Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 21, 1990 TAG: 9004210018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Wilson, the leading rusher for Virginia's football team in 1989, Wilson did not announce until January that he had elected to pass up his final year of eligibility.
Since then, scouts from more than half of the National Football League teams have been to Charlottesville to put Wilson through workouts. He also attended a camp in Indianapolis that was sponsored by the NFL Scouting Combine.
Invitations to an earlier camp in Indianapolis already had been issued when Wilson declared his availability for the NFL draft. The second camp was for players who had missed the first camp or, like Wilson, had given up their college eligibility.
"I think they knew about me based on my season," said Wilson, who rushed for 1,098 yards. "But since I declared, they've had to look at me from a completely different perspective."
Wilson, prone to understatement throughout his college career, said he did "all right" at the camp. However, his numbers would suggest otherwise.
He has been timed consistently at between 4.45 and 4.52 seconds for 40 yards and did 17 repetitions lifting 225 pounds in the bench press.
"I was aiming for 20," Wilson said. "I've been told the average for running backs in the NFL is between eight and 12.
"I guess I'm pleased at this point. When I first came back [in January], I was not in the best shape. I had put on a little more weight than I wanted and was running around 4.55."
Wilson was projected as a second- or third-round draft pick in a February report in USA Today, but most draft forecasts do not rate him quite as highly.
"You can't believe anything," Wilson said. "It's all hype. You could get a list of all the articles and come up with a consensus, I guess, but I haven't seen all the articles."
It appears likely that Wilson will be the first Virginia player drafted, although linebacker Ray Savage reportedly has looked good in workouts.
"It could be from the second to fifth [round]," Savage said. "I've been running 4.5s, but my agent tells me I've gotten a bad rap. I don't know who's saying it or what they're saying, but I just wanted to hurry up and get it over so I know where I'm going."
Two-time All-ACC offensive guard Roy Brown went to the original NFL Scouting Combine, where he was downgraded from the college listing of 6-feet-6 to 6-4[.
Former Dallas Cowboys player-personnel director Gil Brandt listed Brown as one of the top four offensive guards that are eligible, "but Gil Brandt doesn't draft anymore," Brown said. "I just hope to get drafted, although I realize there's a chance I won't be."
One-time Lord Botetourt High star Elton Toliver, who finished his UVa career at linebacker, has been working out for the scouts, but he said he does not think he will be drafted. At the least, Toliver hopes to go to camp with an NFL team as a free agent.
Wilson said he has no regrets about passing up his final season of eligibility, although he could have become Virginia's all-time leading rusher with 1,020 more yards. He said at least one consideration was his ability to get through the 1989 season without further injury to his knees, both of which required arthroscopic surgery in 1988.
"That had to play a major part," Wilson said. "If I wouldn't have played this season without injury, that would have been a strike against me. That was a key factor. I'm not saying it was the only factor."
It should be noted that Wilson will graduate in early May.
"I doubt I would have come out [without a diploma]," Wilson said, "but I can't say that was a consideration. I always knew I would have it. That never came up. I was always in position to graduate."
Wilson, the first UVa football player who has turned pro before the end of his eligibility, was non-committal on any other possible reasons for his departure. When asked if he was unhappy with any aspect of the UVa program, he said, "No comment."
"I think he felt he was being phased out," a former teammate said. "They seemed to take him out a lot of the time when they got near the goal line. Also, I think he felt like they were running him all the time in practice."
Wilson's mind may have been made up when he carried only eight times for 10 yards in Virginia's 31-21 loss to Illinois in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Freshman Terry Kirby had eight carries for 64 yards and, with Nikki Fisher and Jerrod Washington returning, it would have been difficult for any of UVa's tailbacks to get enough carries to rack up impressive numbers.
After Sunday, Wilson should know if his early declaration was a smart move, although he said he never looked at his decision as a gamble.
"I'm pretty sure that I will be [drafted]," he said. "I felt that way from the beginning. The way I see it, it's over. It ended when I completed my last workout. There's nothing else I can do at this point."
by CNB