Here we are again, but now, it is truly real for Dontre Wilson. It has to be, right?
Once a star at DeSoto High School in Texas known for his breakneck speed, fine hands, and slipperiness in the open field, Wilson is at last a senior at Ohio State.
Urban Meyer zeroes in on players like him every recruiting cycle — his offense demands guys with speed and ball skills that allow them to play multiple positions. Pundits compare these all-purpose players to Percy Harvin, the man who made the H-back spot famous at Florida. Whether that is fair or unfair is your own decision, but it is a reality.
Wilson was one of two players (Jalin Marshall the other) first graced with that expectation in Meyer's Ohio State tenure. Wilson isn't supposed to be here anymore. A prized recruit in the 2013 class, many thought Wilson would make an impact and leave early — Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Eli Apple, Vonn Bell and Marshall all did for the NFL after three years in college. All are members of the same recruiting class.
Marshall played a similar role as Wilson, but he didn't get the same praise as the Texan once he got to Columbus. Wilson was just different. He had speed. He had quickness. He had an ability to make guys look funny when they missed in their attempt to tackle him. In 2012, Meyer and Tom Herman only consistently felt comfortable giving the ball to then-quarterback Braxton Miller. Wilson's arrival the following year was meant to change that.
He made a brief impact his first year on campus, tallying 460 total yards of offense and three touchdowns as a freshman, plus more than 500 yards on kickoff returns. But at a slender 170 pounds, couldn't do much more than run to the outside. Wilson's head coach called him a "novelty" and "hood ornament," descriptors not supposed to be meant for football players.
"He was a hybrid guy that really wasn't great at anything," Meyer said in July 2014. "He had potential, but couldn't block at the level we expected him to (and) was not quite strong enough to run inside like you need that hybrid guy to do.
Injuries ransacked Wilson's production last season. He's added weight but struggled to get past a nagging foot injury he suffered in Ohio State's 49-37 victory at Michigan State in 2014. Wilson caught a touchdown pass in that game with a broken bone in his foot. In 2015, he missed four games and totaled just seven receptions for 63 yards and another 167 on kickoff returns.
Now, he is one of just six seniors on the Ohio State roster. Demario McCall enrolls next weekend, another electrifying all-purpose back believed to be "the next Dontre Wilson." Wilson is staring at his final chance to make the feelings that accompany that caption be ones of excitement and persistence instead of buildup and disappointment.
He knows it, too.
I truly appreciate everyone that still supports me throughout my career. i know I haven't did what im fully capable of but the time is now!
— Dontre Wilson (@treydayy_) May 13, 2016
The time is now for Wilson, because frankly, he doesn't have much left in his Ohio State football career. The 2016 season serves as his final audition for the next level, a last gasp to show scouts he can be the running back, slot receiver, and returner Ohio State believed him to be in 2013.
"Dontre got some reps at running back too. He's 198 pounds now, which is much heavier than the 170 when he first got here," Meyer said this spring. "As I see it right now you've got four guys carrying the ball for us in the fall. The two running backs and then Dontre and Curtis (Samuel)."
His potential — when healthy — is staggering. He plays hard when his body allows it. Just watch him during Ezekiel Elliott's 55-yard touchdown at Indiana this fall.
Wilson hauled some major ass to get in position to throw the 2015 Silver Football winner a block if he needed it.
Elliott went fourth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. There isn't any doubt Wilson has that kind of aspirations. He even tweeted about it this spring, minutes after retweeting the NFL's account that highlighted a few of his former teammates as first-round picks.
Thats why i came to Ohio State
— Dontre Wilson (@treydayy_) April 29, 2016
Wilson shirked Oregon and Texas for Columbus on signing day 2013. Four summers later, he is left with a prayer his foot holds up and an expectation to be an integral part of Ohio State's 2016 offense and build his #brand.
coming soon pic.twitter.com/ckDUuRSzym
— Dontre Wilson (@treydayy_) May 15, 2016
