Packer: Leader Wilson made sure to finish what he started

Al Wilson

It was a series of plays that typified the football career of former University of Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson. It was the Homecoming game against UAB in 1998, and the All-American had missed a tackle.

"We were dominating UAB," Wilson said. "They ran a wide receiver screen, and as I was running towards him (but) I didn't wrap up. Well, when I got up one of their coaches was heckling me. He yelled that an All-American would have made that tackle. I pointed at him and yelled that I would be back.

"A few plays later they ran another screen and the receiver cut back towards me. I ran through that guy, I didn't hit him, I ran through him. It was the hardest shot I ever dished out. I jumped up and all I did was point at the coach. He started laughing."

That was the kind of career Wilson had. He let his play do his talking, and there were a lot of plays that told a lot about what kind of leader Wilson was.

"Being a leader is just who I am," Wilson said. "I felt a responsibility to lead that football team. I just looked at it like I had to show them by example, for us to be national champions. I've always been a leader on every team I ever played on. It was just my love for sports, my dedication and my focus. I never looked at it as a job.

"I think you become a leader by watching older guys. How do they lead? How do they treat other guys? It was all a learning experience."

As Wilson grew up, he didn't have as much as most of the other guys who were his teammates. It's a big reason he thinks he always appreciated his opportunities in sports.

"Growing up in a household without much put me where I am today," Wilson said. "I wasn't a privileged kid. I wasn't able to go and have parties, and go shopping, and buy new clothes. I know my mother didn't make a lot of money. Because I knew I couldn't get it, I put all of my focus on sports. If it wasn't football, it was boxing, basketball or baseball. It didn't matter to me what I was playing, I knew it was keeping me off the streets."

As a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos in the 1999 NFL draft, Wilson was able to make enough money so that he's financially set for life. He hasn't been like many other NFL players who squander their money. Wilson says his childhood taught him to appreciate every single dollar.

"I am grateful for the way I grew up," Wilson said. "My mother showed me the value of money. She always told me that money doesn't grow on trees and people will do crazy things for a dollar. The first check I got in the NFL, I bought her a house and a couple of cars to drive around in. But, what made me the happiest was to make her financially stable to where she could relax and not have to work. Oh, she does a little sewing, but for the most part she's able to relax. That means a lot to me because of all she went through to provide for me and our family."

Wilson's career in the NFL ended with a neck injury. In the blink of an eye his eight-year career came to an end. Many athletes talk about how hard of an adjustment it is when the attention that football brings comes to an end. That can not be said for Wilson.

"I think it may have been harder for a lot of guys that it was for me," Wilson said. :I was never a big media guy. I always thought long term. I knew that some day it would come to an end. I never focused on the spotlight. Do I miss the outlet of football? Absolutely. But, did the game define me as a person? Not at all. I love the game, I never played it for the money or attention. I played football because I loved the game."

Defensive back Eric Berry is the closest thing to an "Al Wilson-type leader" that UT has seen since Wilson left the program 10 years ago. You might think the honor is all Berry's to be mentioned in the same breath as Wilson, maybe not.

"I love that guy. He is without a doubt the best defensive player in the country," Wilson said. "For anybody to compare him to me is an honor for me. He is going to do things that will shock people. The sky is the limit for that guy."

As for what Wilson is doing these days, well, he's making a run at the PGA Tour.

"I play golf about two to three times a week," Wilson said. "It would be seven days a week if I could make it happen. I'm about a 15 handicap, but there's no reason I shouldn't be a lot better than that ... and I will be. I expect to be on the PGA Tour in the next couple of years."

For anyone who knows Wilson, I don't think it would shock them if they saw him walking up the 18th fairway someday on TV with the lead in a major event. As far fetched as it may sound, Wilson knows only one way in sports, that way is to be the absolute best and not accept anything less. That's what a leader is all about.

First things first, he will be returning to Knoxville in January to finish up something he promised his mom he would take care of. Wilson is just two semesters away from earning his degree.

"It's about finishing what I started," he said. "I've always been a finisher. Football didn't finish the way I wanted it to. But, when I finish this I will have made my mother proud. She always says, 'Have you thought about going back to school?' So, I'm going back to finish what I started and honor her with all that I do."

Mark Packer hosts the Locker Room on MyWVLT2 on Sundays at 10 p.m.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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