I think that a good point was made about Wilson kind of getting lost in the shuffle recently. He seems a bit on the thin side a la Markus Wheaton, but he has length, from what I can see very good wheels and he looks like he knows how to work a DB, savvy moves. I'm looking at this clip and a solid double move at :26 which I like, then he blows everyone away at :35, which I like especially because it's off of press coverage, albeit blown coverage. I can't say that I know a whole lot about Wilson, but to me he has the look of a gamer, a guy who knows how to get open and make plays. Combine that with height and wheels and he looks like a solid prospect to me. As with Da'rick Rogers there seem to be some behavioral concerns, iirc he was kicked off the team- how bad these concerns are, I don't know. Going through this clip you can also see a nice stutter move at 2:13 where he blows away the CB for an easy TD- if we were to draft 2 WRs and this were the 2nd guy I'd be pretty happy about it, again based on my limited info. Maybe there are some West coasters out there with some specific knowledge and opinions as to Wilson, thx. My main concern now would be his overall level of strength and how he's fare against NFL press coverage, but that's just a guess. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrwg7jKMW_Y
Mike Leach hasn't exactly made a lot of friends with college football players, so if Wilson's story holds true I wonder how much his stock will ultimately be effected. I think if we see stuff we like on film from him and we clear him from a character-standpoint he could be someone we grab in the middle-to-late rounds that could be a steal. He might be a great fit in both our offense and Philbin's philosophy of how players should be treated.
That's a good point and I've been wondering the same thing, and to a lesser extent about Dooley at UT as per Da'Rick Rogers. Rogers is my favorite, but both he and Wilson look like highly talented and skilled WRs to me- I'm just not convinced that wither will last to the mid/late rounds. Talent is king in the NFL, and from what I've seen these guys have it.
Aside from Stedman Bailey probably the most consistently underrated wide receiver in the Draft, at the moment.
One of the myths about Marquess Wilson is that he made accusations against Leach and his staff that he later recanted. That's just plain untrue. He made accusations that the staff had MENTALLY abused players (mentioned intimidation, ridicule, etc). But people saw the word "abuse" and ran away with it as if he were accusing Mike Leach of the same thing that got him fired at Texas Tech. Not what he was doing and Marquess made that abundantly clear in his original statement. He later texted the Washington State A.D. and his "recantation" consisted of making sure the A.D. knew that he wasn't referring to any kind of physical abuse of players. It wasn't a recantation at all. I've seen media sources essentially confirm from what they saw at practice the coaches rode Marquess Wilson particularly hard, harder than other players. They often singled him out in front of the group in order to mete out punishment for running a route wrong or not catching a ball, etc. They had it in their heads that they were going to ride this man extremely hard because he's so talented, and make an example of him. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore. Or rather, he decided that there's really no reason he as a grown man should have to take it anymore.
I'd be inclined to giving Wilson the benefit of the doubt, because from what I've seen Leach is pretty much a douche.
I consider what happened to be an error on both sides. I've actually followed Leach a lot in Washington State because I like the young QB they have waiting in the wings, Connor Halliday, and so I've really kept tabs on that situation as soon as Leach was hired. In Leach's press conferences he comes off like he doesn't even care about the kids. And I've heard that from more than just Marquess Wilson.
I question Wilson's hands at times, not that he drops a lot of passes, but b/c an excessive number completions seemed to be a smidge away from being dropped or bobbled.
if that is the case Wilson is a big fat hairy pu$$y. How do you let what someone says to you break you? what is he going to do when the going gets tough in the NFL.
Easy to say that as you sit lazily in a computer chair eating cheetohs and typing on a keyboard. I doubt that's really the case though. At some point you've got to realize he's got a point. There really isn't any reason he needs to take that kind of abuse just for a scholarship. He's going to the NFL anyway and I doubt in the long run he'll much worse for the wear because of all this. The team wasn't really headed in the right direction. I doubt he'll go much lower now because of this than he would've if he finished the year and then came out.
I spent 23+ years in the Marine Corps. I think I have a grasp on what it is to be physically and mentally harassed. The guy is mentally weak and that is not the kind of guy I want next to me when the poo hits the fan. Football is a physically and mentally demanding game… if he cant handle a coach making him do a few extra pushups or getting yelled at… well he is a pu$$y. That is the problem with GenXers (or whatever the F todays youth is called) someone looks at them funny and your feelings are hurt…
I'm not a fan of the player, some physical things, and from what I've seen, some character red flags..he could grow into his body and his manhood, I just wouldn't take the risks from the limited info that I know.
