Carlos Wilson: Leading the Walk-On Life
Sep 18, 2014 | Football
Eisenhower. Kennedy. Nixon. Regan. Ford. Politics aside, the memoirs of these gentlemen have something unusual in common: They are all United States Presidents who passed through their universities' football locker rooms on their journey to the Oval Office.
It's a tall order, but one might put money on the Green Wave's Carlos Wilson joining that lineup sometime in the next few decades.
Standing at 5'10 and 190 pounds, with a smile made for television, you might recognize Wilson from his dancing debut in Cairo Santos' Lou Groza Award campaign video. Though it was Santos who ultimately took home the trophy, Wilson's passion for helping others shine is just one of many qualities that led his peers to elect him President of Tulane's chapter of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Having an uncommon combination of charisma and authenticity doesn't hurt, either. "He's that kind of person you talk to once and feel like you've known him for 10 years," describes wide receiver JoJo Dobbs, who walked on to the team with Wilson in 2010. "He keeps the mood light whenever our practice gets hard."
A gifted athlete who excelled in not one, but three sports during his time at Ruston (La.) High School, Wilson knew his football career would not end at graduation. Originally a running back prospect with looks from several major Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools, Wilson watched his options evaporate when he was sidelined by a minor injury his senior year and returned to the field not as a running back, but as a wide receiver.
"The dream was to go to the NFL, but with the position change my stats went down. Some of the schools stopped looking at me--a lot of them, matter of fact," says Wilson.
But his playing time was not quite up. The Bearcat strength and conditioning coach, Pat Hall, saw Wilson's athletic and academic aptitude as a natural fit for the Green Wave culture.
"He was like, `You seem like a Tulane kid,'" Wilson remembers with a laugh. "It came down between Tulane and Harvard. I ended up deciding on Tulane because it's the same standard of education, and it's closer to home. Great weather, Mardi Gras, New Orleans. I'm very happy with my decision."
Joining the squad as a walk-on, though, has presented its own unique challenges. As a player who came to the team of his own accord, rather than being recruited through an athletic scholarship, Wilson feels relentless pressure to perform. "JoJo and I have to come to practice and not be at our best, but at the `scholarship best,'" Wilson explains. "There's no day of slacking off; the standards of being `good' when you're a walk-on are that you have to be better--the best--and then even better the next day."
But all that pressure has its perks: "I carry the same `walk-on mentality' with me throughout life," Wilson says. "If you harbor your focus and your emotions the right way, it can really be used towards your advantage. I think my attitude, as far as being focused, driven, hard-nosed in whatever I do, has really helped me in school." "Helped" is a bit of an understatement: Wilson has held a spot on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, in Tulane Athletics' 3.0 Club, and has been a letterman for the past four years, as well as making the Dean's list. Like throwing paint at a fan, Wilson's tenacious, upbeat demeanor--and one heck of a work ethic--touches everyone in his vicinity, especially his Green Wave teammates.
"He kind of rubs off on you," Dobbs says. "His work ethic is pretty contagious. I've learned how to prioritize my time just by watching him."
Keith Williams, the Green Wave receivers' coach, can also vouch for Wilson's infectious energy.
"He's always positive, never seems to have a bad day," Coach Williams remarks. "He is always trying to inspire the young guys, motivate the older guys. He leads by example on and off the field."
Ever modest, Wilson is quick to attribute the inspiration for his success to two sources. The first is the children of New Orleans' poverty-stricken neighborhoods, who Wilson has engaged through the SAAC's community service initiative. He has found that his experience at Tulane has granted him a unique perspective on their plight.
"I've had to live the `walk-on life' for these four years of college. The kids in New Orleans have lived that life since they were born," he asserts with biting conviction. "I'm constantly looking for community service not to just say that I do this or that, but because I'm trying to give the kids that hope that some kind of way [they] can make it."
Wilson's second motivational figure is one shared by many: Devon Walker, the Green Wave safety whose journey following a career-ending spinal injury has heartened players and fans across Louisiana and beyond. But Walker's impact on Wilson started long before that fateful play at Tulsa in 2012. A veteran walk-on who eventually earned a scholarship, a starting spot and team captain status, Walker mentored Wilson through many of the struggles he endured as a newcomer to the "walk-on life."
"He was the walk-on, the one who had worked his way up to a starting spot," reminisces Wilson. "Devon helped me become more than the player I am today, because on the field, he was a leader. Everyone would go to war before him, behind him, with him. The coaches adored him. You could've interviewed everybody before his injury and you would've heard the same thing."
Besides their innate propensity for leadership and unwavering dedication to the game, Walker and Wilson share another parallel. Like his hero, Wilson came to the Green Wave without the glory and fanfare of a scholarship athlete, yet will leave behind a legacy that is, by all accounts, only the beginning. Dobbs, his brother in the walk-on life, has an explanation for Wilson's success.
"Usually, if you're a walk-on, you just kind of play your role," he says. "I think just because how he is--his personality, his work ethic, all of it--people look to him as a leader. That's something you rarely see out of walk-ons at any college." Dobbs pauses, and then repeats a sentiment that has been spoken by his teammates time and time again.
"You couldn't ask one person on the team that would say they didn't like him. That just speaks to the type of person that he is." In that case, perhaps it'd be wise to bet on a landslide election.
