The past five months have been anything but normal. The coronavirus pandemic has affected athletes in just about every way possible. Now after months without sports, we are finally starting to see high school, college and professional sport teams beginning to workout and play games again. But athletes across the country are weighing their options as some have already decided to opt-out of their 2020 season due to health concerns, injury risk and much more.
One of those athletes includes? 6’4” and 325 lbs senior offensive guard, Jared Wilson. Wilson re-committed to the University of Georgia on Aug. 3, but is still deciding? whether or not he will enroll early at Georgia.
Wilson, who is rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports, is coming off a phenomenal junior football season in which he earned an Associated Press all-state nod in January during his second season on the varsity team.
Coming into high school, Wilson didn’t want to play football, but his mom insisted that he did.
“Freshman year she actually made me play football; I didn’t want to play at first coming into high school. I don’t know why. I just didn’t want to play football, but she pushed me to do it, and I’m here now, and I thank her for everything she has done for me,” Wilson said.
Now Wilson is entering his senior year, and even though this year has already been very different and difficult to accommodate to?, he is taking steps to become a leader on the team.
“Coaching up the younger guys and, you know me being one of the premier players on the team and people looking up to me, I got to make sure I pave the way for them,” Wilson said.
Wilson is also very excited that he will be joined by one of his three brothers, Marcus, who plays cornerback and is a rising freshman.
“If I do play, then I will end up playing with him… It will be fun to play with him,” Wilson said. However, Wilson has not decided yet whether or not he will play this season.
“I have not decided that yet… I will decide in a couple of months. I got some time,” Wilson said.
But in the meantime, Wilson has been trying to stay in the best shape possible even in these unusual times.
“I have a trainer… and I am with him two times a week, plus on top of our school workouts, I am just staying in shape in any way I can, doing everything,” Wilson said.
But the football workouts, which started in August, have been anything but normal.
“They’ve been a lot different because we are in groups of 25 kids, and it’s usually by position…we can’t use a ball; it’s nothing but agility and condition,” Wilson said.
Wilson is trying to stay as motivated and as positive as possible during these different times.
“I just keep telling myself that I want to have a season,” Wilson said.
Four hours away from West Forsyth High School is Athens, Georgia, the home of the University of Georgia. Wilson noted that it will be very challenging to be that far away from his family.
“The first couple of months will be really hard because me, my mom and my three little brothers, we’re like glue. We stick together, and I do everything with them. They are everything to me, so it will be pretty hard the first couple of months, but I will push through it,” Wilson said.
Wilson has already built a bond with the coaching staff at Georgia, which is why he felt Georgia was the best fit for him.
“When I went down there for some games, it’s just a different feeling, and the coaching staff and all the players there, it’s almost like I’ve known them for all of my life. We just connected really well, and the coaching staff, they’re all like family to me right now,” Wilson said.
Wilson also noted that it will definitely be a big transition from West Forsyth to Georgia.
“Since I’m a senior, and right now being one of the leaders on the team and everybody looking up to me, now I got to go back down to the bottom of the pole and learn from the older guys, be a coachable player, and just listen and learn with open ears,” Wilson said.
The transition will be tough. From being one of the premier players on the team and already knowing the playbook like the back of his hand, to essentially starting from square one. Wilson is eager to get on the field at Georgia as soon as possible and show the coaching staff what he is made of.
“I’ll work my butt off, to show them what I got, show them what I can do, show them what I have in store for the future and fight for a starting spot on that offensive line, those are my biggest goals right now,” Wilson said.
Georgia currently has four offensive guards on their roster and an incoming 2021 four-star recruit, Dylan Fairchild, so Wilson should definitely be able to come in right away and compete for a starting spot on the offensive line.
In early August, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) announced that, as of right now, football practice will begin Feb. 8 and the season opener will kick off February 26th. Teams will play a shortened season of seven conference games.