His one concern was separation at the NFL level, is he going to have his own pro day or something? Obviously not going to be at the Wazzu pro day.
He will probably do all the events at the combine and then have private workouts with teams later on in the draft process.
It's not a matter of "breaking" someone. He's doing much more for the University than they're doing for him (scholarship, woohoo!), and here comes a coaching staff that is losing a **** ton of games, treating their players like crap, and treating you unequally even amongst the players. Why do you need to just "take it like a man"? They need you more than you need them. You're going to be a pro no matter what. This macho bull**** is just that. Bull****.
The way I see it it is not macho bull crap, it is about character or the lack there of. And I would beg to differ that it is just a scholarship. WSU football was there before Wilson and guess what… it is going to be there after Wilson. The issue that I have is that Wilson made a commitment to play football with his teammates and fans. He failed to kept his word to his teammates and fans because he cares more about himself then others. He failed his teammates because he felt "he" was more important then the rest of the guys he was out there suffering with. For all the screwing around with the players that the coaching staff does/did WILSON was the ONLY one that quit. As for it just being a scholarship. THAT is exactly the mind set that I was talking about in my previous post. The scenes of entitlement by todays youth is just F'n incredible. Wilson wasnt owed a scholarship he was earning it by playing football. It was his job, it was what he was payment for what he could do on the football field. It was his platform to get to the NFL because I am pretty sure NO ONE was going to draft him out of high school. Wilson has already quit once when the going got tough. How long before he quits again? Is it going to be in the middle of a championship game because he QB yells at him (ala Marino), cause it is too hot, cause someone lays a hit on him? As far as I am concerned Wilson's behavior is just another example of a weak minded selfish individual. He is a quitter. PAIN is temporary, quitting is FOREVER. Lastly, CK, I respect your opinion on most matters, so please dont take this personally. I just see life differently then you do on this matter….
I think that the issue was more of his coach Leach being a genuine a**h***. I respect your opinion as it pertains to the military forces, but I think that maybe a little perspective and leeway can be used- for example, if a basketball player at IU quit or transferred because Bobby Knight was a raging a-hole, I can pretty much understand that. But if the player was at Duke and quit coach K? That would raise a lot more flags imo. Leach is by many accounts pretty much a dirt bag, and I don't think that blatant abuse is supposed to be part of the football scholarship experience, at least no to that level. I hope that Wilson fares well, and I hope that we draft him.
I haven't come across separation as being an issue as per Wilson- I'm no expert when it comes to him but he looks pretty fast to me.
We have a VERY different sense of the (monetary) value of what these college players actually put on the field. These guys drive a multi-billion dollar industry and are paid in the form of scholarships which are worth a tiny tiny fraction of what their work is really worth. That's not sense of entitlement. That's just fact.
I don't see how it takes character top be treated like **** while playing football for no reason. Its probably a necessity in the armed services. But I'd say it takes way more character to stand up for yourself, then not, especially in this situation.
People are going to see it how they're going to see it. Bottom line to me is it was an error on both ends. There's been some dissatisfaction throughout the roster and I feel like Mike Leach has crossed the line with them several times, even if you're just looking at press conferences and nothing else. If what he was doing was working from a football sense I suppose it would be a different story, but it's not. The team is underachieving to a very high degree. He picked out Marquess Wilson as (probably) the most talented player on the roster and decided he was going to make an example of him. That didn't work. But on the other hand, Wilson probably should have just dealt with it. I rarely go in for hyperbole so when I see someone refer to him as a wet ***** for not putting up with it, I think that's wrong. That's a function of non-understanding, IMO. But at the same time, I do feel like the situation involved two wrongs that made for a terrible outcome. The question is whether the conditions will be the same in the pros, to where a similar outcome could occur. I personally don't think so. I think Wilson is an extremely underrated player and the circumstances of his leaving look understandable. This is not a coaching staff with a sterling record, by any means. It was a coaching staff that had literally just been dismissed from a major program for similar abuse of players.
I'm just giving my opinion on a player, from what I witnessed on several occasions, it was a sense of entitlement, an arrogance and demeanor on the field, that was worthy of what we call red flags..I wouldn't say this about a young man unless I felt like I saw some things that were alarming.. I'm not saying he is a bad guy, but were projecting the draft here and what we would do based on the info we have available to us. I was talking about some concerns I had for him before all this other stuff went down..I'm sure that when the scouts start watching all his games they will see the same.