On 'Q'
July 30, 2003 02:35 PM | General
By John Antonik for
MSNsportsNET.com
August 1, 2003
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| Senior Quincy Wilson is ready to be become West Virginia's featured back this fall. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Quincy Wilson’s path to a college football career probably began in Walter Payton’s Winnebago.
Wilson spent summers with his father Otis at the Chicago Bears training camp complex in Lake Forest, Ill., and struck up a friendship with Walter’s son Jarrett Payton, now a senior running back at the University of Miami.
“We were the two oldest kids running around back then,” said Quincy. “The Winnebago was the only place with air conditioning.”
Otis, a first round draft pick from Louisville in 1980, played nine years as a standout linebacker helping the Bears to a Super Bowl victory over New England in 1986. Wilson says his young son paid attention everywhere he took him.
“Growing up he’s been around the best,” said his father. “He watched Walter Payton, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent work out. We always went to the gym and did our thing together so he knows what to do on every level.”
“Q” usually put that valuable information to good use when he came back home to Weirton, W.Va.
By the time he was old enough to attend Weir High School, Wilson had already acquired a healthy reputation as a football player. He was a starter on defense his freshman season and also got to run the football some as a backup.
“I probably had like 100 yards my freshman year,” Wilson recalled.
Quincy got more carries as a sophomore, but it wasn’t until his junior and senior seasons that he carved a niche for himself as the state’s premiere high school athlete.
In the remaining two years of high school Wilson gained the majority of his state-record 6,161 career yards. During his senior season, Wilson rushed for a West Virginia-record 3,262 yards in 14 games. That figure ranked him third nationally.
“He probably had 5,000 of those yards in the last two years,” said Doug Huff, former sports editor for the Wheeling Intelligencer and West Virginia high school sports historian.
According to Huff, Wilson’s senior year season, in which he averaged 9.4 yards per carry and scored 47 touchdowns, ranks as one of the most productive campaigns in West Virginia prep history.
“Probably the only one close to matching that was Curt Warner’s 48 touchdowns in 12 games as a senior – an average of four touchdowns per game,” said Huff.
Of course Warner wound up at Penn State where he was an All-American and an eventual first-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks.
Warner is generally considered to be the state’s most prolific running back due to his all-pro status with the Seahawks. Others who rank up there are South Charleston prep All-American Robert Alexander, whose career rushing total of 5,872 yards was broken by Wilson five years ago.
Alexander went on to play at WVU and had a short career in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams.
Kerry Marbury, from Monongah High School, rushed for 402 yards in just three quarters against Kingwood High School in 1968 and accounted for more than 5,000 career yards. He went to West Virginia and played three years for Jim Carlen and Bobby Bowden before leaving school early to go to the Canadian Football League.
Before that, there was Shepherdstown’s Bob Gaiters, who in 1960 led the nation in rushing for New Mexico State before embarking upon a modest professional career with the Denver Broncos.
And then there’s Quincy.
“He’s still playing, so the jury is still out on him,” says Huff.
***
Quincy Wilson had a tough choice to make after his senior season at Weir High in 1998: do I go out to the Midwest and play at a school near my father or do I stay home and play at West Virginia University?
Wilson took four of his five official visits to Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern. His fifth trip was to Morgantown. Quincy’s decision came down to Indiana and West Virginia. In the end, he figured being a homegrown star probably had more advantages so he picked WVU.
“I always felt you should want to go to your state university,” he said at the time of his signing. “I thought it was important to stay home.”
Wilson was also remaining close to his mother Kyle and his grandmother, who were just a short hour and a half drive across the tip of the Northern Panhandle.
Otis was also happy with Quincy’s choice, “He chose West Virginia University and I really believed in their program when Don Nehlen was there. And now they haven’t missed a beat when Rich (Rodriguez) took over.”
Being the best-known player in a recruiting class has its benefits. Even before he arrived on campus in the fall of 1999, more words were written in the newspapers about Quincy Wilson than the other 20 recruits combined.
It also meant Quincy was a marked man.
There were some older players on the team who wanted to see what Wilson was made of. “How could a guy from West Virginia be as good as me?” they thought.
In fall camp as a freshman Wilson ripped off some good runs, but he says he lacked consistency. “I would have some good practices and then I would fumble or drop some balls,” Wilson admitted.
Already in the program was freshman Avon Cobourne, who sat out his first year in 1998 while watching Amos Zereoue carve up opposing defenses. Cobourne was the heir apparent to Zereoue, but Wilson nonetheless put up a good battle.
