Your Annual Adrian Wilson Entry

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It was just over a year ago that we highlighted some Wolfpackers in the NFL with a special focus on Arizona Cardinals safety, Adrian Wilson. (Link)

Mention the safety position in the NFL and Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins and Roy Williams are often mentioned as the game’s best. Believe this: Adrian Wilson is right at the top with all of them — and he’s better than Williams, who benefits from a big hit or two and by the fact he plays on a team with a star on the side of its helmet.

Well, this week ESPN.com ran an article of the “The Best Player You’ve Never Heard Of” that featured…guess who?

Matt Mosley: Adrian Wilson, S, Arizona

Even though he finally went to a Pro Bowl this past season, I still think Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson is a player we don’t hear enough about. Over the past few years, the 28-year-old has been a player that opposing offenses always have to account for. I had an NFC East wide receiver tell me last season that he fears Wilson more than any safety in the game. He had eight sacks in 2005 and then followed that up with five sacks, four interceptions and 87 tackles last season. Wilson used to be a player who needed to be close to the line of scrimmage to succeed, but over the last two years, he’s worked hard to improve his ball skills. He’s capable of taking some of the top tight ends in the league completely out of games and he has great timing when it comes to blitzing. You put Wilson on a better team, and he would’ve had at least three Pro Bowl trips by now. And while a lot of players have complained at how poorly the club has been run, Wilson has been an excellent teammate.

It’s great to continue to read about Wilson’s success.

In case you never saw it – the following video of Wilson’s amazing 66 INCH jump has been viewed over 3.7 million times on YouTube.

Of course, no Adrian Wilson entry is complete without sharing this departing “shot”. (Pun intended.)

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25 Responses to Your Annual Adrian Wilson Entry

  1. cpwolfpackfan 06/06/2007 at 3:30 PM #

    best safety i have ever see play in college. He was always on a shitty team. Wish he could have been here with mario, lawson, tulloch, etc…

  2. lush 06/06/2007 at 3:33 PM #

    mike reed was my favorite safety at state. i always remember the announcers saying stuff like you better bring your body armour when across #3’s side of the field. he would lay your ass out!

  3. noah 06/06/2007 at 3:44 PM #

    Jessie Campbell was the best safety I ever saw at State. But honestly, Campbell was really an outside linebacker in the system that we ran.

    We’ve certainly had some good ones. Brian Williams, A. Wilson, Mike Reid, Campbell, Snake Vinson, Perry Williams (or was he a CB?). Anyone remember Michael Brooks off that first Dick Sheridan team? He and Ray Agnew and Scott Auer (or was it Neil?) were about the only decent defenders that team had.

  4. ktpritch 06/06/2007 at 3:45 PM #

    happy for Adrian – my wife taught at State for a while and he was in one of her classes so I new him a bit through her. I remember playing pick-up basketball with him and being amazed at his vertical.

  5. lush 06/06/2007 at 4:08 PM #

    I want to know what more of those early 90’s players are up to Damien Covington, Carl Reeves, Anthony Barbour, Eddie Goines, Mike Reid, Dewayne Washington. I know washington had a long pro career, but where are the wolfpack superstars of my adolesence now???

  6. lush 06/06/2007 at 4:09 PM #

    Maddox was a damn good safety too

  7. noah 06/06/2007 at 4:33 PM #

    Damien Covington is dead. He was killed in 2002. He had just a horrific knee injury and suffered some nerve damage. He got shot during a robbery.

    AB is a coach at one of the local high schools…I can’t remember which one.

    Eddie Goines is an actor now. He has a bunch of TV credits.

    Carl Reeves was in the Arena League. No clue if he’s still there.

  8. BJD95 06/06/2007 at 5:27 PM #

    Jesse Campbell was extremely talented. But for pure old school bad-ass factor, you couldn’t beat Snake Vinson.

  9. cpwolfpackfan 06/06/2007 at 5:30 PM #

    carl reeves was selling cars at cross roads ford, he tried to sell me a truck

  10. StateFans 06/06/2007 at 5:49 PM #

    Jesse Campbell

    One helluva a HS RB at West Craven. We had quite a little run of recruiting versatile athletes from the East like Campbell and Ledel George (Havelock) back in those days.

  11. WolfPup35 06/06/2007 at 6:04 PM #

    I will always remember the hit he layed on that UNX RB, I think it was River’s freshman year, at CH….the next time the RB saw AW coming……right out of bounds he went. Lesson learned.

