Wilson eager to arrive and contend for role at Georgia
Georgia got its five-star offensive lineman in Isaiah Wilson, and he will fill a significant vacancy for the Bulldogs. No drama or shenanigans, he’s ready to get to work.
Georgia is in need of Wilson’s talents as the 350-pound pass protector will join six other committed offensive linemen to rebuild a unit that lost Tyler Catalina, Brandon Kublanow and Greg Pyke from last year’s team as those players exhausted their eligibility.
Wilson is Georgia’s highest-rated commitment since the Bulldogs landed John Theus in 2012. But the Brooklyn, New York, product presents a new dimension of size, and Wilson is willing to fit in wherever needed.
“I see myself coming into help at wherever coach needs me,” Wilson said. “I would probably want to play at tackle for (offensive line coach Sam) Pittman, but I’ve played every offensive line position, and I can play wherever they need me.”
Wilson has been committed to the Bulldogs for nearly a month now, and his decision featured plenty of intrigue. After taking official visits to his final contenders, he made the decision to attend Georgia over Alabama and Michigan in a ceremony that was filled with the holiday spirit.
“It was a perfect fit,” Wilson said of Georgia. “The football is great, the school is great, and the opportunity is very high. My parents loved it as did I, and that separated Georgia from everybody else. The week before my official, I knew I was going to Georgia.”
Being in New York, Wilson doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to spend time with Georgia commitments in the state. The chance did present itself two weeks after his commitment in Orlando at the Under Armour All-American game festivities around the New Year’s holiday.
The game featured four Georgia commitments — Wilson, William Poole, Robert Beal and Deangelo Gibbs — and Wilson spent time trying to recruit Gibbs before Gibbs made his decision to commit to Georgia at the game.
“Being around the Georgia guys was a lot of fun,” Wilson said. “I got to know them, and it was a lot of brotherly love. I was recruiting, as well, guys like Deangelo Gibbs who committed and Markaviest Bryant. I’ve definitely kept up with them since.”
The conversations between Wilson and Bryant indicate that the five-star is willing to help enhance the talent within Georgia’s 2017 recruiting class. Before Wilson giving his pledge, early enrollees Richard LeCounte and Houston County quarterback Jake Fromm were deemed the recruiting leaders for the class, but those two now are on campus.
With 17 commitments not yet enrolled, the question remains about who emerges as the leader with National Signing Day set for Feb. 1.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m necessary the leader of the class,” Wilson said. “I feel like I’m important to the class, but it’s a team effort, and we’re still working on recruiting guys. LeCounte is still probably doing it.”
The other question for Wilson is whether he will have future dialogue with other programs that will pursue him. His answer was fairly blunt, and there’s no chance of Wilson budging from Georgia.
“I’ll gracefully decline conversation from other schools,” Wilson said. “I’m 100 percent committed to Georgia, but I’ll still be nice because I love them as guys. Outside of recruiting, they’re good guys, so I have no problem being friendly and wish them the best.
“I cannot wait to be on campus. It can’t get here fast enough.”
Wilson is a highly regarded talent on the field, but his head coach at Poly Prep Country Day School speaks highly of Wilson’s character in addition to his skill set.
“A great attitude towards football and academics,” Kevin Fountaine said. “Isaiah is a quality person from a great family. He is extremely intelligent and coachable. Isaiah is a fine young man.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2017 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Wilson eager to arrive and contend for role at Georgia."