Nehlen made it a point to single out Wilson after one scrimmage.
“The more I look, the better I like him,” said the veteran coach. “Powerful kid, he’s a powerful guy. I think he just keeps scratching at these other guys, I’ll tell you that.”
After a shaky start against East Carolina in the ’99 opener, Cobourne assumed the top spot on the depth chart and Wilson was relegated to backup duty and special teams play. It was on special teams that Wilson earned the respect of the entire team for his willingness to run downfield and blow up the blocking wedge on kickoffs.
“Special teams is where you earn your respect,” said Otis. “That’s how I got respect when I was a rookie at Chicago.”
Quincy finished his freshman season with just 146 yards -- a majority of which came in one game against Rutgers in a 62-16 blowout victory. But he was showing signs that he could become a capable backup to Cobourne. He was also proving he could do some damage when he was in the game, too.
That was until the 2000 spring game.
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| Quincy was one of the keynote speakers at this summer's West Virginia Special Olympics Games held in Morgantown (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
It was a simple cut he’d made a thousand times before. This time while avoiding a tackler, his body went in one direction and his right knee went in another. He felt a searing pain shoot through his entire leg.
“I just remember cutting and then all of the sudden I went down,” said Wilson. “I’m thinking something doesn’t feel right.”
Things weren’t right. He had completely tore the ligament in his right knee. Not only was he done for the rest of the game, his 2000 season was through, too.
“I thought I had a good spring and the spring game is supposed to be the showcase going into the fall and I was hopeful of getting a chance to compete for a starting job,” said Quincy. “And then to have that setback …”
There to pull Quincy out of his depression was Otis, who endured a serious injury to his left knee during the preseason of 1988 that forced him to miss the entire season. That injury eventually forced him to retire in 1989.
“The first thing I told him was to go to the right doctor,” said Otis. “Just don’t let anybody touch you. And then I told him that he had to get his flexibility back – that’s the main thing with any ACL injury.”
When Otis tore his knee in 1988, surgical procedures were much different then.
“Basically doctors carved up the knee and tried to fix things as best as they could,” said long-time football athletic trainer Dave Kerns. “Today they can make a three-inch incision and stick an instrument the size of a pencil in the knee to repair the tear.”
Rehabilitation was also dramatically different then.
“Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was a standard practice to immobilize the knee,” said Kerns. “We soon found that it was much better to utilize a brace to give the knee its full range of motion.”
This change in methodology has dramatically enhanced the healing process. What was once a 12-month injury has now become a six-month rehabilitation, provided the athlete works hard to strengthen the knee.
Today, because of all of his hard work, Quincy’s right knee is probably stronger than his left knee.
Still, the injury set Wilson back big time when spring practice rolled around in 2001. Nehlen retired and Rich Rodriguez came on board following West Virginia’s win over Mississippi in the 2000 Music City Bowl.
It took Wilson a while to catch Rodriguez’ attention, “Coming in it was a new system and I was coming off a full year of not even practicing,” he said. “Going into spring I felt a little behind.”
Once again, Wilson produced modest results in 2001. He carried the ball just 25 times for 181 yards and a touchdown. And once again, most of those yards came against Rutgers in a blowout victory. He finished the game rushing for 129 yards on just six carries; one of those runs went 60 yards for a touchdown.
Cobourne, meanwhile, carried the football 267 times for 1,298 yards and nine touchdowns.
“As a father, you always think your son is the best thing out there but I’m a realist, too,” said Otis. “I know talent and Avon was a great individual and a great college back and when you have a situation like that you have to respect that. That man worked hard to rush for 1,000-yards-plus each year. I told Quincy, ‘Don’t let that bother you. You can do what you need to do when you get your opportunity.’”
Rich Rodriguez had the exact same feelings. The coach pulled Wilson aside one day after his sophomore season and told him to keep working hard, that he was expecting him to have a bigger role in the offense. Rodriguez knew he needed more than one quality back to pull off what he was planning to do in 2002.
Rodriguez was going to add a little twist to his no-huddle, spread offense.
***
Rich Rodriguez’ first season at West Virginia wasn’t a very good one. The Mountaineers finished the year with a 3-8 record and the program was caught between the old system favored by Nehlen and the new one Rodriguez was installing. Another problem he encountered was a sheer lack of numbers.
West Virginia was nearly down to 70 scholarship players by the end of Rodriguez’ first season, making it more like a I-AA team.
In year two, Rodriguez was going to utilize both Cobourne and Wilson in the backfield, as well as the speed and elusiveness of Rasheed Marshall at quarterback.
