THIS KID IS SOMETHING SPECIAL

Russell Wilson lines up Seahawks office with maturity and a veteran since the leadership.

Russell Wilson is turning heads all over the country; ESPN, NFL Network, Fox Sports and all over the Internet, analysts and writers are taking notice that Russell Wilson isn’t your average third round quarterback chosen to develop behind a veteran for a couple of years and then perhaps playing backup for a while. This kid has had a dream, a goal and a plan of becoming a very special professional football player and for many years to come. The skeptics on draft day for changing their tune, but Wilson was never listening anyway.

Drafted by the Colorado Rockies, Wilson played professional baseball for a while until his real love of football flowed back through his veins, taking him right back where he felt he belonged. A very openly Christian athlete, Wilson believes the Lord leads him and believed that football is where he belongs. He was ecstatic that God led him to the Seattle Seahawks. Before the draft, Wilson had a pretty good idea that Seattle would be his next landing place. He left Virginia, his home and played college under a full scholarship with the South Carolina Gamecocks for four years. Then, his fate brought him to Wisconsin where he played QB-1 as a senior with the Badgers and was voted team captain within 2 weeks of arriving at camp. This kid is impressive in practically every way. He is athletically gifted, no doubt, but it’s his character and a level of honor that he holds himself to that impresses important people in high places. Pete Carroll and John Schneider recognized what an unusually mature and motivated kid Wilson is and that he has that certain something that separates him from practically every other college quarterback either of them has ever encountered an "IT" factor. Not blessed with great height, Wilson lasted until the 3rd round where Seattle selected him the 75th player. They knew right away that they had pulled off one of the biggest steals of the draft. Carroll and Schneider completely believe that if Wilson was just 2 or 3 inches taller, he likely would have been selected in the top 3 picks. It’s impossible to know now, but with Wilson’s QB rating that led the nation, and his 33 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions, it’s likely he would have been selected before Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. He is very efficient, very smart and he played on a team, Wisconsin, that had the tallest offensive lineman in the nation. Averaging 6’6” tall and 333 pounds, he only had 2 passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

Russell Wilson just shrugs when asked how he feels his lack of height will affect his chances as a starting quarterback in the NFL. He believes there’s a lot more to throwing the football than being tall. “Even if I was 6’5” tall, I still wouldn’t try to throw the ball over defensive lineman with their arms stretched high. That’s not how you play quarterback in the pocket.” This is what he said about his so-called handicap. He went on to mention that good quarterbacks don’t throw over defensive lineman; they throw in lanes and alleys, or in other words between defenders and offensive lineman’s backs and helmets.

For every reason you give Wilson that his height will be a factor, he will give you 5 reasons why it simply doesn’t matter. One of Wilson’s advantages is that he has long arms and huge hands, measuring 10 ¼ inches. That’s bigger than the hands of Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers and even 6’8” Brock Osweiler of the Denver Broncos. Another advantage is his superior mobility and ability to find his way out of trouble if the pocket deteriorates and collapses. What makes Wilson different from other very mobile QB’s is that he doesn’t want to run, he wants to pass the football, but when flushed out of the pocket, he knows when to pull the ball down, tuck it under his arm and take off to the races. He is a multiple threat athlete and he causes problems for opposing defenses because of his intelligence and his ability to see the field and read the defense so quickly. He goes through his progressions, checking down, one, two, three, and sometimes a four option receivers.

Former Seahawks linebacker, Dave Wyman, said Russell Wilson is the oldest 23-year-old he’s ever met. That’s how mature he is, but he still has the enthusiasm and the excitement of a rookie, and he’s got never-ending energy. Rich Eisen of ESPN asked several of Wilson’s Seahawk teammates for some dirt on Wilson, something he could use to tease him on his podcast radio show. Eisen said that his teammates had nothing for him. Most said, we don’t really know much about him personally. He spends all of his time in the film room reviewing game film and studying defenses sets. This is the kind of dedication this kid has for the game. He seemingly always says the right thing and doesn’t fall for all the tricks and traps of reporters. Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Demaryius Thomas and Maurice Jones Drew could take notes from Wilson, for his maturity and selflessness. Like some of the most accomplished players in professional sports, they seem to get paid, but you never hear about contract disputes and bitter, ugly holdouts. It’s just a different way of doing business and it causes both parties to do the right thing. When was the last time you heard of; Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Larry Fitzgerald in an ugly contract dispute or hold out? Yet, all three players are of the highest paid in the NFL. Wilson doesn’t say anything that will embarrass himself, his teammates or the Seahawks franchise. An essential part of being a leader is properly distributing the credit and blame. Wilson continually deflects positive feedback from writers and reporters and credits the offensive line, receivers or defense. At the same time, he never stops critiquing his own game for ways to improve. When there are obvious failures to execute by other players, Wilson handles it the way it should be handled… In-house and away from microphones and cameras. Last Wednesday, during the opening game of the 2012 season, the New York Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys, and partly due to some of his teammate’s inability to catch the ball. ESPN analysts praised Eli Manning because of the way he talked about the young player David Wilson fumbling the football. He pointed to his youth and that he still learning the game and gibberish like that. What he should have done was to look at his own game and if there was any butt kicking to be done, it should have been done quietly during the game on the sidelines or after the game away from microphones and cameras. Not to the media and not calling out certain players who made errors. I was a little surprised that former player, now analyst, Mike Schlereth was complimenting him for handling the situation properly. As a quarterback, those issues are not dealt with through the media. I think it was pompous and self-righteous, but I find Manning to be arrogant and sanctimonious, so I probably shouldn’t have been surprised.

