J. Lawrence played at Kathleen, so he played against me a lot, he is a real good ball player, very athletic.

"Frankie Hammond Jr. is a smaller guy, but he has real good hands and runs great routes. Omarius Hines is a bigger, stronger guy. I'd like to see him move inside. I think he fits better in the slot.

"I talked to Coach G recently and I asked him how the guys were doing and he said they have a lot to work on but they are a real talented group. Florida is always going to be good."

GatorBait.net: Coming out of high school to the college level, how is a five star player treated once he gets on campus compared to someone that isn't as highly rated. Are they ridden harder and is more expected out of them or are they given some leeway compared to the other guys? What have you noticed?

Paul Wilson: "They actually kind of make fun of the five stars when they first arrive. Everybody always says "He's a five star". Coach Meyer will say "oh, but he's a five star" real sarcastically so they kind of poke fun of them a little bit. But I think when everybody arrives on campus; all that five-star stuff doesn't really matter. When every body's there you are going against each other every day, and that five-star, three-star stuff doesn't matter anymore."

GatorBait.net: John Brantley is your roommate. What do you think of him as a quarterback?

Paul Wilson: "I think Brantley is going to be really good. Not only is he my roommate; he's a really great guy. The throws that he can make and how calm he stays in the pocket, he just stands there completely unfazed. The reads he can make, making those throws were only the receivers can catch it. He is going to be a stud."

GatorBait.net: What do you think he does better than Tebow?

Paul Wilson: "(Laughs) I don't really know because Brantley hasn't really seen that much game action yet. But, Tebow is obviously more of a guy that just wills his team to win. You want Tebow on your team. I'm interested to see how Brantley does though. That is a really hard question to answer because they both have really, really strong arms and they are both really accurate. Tebow is obviously bigger, so he is able to run a little bit more. But, I don't think people understand how elusive Johnny is in the pocket. He can run away from defenders and he makes things happen. It's a hard question to answer because John hasn't played enough to compare."

GatorBait.net: What do you think the offense will look like when Brantley is running it?

Paul Wilson: "I don't think it is going to change that much. I really don't. With [Jeffrey] Demps, Rainey and [Emmanuel] Moody we got a really good backfield right now and the receivers are only going to get better. So, I don't think it will change all that much at all."

GatorBait.net: When you aren't a starter, how does the treatment you receive from the training staff, the support staff and the coaching staff differs than if you were one of their star guys?

Paul Wilson: "Obviously you aren't going to get treated the same as a guy that is an All-American or has helped win a championship. It's not the same. ... Every player out there contributes though, whether you are on the scout team or you are the starting quarterback. Every single player on that team has a big role. The coaches put a really big emphasis on our scout team giving good looks to the starters. Those guys are really important. I'll give you an example. No guy in that whole locker room has as much respect from the coaching staff and the players as [former walk-on] Joey Sorrentino. He plays special teams but he is just such a big part of the team. What he does, in his role, same with [former walk-on] Cade Holliday.

"I wouldn't say you have to be an All-American to receive the better treatment. You just have to work hard."

GatorBait.net: So is it fair to say at UF, the special treatment isn't necessarily reserved for the super stars, but for the hardest workers?

Paul Wilson: "Well, it is a fine line. There are people that work hard and don't really get to play as much. Obviously there are guys that are extremely talented, so therefore, don't work as hard and they are going to play. But the people that get the most respect are the ones who aren't the biggest, fastest, strongest guys but they work so hard that they just basically will themselves onto the field. Coaches can't keep them off. Those are the guys everyone looks up to."

GatorBait.net: Is there anything you can think of that the average fan doesn't realize goes on behind the scenes?

Paul Wilson: (laughs) "Yeah. All the hard work, all the extra stuff we do. The extra throwing, studying, the film, the treatments. If you are three pounds under weight, you can't work out until you make weight. So, you have to chug however many cups of glasses it takes to get you at your goal weight before you can even work out. Then you feel sick the rest of the time. A lot of what we do it trying to get, not necessarily physically better, it's getting mentally tougher than the other team. Coach Mick preaches that in the 4th quarter, we are going to be the most conditioned team, because most of the time, we are going to have more talented players. But if we are mentally stronger, that is our edge."

GatorBait.net: How has the leadership changed over your time at UF?

Paul Wilson: "Our team is pretty close. My freshman year, there were these guys that were labeled as leaders but it was their first year starting and they didn't really understand how to lead. They weren't ready. Even coach Meyer will tell you that that year, that was a different team than we have now. This team is so much better and closer and the guys that we have now are so mature about how they go about things. All of our teammates are really, really close."

GatorBait.net: Are there guys that lead on the field the same that lead behind the scenes?

Paul Wilson: "When we have locker room meetings with just players it is mostly just Spikes and Tebow talking. The Pounceys will get people going too. With our team, it's what you see is what you get. The leaders you see on the field are the same leaders in the locker room."

GatorBait.net: What was it like coming in to UF as a freshman? This team was fresh off a national championship. Was it intimidating?

Paul Wilson: "Yeah it was intimidating. I graduated high school early, so I had just turned 18. I was playing against guys that were 21, 22 years old. It is a decision that I made, looking back, it was probably not one of the greatest decisions I have ever made. I was small and it was intimidating. I had some of my teammates that came in with me so it made the transition a little bit easier."

GatorBait.net: Do you think coming in to school in the winter gave you an advantage, not just on the football field, but in the classroom?

Paul Wilson: "It definitely helped in that respect. But, of course, I got hurt, so it wasn't like it benefited me a lot because I couldn't play anyways. It's basically like I got to work out, I got bigger and I got stronger, but during the season it didn't help me that much because I was hurt anyways."

GatorBait.net: So now that your football career is over, where do you go from here?

Paul Wilson: "Now, I don't know. Just concentrate of school I guess. Get back right, rehab, stuff like that. You never know. I was a pretty good baseball player in high school and I have tried to talk to the baseball coach a little bit, so we'll see how it goes but like I said, I don't know how my foot is going to respond to running and stuff like that because of how extensive the surgery was but you never know."

GatorBait.net: One last question. If you could do it again, would you do it the same?

Paul Wilson: "Oh yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I have a national championship ring and there is no place I'd rather be."

Since this interview, Paul Wilson has found out that as soon as he gets off the crutches he has been using after his latest foot surgery, he will need to undergo a second surgery on his wrist. He had the first surgery a little more than a year ago to repair torn ligaments in his wrist.