This became apparent against Cincinnati when West Virginia amassed 523 yards of total offense in a game the Mountaineers won, 35-32.
Of those 523 yards, 334 came on the ground. Cobourne got 193 and Wilson managed an impressive 88 on just nine carries. Sometimes, both running backs were on the field at the same time. Quincy’s performance against the Bearcats made everyone realize that West Virginia had two outstanding running backs.
“We were still sort of feeling ourselves out against Wisconsin. The Cincinnati game we were flying around and after that our running game just took off,” said Wilson.
What an understatement that turned out to be. The following week against East Carolina, West Virginia’s offense absolutely dismantled a very respectable Pirate defense coordinated by Tim Rose, well-known in the collegiate coaching ranks for designing aggressive, attacking defenses.
“It was sort of pick your poison,” Wilson remembered. “I think we just had them schemed so well for that game. We knew the cutback would be there all game and the coaches stressed that to us all week during practice. They were a young defense so they were going to over-pursue.”
Once the dust had settled, West Virginia finished the game rushing for a Big East and Mountaineer Field-record 536 yards. Cobourne had 260 to break Amos Zereoue’s school career rushing mark and Wilson added 198 on just 14 carries. Quincy took one run 73 yards for a touchdown.
That dual performance goes down as the best in school history. The two combined for 458 yards on 44 carries. That effort really impressed an old defender like Otis Wilson.
“I really like what Rich is doing,” he said. “He’s got a system that can beat anybody.”
As good as Quincy was against East Carolina, he says his most memorable performance to date came at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
| “I just cringe when he’s running. He
likes to run over people and I tell him you’ve got to start avoiding
people. It’s cool when you’re young to do that but the older you get it
takes more out of your body.” -- Otis Wilson |
|
“That was my best game,” he says bluntly. “It was national television, you could feel the excitement in the air, and the whole week everyone was like, ‘This is a big game.’ The year before they put it on us so it was more of a revenge game. The way we played you just knew something special was going to happen.”
Something special sure did happen and Wilson played a big part in it. With the Mountaineers clinging to a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter, Quincy took a harmless third-down handoff, broke free of the line and raced 42 yards for a huge touchdown. The run put West Virginia up by 11 points and gave the Mountaineers just enough distance to hold off a late Hokie comeback.
Sitting amidst the Gold and Blue bedlam at Lane Stadium was Otis Wilson, grinning from ear to ear.
“A lot of people don’t really know who I am so I like to hear the comments from the other people,” he said. “I’m a true sports fan and I’m proud to see all of my son’s hard work paying off.”
Despite playing in some of football’s biggest games, Otis says he’s much more nervous watching his son perform than when he played the game himself.
“I just cringe when he’s running,” said his father. “He likes to run over people and I tell him you’ve got to start avoiding people. It’s cool when you’re young to do that but the older you get it takes more out of your body.”
***
Quincy finished his junior season rushing for 901 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers are okay until you consider the fact that he did it complementing Cobourne, who finished the year with a Big East-record 1,710 yards.
Wilson averaged 6.4 yards per carry -- the most in the Big East last year among backs with at least 140 carries. He also topped 100 yards three times last season despite not carrying the football more than 18 times in a single game. Quincy just missed going over the century mark against Syracuse (99) and had 88 against Cincinnati.
"Quincy is unbelievable," said running backs coach Calvin Magee. "I don't know if people are going to be surprised but he's the real deal."
One early NFL draft list by Mel Kiper Jr. has Wilson rated among the nation’s top senior backs. "He's a heckuva running back with great instincts," wrote Kiper.
ESPN The Magazine profiled Quincy and newcomer Kay-Jay Harris in its college football section in early July.
Collegefootballnews.com lists Wilson as the 28th-best player in the Big East and both Lindy’s and Street & Smith’s Magazine has Wilson among its preseason All-America checklist.
Yet amazingly, many others barely mentioned him.
“If you look at the publications you see some of these guys and they’ve done this and they’ve done that,” said Wilson. “Well I can’t think of a group of running backs that can be better than us because I see us every day.”
Wilson is convinced that with the depth at running back (which includes junior Hikee Johnson, freshmen Jason Colson, Erick Phillips and Bryan Wright, and JC transfer Kay-Jay Harris), the elusiveness of Marshall at quarterback, and the development of Miquelle Henderson, Aaron Neal and Travis Garvin at wide receiver, West Virginia could be a handful for opposing defenses this fall.