    Imagine if he were on a team that the owners really cared about…like maybe the Panthers (fat chance).

  12. bTHEredterror 06/06/2007 at 9:25 PM #

    Noah, Michael Brooks is my boss right now, and he’s a good man to work for. He won the ’86? Carolina game almost alone. He had 12 or 13 tackles and a forced fumble and recovery on the Goal line that saved the game.

    You can see that game from time to time on Flash classics on Fox. He played for the Cowboys and Chargers, and was a solid special teamer until a Knee injury ended his career.

  13. noah 06/06/2007 at 9:31 PM #

    I think Agnew recoverd that fumble. But yeah, it was 1986.

  14. wayofthemaster 06/06/2007 at 9:52 PM #

    StateFans,

    Good call on the recruits from the East. I went to East Carteret High School (Levar Fisher) and remember some of the great players the east produced like Campbell, Becton, Anthony Wright, and Lee Becton. I think George might have been the best athlete I have ever seen play football.

  15. wayofthemaster 06/06/2007 at 9:53 PM #

    Sorry, meant to list George after Campbell.

  16. kool k 06/07/2007 at 7:00 AM #

    I parlayed Arian “All Pro” Wilson and the Baltimore D into a fantasy league title last year. I can’t wait to watch those 4:00 games this fall with Wilson and Terrance Holt patrolling the defensive backfield for the redbirds
    Noah, I think you are right about Scott Auer playing LB, his brother Neil was a TE a few years after him. I also have fond memories of Billy Ray Haynes from those days.
    I used to work with Jesse Campbell’s sister when I lived in Greenville. I remember her saying he lived in Atlanta and owned his own trucking company and was doing really well. That was like 5 years ago. He was a beast.

  17. Sw0rdf1sh 06/07/2007 at 7:36 AM #

    Nice to see the piece on Wilson. Too bad my favorite non-NSCU player isn’t still there. Although, both he and Pat Tillman play the Strong Safety, so there would have to be some position changes.

    Tillman and Wilson would have been punishers back there together.

    Sucks to hear about Convington again…..I forgot all about that.

  18. packbackr04 06/07/2007 at 8:11 AM #

    i saw tre-maine “the train” stephens in the gym a few months back in New Bern. He was here working for a few days at the convention center. he is in gastonia now working at a non-profit org. best i can remember from what he was telling me.

  19. packbackr04 06/07/2007 at 8:16 AM #

    o best part about running into tremaine was that he was still wearing his peach bowl ring while he was working out, the man looked like a beast still. he was pumping big weight, not an ounce of fat on him. looked like he could suit it up at any time to me…. i think he played his pro ball for the jets and then chargers… is that right or can noah or someone tell me who he did play for?

  20. noah 06/07/2007 at 8:48 AM #

    As I recall, Stephens was with the Colts and Chargers.

  21. Red_Terrors 06/07/2007 at 9:35 AM #

    Glad to hear guys bringing up my alma mater: West Craven. I remember in middle school and high school with Jesse Campbell, George Teague, and Lee Becton would come back and talk to the students.

  22. statered 06/07/2007 at 9:44 AM #

    Stephens used to post on the wolfpacker board some time back. He is a solid individual.

  23. packbackr04 06/07/2007 at 10:31 AM #

    statered^, i left my metting with Stephens extremely impressed. the work he described that he was doing was really impressive too.

    i think you are right noah, colts and chargers.

    like i said, the shape he was in, it looked like he could suit it up today if he wanted to. his forearms are as big around as my thighs. he was throwing up big wiehgt. laughing and joking with all the regulars in my gym. signing autographs for kids(and one for me). good guy and great head on his shoulders.

  24. choppack1 06/07/2007 at 8:30 PM #

    Carl Reaves had a solid pro career. Damien Covington and David Mainor was some good LB’s. Don’t forget Elijah (I can’t remember his last name) and Mike Jones – I believe they played on the DL w/ Ray Agnew.

    Adrian Wilson was a stud…I think our starting DBs Amato’s first year would have been Adrian Wilson, Terrance Holt, Brian Williams, I can’t remember our other DB on that squad right now…

  25. noah 06/08/2007 at 8:23 AM #

    Elijah Austin. He and Ricky Logo had unreal strength.

    Mike Jones had a terrific NFL career…in spite of the hatchet job one of the state coaches did on him before the draft.

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