As former rock icon Tom Petty once said, junior G’mone Wilson is “Runnin’ down a dream” quite literally. Wilson plays running back for the football team and has been highly sought after by prestigious football institutions across the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Southeastern Conference (SEC) and other Division I schools including Wake Forest, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University pursuing him the most.

“Everybody knows he’s a good player and a hard worker, so he deserves the credit where it’s due,” head football coach Adrian Snow said.

If words do not completely describe the impact Wilson has had to the football team, numbers will. Wilson rushed for over 1500 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry on 254 carries with 16 touchdowns in just his junior season. To compare to the National Football League (NFL), a respected performance for a running back is averaging four yards per carry, and a good season for a running back is having more than 1000 rushing yards. As one can see by these statistics, Wilson is thriving on the field. However, as a recruit, sometimes the eye test means a lot which is simply just looking at a player playing to see if he or she has talent or not in any sport.

“He’s a hard runner and an electric back which is why he handles most of the load for us. When you put it in his hands, you have a chance for a homerun,” coach Snow said.

However, Wilson’s career has not come without adversity which has pushed him to become a Division I caliber back.

“I realized I could go D1 after my injury my freshman year which kept me out basically for the whole season. It made me work harder to make my sophomore year my breakout season,” Wilson said.

Kelly Brinkley

In the offseason, Wilson stays in shape by participating in track and boxing to keep his stamina up as a runner on the field. However, there is more built into being a Division I athlete than just the physical talent. Wilson has to show that mentally he can be a Division I athlete through both maturity and leadership abilities. He does this by bonding with teammates on bus rides to build team chemistry and being there for his teammates on the field.

“I get my mind right before every practice and every game to remind myself that I need to be a leader and do everything in my power to help the team be better as a whole. One of my favorite memories is when we traveled to Oscar Smith to play because it was good bonding time with the team,” Wilson said.

With one season left of high school football, the junior still has a great future ahead of himself with the possibility of a lot of more athletic opportunities lying ahead. However, Wilson explains that so far, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been his favorite visit.

“They showed the most love and the atmosphere there is unbelievable. I’m truly blessed and excited that I have the ability to play football, and my plans for the future is to continue playing football to the best of my ability,” Wilson said.

With all of the credit where it’s due, Wilson remains focused while realizing that, through all of his hard work, he is making his collegiate athletic aspirations come true.