“Our offense could really be a headache for teams this year,” he admitted. “You’ve got two guys pounding at you the whole game and then in the third and fourth quarters, that’s when you can really break your big runs and control the ball.
“Our talent is endless at tailback,” he continued. “This school has become notorious for having good running backs. It’s just a matter of developing a few more wide receivers and our offense could be unstoppable.”
Even last year when defenses were sticking as many as eight or nine defenders in the box, West Virginia still managed to run against the likes of Virginia Tech, Pitt and Virginia.
“When you run plays so well it doesn’t matter who lines up where -- you’re going to get your yardage,” he said.
This year, Wilson believes Rasheed is going to have the right mix of players at wide receiver to give Rodriguez the true offensive balance that he’s been searching for since he first arrived in the winter of 2000.
***
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| Otis Wilson (55) pictured with Chicago Bears teammates Wilber Marshall (58) and Mike Singletary (50). (photo courtesy of the Otis Wilson Foundation) |
Summer has been hectic for Quincy. Sandwiched between trips back to Weirton and having to endure the daily doses of misery concocted by new strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis, Wilson found some time in June to visit his dad out in Chicago.
In addition to the Otis Wilson Foundation, which supports the development of inner city youth, his father conducts football camps throughout the Midwest including his biggest one – a contact camp at Benedictine University.
In between camp sessions, Quincy managed to play a couple of rounds of golf with his father. The two had plenty of time to reflect on Quincy’s goals for this season.
Yet his dad wouldn’t pry. If Quincy had a question, he’d answer it.
“I’ll help correct him but a lot of things he’s got to find out for himself,” says Otis. “We can talk about sports, but until you experience it you have to learn for yourself.”
Eventually the two made their way down to a local fitness center where Otis is a member. His curiosity got the best of him: Otis just had to see how much his son could lift.
Once Quincy began stacking those 45-pound plates on the bar, slid underneath the bench and pushed all of that weight up with ease did his dad realize he no longer had a little guy on his hands.
“When he just threw up about 400 pounds on that bench press and was squatting all of that weight I said, ‘Well now I have a young man on my hands.’ I can’t even do that stuff anymore – I’m an old man,” he laughed.
Otis marvels at his son’s diligence and willingness to get better. Like any proud father, he runs through a list of reasons his son is much better than he ever was.
“Number one, I never had the speed he has,” Otis began. “Two, our strength is about the same and three, he is truly a football nut. He watches more film than I ever did. I wasn’t a good practice player. I might practice well for about an hour and then after that I’m done. I knew what I needed to do when I got there on Sunday. Quincy is totally committed in every area so that’s going to make him a whole lot better than it ever made me.”
For his part, Quincy is gratified he is finally getting an opportunity to become West Virginia’s featured back.
“It feels like all of the hard work is finally paying off,” he said. “This is what I’ve wanted – to be the man. I’ve been waiting for a chance to get in there and be a starter and not having to worry about waiting to get into a game. (Being a starter) is one of the goals I’ve set for myself and now it’s time to go out there and perform.”
“Quincy had a little bump in the road one year but he’s worked hard and he’s really put himself in a position to where he can do some great things,” said his father.
Otis has been clearing his fall schedule to make sure he can get to as many of Quincy’s games in person that he can. “I’ll be right there with my West Virginia colors on watching,” he smiled.
His dad won’t be the only one watching Quincy, that’s for sure.
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WVU Single-Game Rushing Leaders |
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| Yards | Player | Opponent | Date |
| 291 | Kerry Marbury | Temple | 10-23-71 |
| 260 | Avon Cobourne | East Carolina | 9-28-02 |
| 234 | Amos Zereoue | Notre Dame | 11-22-97 |
| 228 | Amos Zereoue | Rutgers | 11-14-98 |
| 214 | Pete Wood | Boston College | 9-11-71 |
| 213 | Armin Mahrt | Marietta | 10-7-22 |
| 210 | Avon Cobourne | Pitt | 11-27-99 |
| 208 | Eddie Williams | South Carolina | 12-30-69 |
| 206 | Undra Johnson | Temple | 11-16-85 |
| 206 | Amos Zereoue | Miami | 9-27-97 |
| 205 | Ted Anderson | VMI | 10-24-53 |
| 202 | Ira Errett Rodgers | Marietta | 9-27-19 |
| 199 | Eddie Williams | Pitt | 10-25-69 |
| 199 | Amos Zereoue | East Carolina | 9-6-97 |
| 198 | Quincy Wilson | East Carolina | 9-28-02 |
| 198 | Robert Walker | Syracuse | 10-30-93 |