I've never seen a rookie in interviews that seems so comfortable with who he is as a person, yet he’s never satisfied with his own performance as a football player. For him, it’s all about improving, getting better, getting smarter and getting valuable experience. He expects to be great and he prepares to be his best. In a recent press conference in Seattle, the media was there to ask questions about Wilson and the upcoming game with the Arizona Cardinals. One of the writers asked Wilson the question, “Are you nervous, or are you anxious about playing in your first regular-season NFL game as a starting quarterback for the Seahawks?” Wilson’s answer was as poignant as the question, perhaps more; His response was, “No, not really… I believe that if you prepare yourself, study and ready yourself properly to the best of your ability, there’s no reason to be anxious or nervous. I’m eager and excited, but no, I’m not anxious or nervous at all.” Now, there are going to be people who doubt that he is as cool, calm and collected as he says he is, but if you really follow this young man’s life, it’s not like this is the first time he’s ever been on a big stage before. He led his Wisconsin Badgers to the 2011 Rose Bowl in his senior season. The Badgers lost to the Oregon ducks 45-38, but it certainly wasn’t because of Russell Wilson not doing everything he could to bring his team a Rose Bowl trophy and perhaps national championship. Wilson threw for 296 yards and two touchdown passes. He finished the game 19-25 passing, 16 yards rushing and one rushing touchdown to go with his two TDs passing.

Regardless of pressure or high expectations, Wilson is a player that places higher expectations on himself than anyone else. This way, he never worries about living up to the expectations of others. The weight on his shoulders in his first professional football game that counts isn’t overwhelming to him. His mental maturity and dedication to preparation is veteran like in every way. He thrives on visualization techniques and he always sees himself being great. He visualizes the stadium, the sound of the crowd, the look of his opponent and after watching hundreds of hours of film, he sees himself facing every possible defensive set that the team has ever used before. He admits that you can’t visualize something that you’re not expecting, but his goal is to reduce as much surprise as possible and then react on the field. His reaction ability after he takes the snap is a new challenge every time he touches the ball. He relishes every challenge put before him and he purposely takes on difficult challenges, because it nourishes his desire to grow and learn.

Russell Wilson has earned the respect of the veterans on the roster like no rookie I’ve ever seen or heard of before. He feels he’s not only in a position to learn on the field or in the film room; he’s also in a position to teach and encourage other players even as a rookie himself. Wilson is an ideal leader to work with a group of proud men. He encourages players to come with him in the film room and work through different scenarios that help everyone on the offense feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves and part of something that every player on the team needs to contribute to in order to be successful. Who ever heard of a rookie leader coming to a new team and setting the pace for hard work and dedication to details? But, his teammates, veterans and rookies all feel a sense of wisdom coming from this 23-year-old rookie. Most established veterans take offense to a rookie coming into camp and schooling them on anything, let alone, but to get advice from one of the youngest players on the team? Well, that’s just as unusual as a 5’10” NFL quarterback doing anything but holding a clipboard and perhaps handing out cups of Gatorade to the other players on the sidelines.

I think this is going to be a fascinating season. Nobody really knows whether or not Russell Wilson will succeed at this level, but I don’t know anyone that’s putting a lot of money down to bet against him. It has been said that, “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” Well, if that quote has any wisdom to it, you can expect a lot more hard work, dedication and success from Russell Wilson. The way he seems to believe in himself and the Seahawks, and the manner in which he leads this team, you would think he’s walking on ten foot stilts. One thing is for certain, none of his teammates look down to 5’10” Russell Wilson… Not even 6’7” 318 pound starting right tackle, Breno Giacomini. No. 3 happens to be QB-1 and after a dynamic and inspiring preseason, he’s earned it.

Russell Wilson at Collegiate Prep School