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KIRKLAND, Wash.-- All the inspiration Josh Wilson needs is
in his wallet -- a frayed 1981 football card showing his father, Tim
Wilson, then a Houston Oilers' blocking back for Earl Campbell. Josh Wilson's grandfather, Tim's father, gave Josh that card in
1996, just after Tim Wilson died of a heart attack at age 42. "On one of those days when it's getting hot and you're getting
tired, I do think about what he went through," the Seattle
Seahawks' top draft pick said Thursday during a break in training
camp practice. "He went through the same thing in his day," said Wilson, a
5-foot-9 cornerback from Maryland who was the 55th choice overall
in the draft. "He told me how much fun he had, how great it was
and the opportunities he had because of it. If he can do it, I can
do it. "His big thing was: you're only going to get one shot, one
opportunity. If the opportunity comes by and you're not prepared,
you won't play," added Wilson, who also had a tattoo likeness of
his father on his chest with the words "Forever in my Heart."
"You go hard every play because you never know what play is going
to vault you to the next opportunity." Wilson, who has 4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash, is
expected to be the third cornerback in the nickel defense and
return kickoffs this season. It's a challenge for the relatively short Wilson, who weighs 190
pounds. But he has heard all that before and it doesn't bother him.
What Wilson might lack in size he makes up for in motivation. He offers an anecdote from high school, when he and another
student were sitting together in the training room just before
track practice. " 'So you think you're going to the NFL?' " the other student
asked. "Heck yeah," Wilson replied, adding his companion "looked me
straight in the eyes and said, 'No, you're not. You're all right
but you're not that good.' " "Every day at Maryland when I got a little tired and had some
aches and pains and I didn't want to go hard that day, I kept
thinking of that guy. I still remember his face and what he said,"
Wilson recalls. "I've got to make it now." Wilson took on every challenge in college. He defended against
6-5 receiver Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech, the No. 2 pick in the
draft by Detroit - and Florida State's 6-6 Greg Carr. The bigger
they are, the higher his goal. "They may be 6-5 and 6-6, but I can jump over them," Wilson
said. "Anybody can cover a guy if he puts his mind to it. You have
to figure out how you're going to jump and not allow him to jump." Wilson started his last 24 games at Maryland. His junior year he
had 73 tackles. Last season he averaged 27.3 yards per kickoff
return and had a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Georgia
Tech. "That was an amazing run. No one touched me and I had to run
through like four or five of my teammates. They said, 'How'd you do
that without tripping up?' I said, 'Someone carried me through
there,' " said Wilson, referring to his father. NOTES: D.J. Hackett has returned to practice after his wife
Alexandra delivered their first child, a son to be called Andre
James (A.J.) Hackett ... Second-year fullback David Kirtman will
have surgery to repair a fractured right hand. He could be off the
field for a week to 10 days ... Referees were used for Thursday's
practice to give the players a better feel for game conditions.
They addressed the team on new rules after the afternoon session.
One of the rules the referees will enforce this season is excessive
spiking of the football after non-touchdown plays ... There was a
martial arts session in the morning for the pass rushers, designed
to improve their hand coordination.
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