A once bright future is now up in the air as former Virginia Tech running David Wilson’s career may be over before it really got started.
The 2012-first round pick exploded onto the scene in 2011 for the Hokies, rushing for over 1,700-yards to lead the ACC in rushing yards. Among some of the players he beat out that year? Lamar Miller, Giovani Bernard and Andre Ellington – all set to have prominent roles in the NFL this year.
In two years with the New York Giants, Wilson ran for 504-yards with 100-of those yards coming in his career game against the New Orleans Saints. Injuries limited to just five games his second season and that injury may now keep him from ever playing a game again.
After being cleared to start training camp, Wilson is again dealing with the same neck injury that forced him to miss the majority of last season as well getting a late start to this year’s training camp.
Now word has come out that Wilson would likely need a ‘miracle’ to ever see a return to the field. It was reported late last season that he might be suffering from Spinal Stenosis, which is becoming more and more evident.
With so much promise now, we will likely never get a chance to see what the future held for Wilson but it are times like this we are reminded that football is still just a game, and there are far more important things than it.
It’s every young kids dream to play in the NFL, we all have memories of playing back yard football pretending to be our favorite star growing up or envisioning ourselves scoring the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, or at the very least lacing up the cleats and running out the tunnel of their favorite team.
Most of us never came close to that dream; the odds are so stacked up against you ever making it to that level playing one game in the NFL is an amazing accomplishment. Wilson didn’t just make an appearance; he excelled at what he did.
At this point, don’t wait for the results. You were at the top of the world at the college level, leading a strong football conference in rushing going up against other players that made the NFL. You were a first round pick, something only 32-people get to say a year out of thousands of student-athletes.
You lived a life that most would be jealous of, now it’s time to take the next step in your life. Leaving football behind will be rough, but if you put the time and effort it took to become a first round pick in the NFL into the next stage of your life, there really isn’t much you wouldn’t be able to accomplish. (For David Wilson’s SIA Profile, click here)
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