From Deseret News archives:
High school football: College teams taking notice of Dons' Wilson now
Ever since his starting days as a sophomore, opposing coaches have recognized his ability to catch the ball and run patterns, and opposing tacklers have felt his strength and power. However, he has no all-state awards or any other similar individual honors to show for his effort.
"Sometimes it just takes time," Wilson said. "There were just a lot of good tight ends in the state last year."
All the while, however, college coaches have noticed his ability. He received his first college offer last fall from BYU. Add in the great offseason showing he's had at several camps and a step-up in dedication, and suddenly a host of colleges are after his services. At last count he has nine D-1 offers. He probably won't make a decision on which one to accept until November, but he's leaning toward either Stanford, Miami, LSU or BYU.
"It's every kid's dream to be recruited, and it is a lot of fun to get the attention. But it's also kind of stressful at times. But overall, it's been a good experience," he said.
He'll likely pick a team where the tight end is a significant part of its offense, a team that is not overstocked on tight ends, and a team that will let him compete for a starting spot early. And even though he'll play outside linebacker some for the Dons, he wants to remain an offensive player in college.
"Every college I've talked to pretty much said they want me for the offensive side of the ball," Wilson said.
Last season Wilson was 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds. This year he's taller at 6-foot-3 and leaner at 235 pounds.
"I'm just a lot stronger," he said.
Wilson's best time last season in the 40-yard dash was 4.69. This season he's been clocked at 4.58.
"I really think he's going to play really big for us this year," Dons coach Matt Christensen said. "He's bigger, stronger, faster and he's improved in just about every aspect of being a good tight end."
In fact, Wilson admits to a lot of personal practice time with quarterback Breck Lewis — working on routes, communication and catching the football. He's also worked a lot with his coaches on his blocking skills.
"That's probably where I've improved the most and that's what I've needed to work on to be better at the next level," he said.
Wilson says he won't let his individual goals get in the way of Spanish Fork's team goals. This will be the Dons' last season in 5A, and Spanish Fork is the smallest 5A school in the state. But this is a group that's been successful at all levels, and Wilson believes that these Dons are going to be a lot better than others are predicting.
